Teaching, the interchange of ideas

I’ve always liked teaching and teaching is very important to me. I come from a teaching family in the sense that my mother was a lecturer at a College of Education in London and was still running courses in her eighties.

I feel privileged to work with such bright students. To me, teaching is highly rewarding because it is about the interchange of ideas. Or to re-paraphrase Dr Johnson’s famous words on London: “When a man is tired of teaching, he is tired of life”.

By Mark Shackleton (Tomas Sjöblom, ed.)

Mark Shackleton

Mark Hugh James Shackleton
Born 19 May 1950, Wimbledon, London

Licentiate 1990, Doctor of Philosophy 1994 (American Literature), University of Helsinki
PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) 1978, English as a Foreign Language, University of London
Master of Arts (American Literature and American Studies) 1972, University of London
Bachelor of Arts (English Literature and American Studies) 1971, University of Wales, Swansea

Lecturer 1981–, Department of English, University of Helsinki
Docent (English Literature) 2001, Department of English, University of Helsinki

Research interests
Native North American Literature, Postcolonial Literature, Transnational Adoption Literature

Publications, projects and other scientific activities

Prizes and Awards
White Rose of Finland (Knight, 1st class) for contributions to education in Finland, August 2001.

Photo: Mika Federley
Written by Mark Shackleton (Tomas Sjöblom, ed.)