Outstanding Performance in Teaching (Individual)
Mr. James SHEA
Associate Professor
Department of Humanities and Creative Writing
Hailing from the Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, Mr. James Shea has contributed substantially to the B.A. (Hons) in Creative and Professional Writing programme (CPW) for over a decade, including serving as the programme Director since 2020. He began his career at HKBU as a Fulbright Scholar in 2013 and has since become an integral part of his Department.
Mr. Shea’s teaching philosophy emphasises hands-on, holistic education, which equips his students with critical and intuitive thinking skills, guiding them towards self-reflection with the potential to become more attentive to the world and to their own lives. He uses literature and writing, particularly poetry, as a means for his students to test their beliefs and cultivate reflective citizenship. To nurture self-inquiry, he employs experiential learning methods to teach students how to think and to feel their way through a poem. His diverse teaching methods, such as class discussions, workshops, and creative projects, ensure that his students are engaged and motivated to learn. He also uses poetry to teach students how to analyse and interpret texts, and to encourage them to experiment with different forms of writing.
Through this student-centric approach to teaching, Mr. Shea is known for delivering lessons in an open-minded and flexible way. His students have reflected that they feel welcome to share their thoughts and opinions, while Mr. Shea’s non-judgmental, supportive attitude, and useful comments have been highly beneficial for them to improve their writing. This has contributed to Mr. Shea’s consistently outstanding score on the Course Feedback Questionnaire (CFQ).
In addition to his in-class teaching, Mr. Shea finds fulfilment in mentoring activities with his students. For instance, he delivered an educational and eye-opening experience by taking his creative writing class to the Centre for Refugees in Chungking Mansions in 2023, offering them a first-hand encounter with people who lack legal recognition. His dedication also extends beyond the classroom in the form of student learning resources, such as his co-edited volume The Routledge Global Haiku Reader (2023) which provides a historical overview of haiku across the world in numerous languages, poetic movements, and cultural contexts.
Mr. Shea’s contributions to the CPW programme have been significant. His course 'Poetry Writing Workshop' was approved as a 3000-level major elective for CPW, making it the first poetry course among the official CPW course offerings. Furthermore, he designed and taught the core MA course 'Theory as Writing' - a course that explores the interplay between theory, philosophy, and literary writing.
Looking towards the future, Mr. Shea envisions a transdisciplinary approach to writing and learning within CPW, aligning with the programme's ten-year milestone. He is leading CPW into a new era of exploration and discovery, where students engage with writing as a method for understanding and addressing complex social, cultural, and global issues.
Mr. Shea's academic background, creative and effective teaching strategies, and unwavering commitment to student success exemplify excellence in education. His dedication to his students and the CPW programme is exceptional and deserves recognition. Undoubtedly, he is a worthy recipient for this year's President's Award for Outstanding Performance in Teaching (Individual).