Exploring the mind and music: meet Assistant Professor Shannon Wright

Exploring the mind and music: meet Assistant Professor Shannon Wright

Featuring Dr. Shannon Wright, Assistant Professor, Psychology

The College of Arts is thrilled to interview Dr. Shannon Wright from the Department of Psychology. Since joining UFV in January 2024, Dr. Wright has brought a unique blend of curiosity, clarity, and creativity to her teaching. With a background deeply rooted in both cognitive psychology and the expressive world of music, she offers a perspective that bridges analytical thinking with a scientific exploration of how we perceive, produce, and respond to music— including both basic psychological processes and higher-level responses such as emotion.

This fall, Dr. Wright will be teaching courses including Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, Introduction to Music Psychology, and more to come. We sat down with her to learn more about her path into education, what drives her, and what she hopes to pass on to her students.

College of Arts: Could you start by sharing a bit about your journey as an educator?

Dr. Shannon Wright: During graduate school, I took a course on communicating scientific research to the public. I really enjoyed thinking about research from the “other side”, and I decided to look for more opportunities to communicate science. This led me to a teaching internship where I was fortunate enough to be mentored by a senior professor. Through this internship, I realised the importance of strong pedagogy in science and how much I enjoy teaching and talking psychology.

College of Arts: What inspired you to specialize in your field?

Dr. Shannon Wright: During my undergrad, I was pretty fascinated by the brain, so I majored in psychology. I was curious about many different aspects of human cognition and behaviour, especially about connections between the motor system and higher-level abilities. I grew up dancing and figure skating, so I was engaged with movement and music from a pretty young age. Eventually my interests in psychology and music merged in an Honours project about the role that movement plays in generating emotional responses to music. Doing an Honours project was pretty neat, as I got to run my own study, analyse data, and make a tiny contribution to our knowledge about music and emotion! It also showed me there were a lot of researchers all over the world studying different questions related to music and psychology, so I decided to pursue it further.

College of Arts: What do you hope your students take away from your classes?

Dr. Shannon Wright: Of course, I’d like everyone to learn about all the cool aspects of psychology!

On the practical side, I try to emphasise skills that will serve people well in the future, regardless of whether they continue in academia or not. It’s a major accomplishment for everyone if students can leave my class better thinkers than when they started the class. This includes learning critical thinking skills, close reading skills, and the ability to discuss complex ideas with others in a thoughtful way.

College of Arts: Reflecting on your career thus far, what has been the most rewarding aspect of being an educator?

Dr. Shannon Wright: It’s really rewarding to see students get excited about the stuff they’re learning about. I remember discovering new ideas as an undergraduate student, some of which made the world seem a little more interesting all of a sudden. It was like a door was unlocked in your mind, and you couldn’t wait to see where it would lead you next. Seeing that response in students now is pretty cool, and I encourage students to keep following those ideas!

College of Arts: If you could leave a lasting message or piece of advice for your students and community, what would it be?

Dr. Shannon Wright: Think slowly and think deeply.

 

Dr. Shannon Wright continues to inspire through her deep understanding of psychology, her commitment to student learning, and her unique integration of science and the arts. Whether exploring the intricacies of cognition or the emotional power of music, she challenges students to think critically, explore boldly, and engage deeply. Her thoughtful approach to education and research is a valuable part of the Department of Psychology’s dynamic and evolving academic community.

Telling difficult truths: Dr. Nawal Musleh-Motut’s mission to decolonize media

Telling difficult truths: Dr. Nawal Musleh-Motut’s mission to decolonize media

Featuring: Dr. Nawal Musleh-Motut – Assistant Professor, Media and Communication

From classrooms to critical resistance, Dr. Nawal Musleh-Motut brings both vision and voice to the study of media and communication. A scholar, teacher, and advocate with deep roots in decolonial and social justice pedagogy, she challenges students not only to learn about the world—but to help change it.

Nawal joins the School of Culture, Media, and Society at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) as an Assistant Professor of Media and Communication, offering courses like “Decolonizing Media,” “Storytelling, Photography, and Resistance,” and “Gender and Media.” Her research is shaped by lived experience, and her teaching is grounded in care, critique, and courage.

In this conversation, Nawal shares her journey as an educator, the driving forces behind her research, and the words she carries into every classroom.

College of Arts: Could you start by sharing a bit about your journey as an educator?

Nawal: Prior to joining UFV, I spent eleven years teaching undergraduate research, media, and communication courses grounded in decolonial, critical race, and intersectional social justice theory and practice.

As an educator, my main goal is to equip diverse students with the ability and confidence to apply communication and media related theories, methods, and practical skills through a decolonizing, anti-racist, and socially just lens, both inside and outside of the university.

Thankfully, I’ve been successful in achieving my teachings goals across a wide range and level of interdisciplinary undergraduate courses, but I’m constantly striving to advance my understanding and application of educational theory and practice.

For example, my postdoctoral research highlights the dangers and counters the consequences of institutional performances of equity, diversity, and inclusion, which support the neocolonial and neoliberal status quo, by creating decolonial and just futurities through teaching and learning – that is, by imagining what such a future might look like and then working to create it in the present using the pathways, tools, and resources currently available to us.

Two major components of this research were the Decolonial Teaching and Learning Seminar Series and the Decolonizing and Indigenizing STEM Website, in which my student research assistants and I helped faculty members apply decolonial thinking and doing to their own learning and teaching.

I’m excited to apply the lessons learned from this project to my teaching, research, and service at UFV.

CoA: What inspired you to specialize in your field?

Nawal: My research, writing, and teaching are all influenced by my lived experience as a Settler of Palestinian descent. My family left our homeland to avoid living under occupation, but this meant that we came to occupy unceded Indigenous land. As a result, I’ve come to develop a kind of double vision shaped by two instances of settler colonialism. It’s enabled me to critically reflect on my privileged position and responsibilities as a Canadian Settler, while simultaneously binding me in solidarity with Indigenous struggles for decolonization, sovereignty, and justice.

Experiences like mine and countless others are significant to media and communication studies, as it’s through narrative and images that settler colonial power is both sustained and, most importantly, resisted.

CoA: What do you hope your students take away from your classes?

Nawal: Again, I really want my students to gain the confidence to apply what they’re learning in my courses, both inside and outside of the university. This includes nurturing critical thinking and media literacy skills, as well as empathy for and solidarity with those experiencing discrimination, oppression, and/or  injustice.

CoA: Reflecting on your career thus far, what has been the most rewarding aspect of being an educator?

Nawal: I love working closely with students to critically grow their knowledge of themselves, others, and the world and then watching them use their learning to create a generative life for all.

CoA: If you could leave a lasting message or piece of advice for your students and community, what would it be?

Nawal: My late Masters supervisor, Dr. William L. Cleveland, always told me that “the beautiful things are difficult.” Although I think the phrase originates from an ancient Greek proverb, he meant that the most significant and rewarding things you’ll do in life will also be the most challenging and risky. He was right! It’s undoubtedly the best and most inspiring advice I’ve ever received, and it continues to motivate not only my research, writing, and teaching, but also my entire life.

 

Dr. Nawal Musleh-Motut brings more than knowledge to the classroom—she brings vision. In her work, media becomes a mirror, a window, and a tool for change. Her teaching isn’t just about information—it’s about imagination, resistance, and the courage to build better futures.

Through her courses at UFV, students are not only invited to examine the world—but to shape it.

May 2025 News | Faculty Projects, Interviews and Publications

May News at the College of Arts

Check out what our faculty at the College of Arts have been up this month!

From exciting projects to new publications, read more about their work and connect with us to learn more about the College of Arts.

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College of Arts

School of Culture, Media and Society (SCMS)

  • Dr. Michael Corman, Associate Professor of Sociology, attended the Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching in Calgary. The theme was Reassessing Assessment in Postsecondary Education, and his experience raised lots of reflections as phenomenological look at students’ experiences of “ungrading”.
  • Dr. Corman also presented at the 2025 UBC Seminar on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization in the Life Sciences. His presentation, Blues Run the Game: Moving Beyond the Tyranny of the Bio-Psycho-Medico, drew from his long-standing research into paramedicine and healthcare systems. He argued for a more sociologically-informed approach that attends to systemic and social determinants of health in education and practice.
  • Dr. Michael Corman, Associate Professor, Sociology, published the article: Corman, M., Phillips, P., and McCann, L. (Forthcoming). The Future of Paramedic Education: Problematizing the Translucent Curriculum in Paramedicine. Paramedicine (‘The Future of Paramedicine’ – Special Issue).

Criminology and Criminal Justice

History

  • Dr. Barbara Messamore, Professor, published the book Times of Transformation: The 1921 Canadian General Election with UBC Press as part of the Turning Point Elections series.
  • Dr. Alessandro Tarsia, Assistant Professor, presented the paper The Colonial Tobacco Invasion and Terraforming of Semá:th Xó:tsa (Sumas Lake) at the BC Studies Conference hosted by UBC on May 2, 2025.
  • Dr. Chris Hyland, Limited Term Appointment Instructor, presented the paper Truth and Reconciliation at Alexander College at the Canadian Historians of Education Association conference in Ottawa in October 2024.

Political Science

  • Dr. Hamish Telford, Associate Professor, was interviewed by CNN regarding the Canadian Liberal Party’s search for a new leader to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

CHASI 

Curiosity and courage: Sue Hampton’s formula for embracing the unknown

Susan Hampton's picture

Curiosity and courage: Sue Hampton’s formula for embracing the unknown

Susan Hampton's pictureFeaturing: Susan Hampton (Sue), Assistant Professor of Arts and Integrated Studies

From Seoul to Surrey, classrooms to international development, Susan (Sue) Hampton’s career has never followed a straight line. And that’s exactly what she teaches her students: that success often comes from embracing the unexpected.

Now an Assistant Professor in the College of Arts at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), Sue brings her global experiences, her deep commitment to adult education, and her passion for critical pedagogy into every lecture, conversation, and curriculum she designs. With roots in psychology and a career journey that spans continents and disciplines, Sue knows firsthand that life doesn’t always come with a clear blueprint — and that’s something to celebrate.

In this conversation, we hear from Sue about her unconventional path, the values that drive her work, and the advice she hopes her students carry long after their time at UFV.

 

College of Arts: Could you start by sharing a bit about your journey as an educator?

Sue: My journey was definitely non-traditional. I started at UVic as a Psychology major and honestly had no clear career path in mind. After graduating, I moved overseas to teach English in South Korea and Taiwan. I had planned to stay for just a year — and ended up staying seven! I loved teaching far more than I expected.

Back in Canada, I dabbled in international development, and my work at the Coady International Institute is where I really became intrigued by adult education and critical pedagogy. That led me to pursue a Master’s in Educational Leadership at UVic, and since then, I’ve worked in all kinds of educational roles: curriculum development for K-12 sustainability resources, supporting graduate students at SFU, and as an educational developer at UBC. Each step taught me something new — and now I’m thrilled to be back in the classroom working with undergraduates at UFV.

CoA: What inspired you to specialize in your field?

Sue: While at SFU, I was helping graduate students prepare for life beyond their PhDs. Many were feeling anxious about leaving academia, unsure of what their next steps could be. That really opened my eyes to how deeply people struggle with career uncertainty — especially in academic environments.

My doctoral research focused on the career development journeys of PhD students who pursue non-academic careers. Through that, I became immersed in the theories and practices of career education. Now, I use those tools to help all students feel more confident in their evolving career paths.

CoA: What do you hope your students take away from your classes?

Sue: I want them to walk away feeling empowered. I teach Professional Practices courses where we explore not only career development theories like Planned Happenstance, but also the idea that it’s okay — and even beneficial — to not have a perfectly mapped out plan.

I hope they become more confident in their skills and open to trying new things. It’s all about curiosity, taking small risks, and trusting that opportunities will come when you engage with the world around you.

CoA: Reflecting on your career so far, what has been the most rewarding aspect of being an educator?

Sue: Seeing students transform their mindsets. Many come in thinking they need a perfectly mapped-out plan. When I help them realize that careers unfold over time — and that it’s okay not to have all the answers — I see real relief and confidence begin to form.

That transformation, where anxiety gives way to self-assurance and possibility, is the most rewarding part of what I do.

CoA: If you could leave a lasting message or piece of advice for your students and community, what would it be?

Sue: You are not static, and neither is the world. Everything evolves. Let go of the need to control every detail, and remain open to the unexpected. Keep moving forward, even if the path is unclear. Often, the best opportunities show up when you least expect them — and when you’re ready to say “yes.”

 

Sue’s story is a powerful reminder that a meaningful career doesn’t require a perfect plan — just a willingness to stay curious, take chances, and follow where your passions lead. In a world that often demands certainty, Sue champions the courage to embrace change.

Whether she’s guiding students through career theory or encouraging them to try something new, Sue brings wisdom, warmth, and an unwavering belief in the power of possibility.

April 2025 News | Faculty Projects and Publications

April News at the College of Arts

Check out what our faculty at the College of Arts have been up this April 2025!

From exciting projects to new publications, read more about their work and connect with us to learn more about the College of Arts.

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📥 Subscribe to our Arts Newsletter

College of Arts

On April 15, 2025, UFV’s Associate Dean of Social Sciences, Dr. Wade Deisman, was interviewed by CBC News to discuss the federal parties’ platforms on crime and public safety. This followed an announcement from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre regarding his intent to use the notwithstanding clause to allow consecutive life sentences for individuals convicted of multiple murders. Opponents argue that this promise undermines Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Psychology

Andrea Albonico, Assistant Professor, co-authored the article Face and word superiority effects: Parallel effects of visual expertise with Marko (Chi-Wei) Tien and Jason J. S. Barton.

English

Adrea Johnson, Sessional Instructor, co-authored the book Negotiating Feminism and Faith in the Lives and Works of Late Medieval and Early Modern Women with Holly Faith Nelson.

Criminology & Criminal Justice

  • Dr. Jon Heidt, Associate Professor, served as guest editor for a special issue on cannabis policy. Wheeldon, J., & Heidt, J. (2025). Introduction to the special issue on cannabis legalization: Cannabis policy at the twilight of prohibition. Sociological Inquiry, 95(2), 231–234.
  • Dr. Irwin Cohen, Associate Professor, delivered the keynote address “Bridging the Gap: Academia, Policing, and the Pursuit of Safer Communities” at the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts annual training event.
  • Amneet Sran, a Criminal Justice student, presented her research on gender and police attitudes toward intimate partner violence at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. She was supported by Dr. Amanda McCormick, Associate Professor, and Dr. Kevin Burk, Assistant Professor.
  • At the same event, Dr. Amanda McCormick and Dr. Irwin Cohen, along with B. Stickle, B. Vahldiek, and A. Stickle, presented a paper titled Police Perceptions of Risk in Intimate Partner Violence, and Dr. Carlos Ponce, Associate Professor, presented The Silencing of Criminology: Online Attacks on Crime Researchers Under Autocratic Rule in El Salvador.

March 2025 News | Faculty Projects and Publications | UFV College of Arts

March News at the College of Arts

Check out what our faculty at the College of Arts have been up this March 2025!

From exciting projects to new publications, read more about their work and connect with us to learn more about the College of Arts.

🤳 Follow us on Instagram

💼 Follow us on LinkedIn

📥 Subscribe to our Arts Newsletter

Psychology

  • Andrea Albonico, Assistant Professor of Psychology, co-authored Chapter 20 – The Lateralization of Reading in the Handbook of Clinical Neurology – Volume 208, 2025, alongside Jason J.S. Barton and Randi Starrfelt.

Political Science

English

  • Dr. Prabhjot Parmar (English) was a featured speaker at Decolonial Conversations (Western University), exploring the role of Indigenous philosophy and Sufi traditions in resisting colonial power. She also chaired a panel on activism through dress, bodies, and speech.

Criminology and Criminal Justice

February Success Stories

Seasonal Sociology announced as a 2021 PROSE Awards finalist

Social, Cultural & Media Studies (SCMS) Professor Emeritus Dr. Elizabeth Dennis recently co-authored a book chapter in Seasonal Sociology with colleague, Alison Thomas, from Douglas College. On January 21, Seasonal Sociology was announced as a 2021 PROSE Awards finalist in the Social Science Textbook category.

Read moreFebruary Success Stories

5 Tips on How-To Create a Podcast

A podcast can be used to not only showcase and spread the word about your work and make new connections, but it is also a great tool to use in online courses.

As we adjust to the new normal of physical distancing, the time to create a podcast has never been better. It can easily be done online and from a distance.

Below is a listicle highlighting five basic tips to know when creating a podcast.

Read more5 Tips on How-To Create a Podcast

Mapping Ancient Flood Deposits in the Langley Bog: A Student Research Program

J Hughes

Dr. J Hughes, UFV Associate Professor, Geography and the Environment, 2018 

“When I first got to UFV in 2006, retiring professor, Don Tunstall, had left this box of Kodachromes on my desk,” says UFV associate professor Dr. J Hughes, a bio-geographer and paleoecologist in the department of Geography and the Environment.

First used in the 1930s, a Kodachrome is a 35 mm slide used for professional colour photography. “I started looking through them thinking these are kind of interesting” says Hughes. Hughes discovered that the Kodachrome slides had originally come from a local farmer during the 1948 flood, who had recorded images and field notes of damaged properties in the Matsqui and Hatzic areas.

Read moreMapping Ancient Flood Deposits in the Langley Bog: A Student Research Program

Eyém Sqwà:l – UFV’s Literary Café at the Harrison Festival of the Arts

Eyém Sqwà:l = Strong Words @ the Harrison Festival of the Arts

Date: Monday, July 9 at 8:30pm 2018
Location: Memorial Hall

Tickets: Adult $28.00 ($25 til June 22nd)      Student/Senior $25.00 ( $23 til June 22nd)

UFV’s Literary Café at the Harrison Festival of the Arts offers an intimate opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the West Coast’s brightest writers and poets.

This year’s theme Eyém Sqwà:l : Strong Words, celebrates the voices of two powerful Stó:lō multi-media artists and their oral, performance-based style, along with world-renowned spoken word artist, Shane Koyczan who has been called the “poet of our generation.”

KELIYA

Keliya is a poet, screenwriter, filmmaker and hip hop artist from the Stó:lō Nation. She is also a graduate from the UBC Film Studies Bachelor of Arts program and aims to tell stories about her people that are not only modern and traditional, but also from an Aboriginal perspective.

Keliya has travelled across Canada and the US performing for communities and youth. These are the people for whom she makes her art and she is passionate about spreading messages of empowerment and love in this way.

OSTWELVE

Ronnie Dean Harris aka Ostwelve is a Stó:lō /St’át’imc/Nlaka’pamux multimedia artist based in Vancouver, BC. He has worked as an actor and composer on the APTN/Showcase TV series, Moccasin Flats, toured internationally as a hip-hop performer, been a director, programmer and producer for the Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival and is now the Program Director for “Reframing Relations.” This Community Arts Council of Vancouver initiative allows Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to interface with students and youth in schools and communities around the concept of reconciliation. Check out his website @ www.ronniedeanharris.com

SHANE KOYCZAN

Shane Koyczan is an extraordinary talent who has blown the dust off the traditional designation “poet.” He is a writer and multi-media spoken word artist whose work has appeared in print, viral videos, opera and his own furiously-honest, award-winning performances. His first published collection, Visiting Hours, was the only work of poetry selected by both the Guardian and the Globe and Mail for their Best Books of the Year lists in 2005. Koyczan followed up on that success with Stickboy, a novel in verse that chronicled the dark journey of a bullied child. From these words of helpless rage, he was asked to produce the libretto for a full operatic produced by Vancouver Opera in 2014.

Our Deathbeds Will be Thirsty was released in 2012. The book features the piece, “To This Day,” a poem about bullying that went viral on Youtube, receiving over a million views in a matter of days. Most recently Koyczan embarked on a journey to discover his own origin story. One result is the documentary, Shut Up and Say Something, in which he meets his father for the first time. For more information check out: shanekoyczan.com