Susan Mains’ understanding of her world

Dr Susan P Mains has found her niche between the worlds of the arts and sciences.

She is the holder of the 2004 McColl Fellowship, awarded by the American Geographical Society to conduct research and film a project on the Jamaican Diaspora. The McColl Fellowship, in honour of Dr and Mrs Robert W McColl, consists of a round trip fare to any place in the world the awardee chooses. The awardee is required to write an article based on the visit abroad that is suitable for publication in FOCUS on Geography.

In addition to the McColl Fellowship, Mains was awarded a UWI Mona Research Fellowship for 2004-05.

These awards will afford her an opportunity to combine her multiple interests in geography, film production and gender studies – a rather unusual mix of disciplines for a teacher of geography.

“This is the exciting study of what is called in academic circles cultural geography,” says Mains of her discipline.

“It is the study of how geographic areas take on a character of their own, over time, as a result of the people who inhabit the physical spaces. It’s also about how people learn and relate to people within and across different cultures.”

She feels that the transnational nature of Jamaican society makes this discipline entirely appropriate to the island – and it definitely fits the personality who is Susan Mains.

Born in Bellshill, Scotland, Mains has lived and travelled in many parts of the world. “Like many of the subjects in my research – Jamaicans living in the US, as well as the U K, I share similar experiences,” she says.

“Growing up in Scotland I was always interested in the many links between there and other places, and was particularly interested in Scottish and overseas theatre and films,” Mains explains. “Glasgow, in particular, has a long history of trade unionism and social activism, which is often reflected in the arts. I was curious to know about how this had shaped my own perceptions of myself and how these traditions also influenced other cultures and places.”

Mains deepened these interests when she did post-graduate work in the US, which provided additional opportunities to travel as part of her research.

Says Mains: “This made me realise how much more there is to learn about the world, politics, people and life. Having the chance to travel is a wonderful thing, and I feel that I have a responsibility to use this opportunity to address issues related to social inclusion and social justice. We have all felt like outsiders at some point and that can be a really difficult thing-being able to empathise and think reflectively about different peoples’ experiences, for example: migrants, refugees, political prisoners, recipients of discrimination.”

But despite her academic achievements, awards such as those she has recently received and the apparent respect with which she is held by peers at the Mona campus of the UWI, Mains seemingly still finds, in some quarters, scepticism about the legitimacy of her discipline.

“My efforts in the Geography Department at the University of the West Indies, Mona where I teach are aimed at convincing both my peers and students of this,” she says.

She may be making headway. Not too long ago she and five of her undergraduate advisees attended the 100th Annual Conference of the Association of American Geographers in Philadelphia where they presented research findings on mobility, tourism and migration in the Caribbean.

Mains’ own research project is also likely to help in deepening acceptance of the discipline. The project includes the production of a documentary film on the ways Jamaican migrants in New York and other urban centres in the US have helped to broaden the cosmopolitan culture of American society.

“My work will focus on the ways media and popular accounts of community help to shape society’s self-image and how in turn, that society can challenge these images,” she says.

In a way, the project will bring together Mains’ training as a geography academic, film researcher, gender specialist and writer. It will also, perhaps, allow for the bubbling of Mains’ other trait – social activism.

“I hold a number of issues near and dear to my heart and I am convinced that no one wins when inequities exist,” says this small, blond woman with a pronounced Scottish accent.

One area in which this activism is being tingled is in responding to gender relations in Jamaica, her newly adopted home.

“While I have grown to love Jamaica very much I have also taken notice, for instance, of gender relationships here,” she says. “Men and women compete for social space in different ways in Jamaica. Walking across campus, for instance, women are hit on several times by groups of men at various points en route to their destinations.”

The behaviour, she believes, is “indicative of an imbalance in the social attitudes which govern how men and women negotiate the social terrain in Jamaica”.

“Men are neither required nor are they expected to respond to these kinds of advances as do women,” she says.

Mains admits to becoming so engrossed in the recent debate on the Redemption Song statues at the Emancipation Park in New Kingston, that she is currently doing a documentary project on it. She is interviewing selected respondents about their impressions of the statues as well as reviewing newspaper commentaries for her film.

Susan Mains is perhaps best described as the poster-child for the eclectic academic. She wears several other hats in addition to those of lecturer, researcher and film director and producer.

Mains is a published author and has edited several journals and newsletters for various professional organisations. She is the editor for the Association of American Geographers-Geographic Perspectives on Women Specialty Group Newsletter and also sits on the board of the Cultural Geography and Geographic Perspectives on Women Specialty Groups. She has also acted as a reviewer for several academic journals including, GeoJournal; Gender, Place and Culture; Social and Economic Studies and South Eastern Latin Americanist.

Mains also admits to being a “closet artist.”

She writes poetry, but prefers to visit popular poetry gatherings around Kingston “hearing what is out there-and give respect to people who are brave enough to face a group of people who have had a few cocktails”.

“I am not sure when I will read my work in public,” Mains says. “I enjoy being one of the anonymous members of the audience, much more than as a performer on stage.”

She pauses and flashes her characteristically shy smile: “Sometimes it’s much more fun to be a critic.”

Mains also draws and is a bit of photographer, too.

Sketching is a good way to relax, and she emphasises: “These are just sketches.”

Photography she has been doing for “quite some time”.

“I just have to remember to develop the films.I probably should have bought shares in Kodak,” she says.

When she has time, what else does she do? Mains pauses again, then says: “Well, when I finally get to escape the office I love to drive up to the Blue Mountains.

“The Gap Café has become a wee indulgence. I enjoy the view, it’s amazing.

“I really enjoy travelling round the island, actually. Port Antonio is another favourite area and Frenchman’s Cove just makes me feel like I could never leave.” By the way, she is also soaking up the popular culture, having developed a passion for dancehall music.

“This is an essential component of the Jamaican experience,” she says. “I make an effort to purchase a few new CDs for my growing collections.”