Dr Charles Lowe obtained his Bachelor ' s Degree in English and Economics from Drew University , USA , and a PhD degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst . After being a visiting faculty member at universities in New York and Shanghai , he began to lecture in Zhuhai as an Associate Professor as well as the Programme Director of Contemporary English Language and Literature . He is now Associate Dean of UIC ' s Division of Humanities and Social Sciences . His research interests include Victorian Literature , Creative Writing , American Literature and Modernist Literatures .
Hobbies … Charles : Swimming is becoming my hobby . Zhuhai ' s weather is nice . It ' s a good exercise . I like all kinds of music . I like Jazz : Miles Davis , John Coltrane ... I like some folk like Bob Dylan , and many different pieces . Uche : I love sports and I like walking , and jogging . I like to play ping pong and football as well . Nigeria is a football nation and has produced top players . I enjoy watching such as Jay-Jay Okocha . Nwankwo Kanu too was fantastic in his prime . He played for Arsenal and I ' m an Arsenal fan , but generally I love clubs that play good football .
Favourite books … Charles : My dissertation was on Thomas Hardy . I like his reading . I have a long list of works and people who I like . Some of the people I know are very good authors and are people from whom I can learn a lot . I have always been intimidated by people who are well-known ; however , I was actually surprised to find a lot of the times they are generous because they have reached a certain point of their career . They are actually helpful and generous so more than just spirit . Recently I ' m reading War and Peace , Russian literature ; I enjoy it . Uche : Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe , a Nigerian novelist , but he ' s passed away . This book was about colonial days in Nigeria , the relationship between Christianity and tribal rules in those days and how they influenced the local culture . It ' s been adapted in many countries . I like it because it ' s about culture , modernism , learning about whom you are , how foreign cultures influenced and then restructured most of the things we knew and in fact abandoned most of them .
New roles … Charles : I ' m responsible to assist the dean in helping run the division . I attend committee meetings and give feedback . I also help maintain the records and do a lot of the bureaucratic labour , which is important , like working behind the scenes . I also help her in whichever way she wishes me to and as much as I can . This semester we will continue to adapt to our students ' needs and always increase in the quality of teaching . Uche : My key role is to support the dean and the division in ensuring that it runs based on objectives and targets that are set out , and my duties come in different forms . Currently , I am working on several initiatives including the plans to develop a new programme and to streamline some activities across all the programmes in the division related to course administration . I am also assisting with the plans and guidelines being outlined to ensure that the key aspects and activities of the new programmes , E-Business Management and Information Systems , and Marketing Management remain smooth .
Accomplishments … Charles : I feel accomplished when as a teacher , I feel my students are learning and our classes are a positive place . As a writer , I create something that people find fulfilling and fit for them in whatever way . They wish to experience a story and when you write something it ' s always in the readers ' hands . So when someone can find something meaningful in whatever form , I feel
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