Sharmain van Blommestein
SUNY Potsdam, United States
Sharmain van Blommestein is the Chair of the Department of English and an Associate Professor at SUNY Potsdam, as well as the COIL Coordinator. She specializes in Medieval & Early Modern Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Literary Theory. Sharmain is actively involved in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects with Montenegro, Spain, Türkiye, and Romania, and she designed and integrated an intercultural learning activity for students to explore both individual and collective identities in her COIL projects. As a generalist, Sharmain also teaches both British and American Literature through her Women’s and Gender/Theory courses. Her research examines the cultural and political contexts of semiotic bodies, memory and markings, exploring literary cultures, globalization, and performativity. Sharmain received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida and has held various directorial roles at SUNY Potsdam.
“COIL benefits our students, campus, and local community by fostering diverse perspectives and collaborative learning, enabling students to build lasting relationships and broaden their worldviews despite international borders.”
Project Information
• COIL with Montenegro: Pandemic Predicament: Immigration/Borders/Migration, Fall 2020
Professors:
Dr. Sharmain van Blommestein – State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY)
Olivera Stankovic – LaGuardia Community College (CUNY)
Dr. Dragica Žugić – University of Donja Gorica (Montenegro)
Dr. Zana Knezevic – University of Mediterranean (Montenegro)
Information: The course introduced the students to what was happening during the pandemic and the similarities in what both countries were experiencing. Students also got a chance to discuss their own personal experiences during the pandemic. I and the other US professor Olivera Stankovic organized the COIL and did the grading and guided the students through the COIL projects.
• COIL with Spain: Identity matters: Culture, Ethnicity, and Race in Literature, Spring 2021 Professors:
Dr. Sharmain van Blommestein – State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY)
Dr. Andrea Roxana Bellot – Rovira i Virgili University
Information:
The COIL collaboration course, Identity Matters: Culture, Ethnicity, and Race in Literature, was primarily constructed and developed from my SUNY Potsdam WAYS 103 seminar, Talking about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: What’s in a Name? Identity and Labels. In my WAYS 103 seminar, I designed and integrated an intercultural learning activity for students to explore both individual and collective identities in my WAYS 103 courses, like using identity charts. I used the findings to form this research and wanted to test it on the international level, and this COIL dealt with that research on the international level. This resulted in an IVEC presentation and a published paper.
• COIL with Türkiye: Intercultural Fairy Tales, Spring 2022
Professors:
Dr. Sharmain van Blommestein – State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY)
Dr. Uğur Ada – Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University
Information:
I have designed and currently teach on International and Intercultural Fairy Tales courses. When I put the announcement/information in the COIL partnering bulletin about my Fairy Tales course/s. Dr. Uğur Adar emailed me and was interested in joining my project.
• COIL with Romania: Talking about Gender in Literature, Spring 2023
Professors:
Dr. Sharmain van Blommestein – State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY)
Dr. Catalina Balinisteanu-Furdu – University of Bacău, Romania
Information:
Our course covered a range of literary topics, from European Classical to contemporary early American literature. These works were interpreted through the lens of feminist theory dealing with gender and sexuality and eventually connected to real-world gender issues and situations in Romania and America. We are working on repeating this COIL with some edits in order to do ongoing research on student-learning about gender in different environments, possibly in Spring 2026.