Unlike many who study law, professor Shannon Hoctor has never practiced law. Instead, he found a passion for teaching and researching law. He spoke with SMF News’ Daniela Botha about his journey in law and the man he is outside of the legal fraternity.
Professor Shannon Hoctor is a professor in the department of public law at Stellenbosch University. “I had one foot in psychology and one foot in law, which probably contributes to the fact that I ended up in criminal [law],” he says. “I’m interested in knowing why people do things.” PHOTO: Daniela Botha
Nestled in the corner of Stellenbosch University’s (SU) law building, the Ou Hoofgebou, is the office of a law professor. As you enter his office, it becomes apparent that professor Shannon Hoctor is passionate about research and teaching.
Tall, overflowing bookshelves line the walls, and the desk is scattered with an assortment of sticky notes, textbooks being reworked, and student exam papers.
An unlikely path to lecturing
Shannon never intended to be a professor of law.
“Like a lot of people, [law] wasn’t my plan,” he says. “I was going to do medicine.”
Shannon always had an interest in languages and in history. Ultimately, advice from a career guidance counsellor set him on the path of studying law.
He also never intended to end up in academia.
“I was going to do the practical route: become an attorney, network, become an advocate, make lots of money,” he says. “But then I got caught in the joy of research and I got a bit of teaching experience, and I’ve never looked back.”
“People often ask me: ‘Have you practiced?’. But I haven’t practiced because I just realised that’s actually not what I wanted to do,” says Shannon. “I never quite left university.”
Today, Shannon is a professor in the department of public law at SU, teaching various modules in criminal justice.
“It was one of those things where I just connected with criminal law,” he says. “I had an excellent teacher, and he just made it come alive for me and made me say: ‘This is really amazing’.”
This teacher was professor Solly Lehman, who had studied at Stellenbosch under what Shannon calls “one of the most important teachers of law [at Stellenbosch], professor JC de Wet”.
Professor Shannon Hoctor joined Stellenbosch University in 2021. He teaches various criminal justice modules to first-year and third-year students, and is also responsible for various masters courses at the law department. PHOTO: Daniela Botha
“Lehman was a great teacher. I think that’s also what infused me with an idea of, well, ‘that’s something you can do’,” he says. “You can really inspire people, because I’ve been inspired, and I’ve been mentored.”
His wife, Michelle Hoctor, confirms Shannon’s passion for teaching.
“Shannon has always approached his work with integrity and passion,” she says.
After completing his doctorate in the Netherlands, Shannon returned to South Africa.
“When I came back, I was almost 30 years old, and I hadn’t worked yet,” he says. “And my parents were like: ‘Are you ever going to get a job?’.”
He taught at the old University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) for six years before taking on a professorial post at the then University of Natal, which he held for 19 years.
“I always joked that I was kind of progressively moving east, you know, so the next step was the University of Mauritius,” he recalls. “But, no, instead I moved all the way back.”
He joined SU’s law faculty in the middle of 2021.
Adjusting to a new South Africa
Shannon, the eldest of two boys, was “Cape born and bred”, as he spent most of his upbringing in the Western Cape with a few years in Johannesburg, due to his father’s work.
Shannon went on to study BA LLB, as well as an LLM, at the University of Cape Town (UCT), while his brother went off to SU to study a Bachelor of Arts.
Shannon’s time at UCT was incredibly influential in shaping his understanding of South Africa.
“When I got to UCT, coming from quite a sheltered environment, everything changed,” he says. “The state of emergency was announced, and you could stand on the top of what was then known as Jami stairs. You looked over Cape Town, and you just saw townships burning, and we had police coming onto campus. It was wild.”
“There was a very steep learning curve in terms of realising there’s a lot of stuff going on in South Africa that you just didn’t know about because you didn’t talk about it,” says Shannon.
Today, Shannon heads the South African Law Reform Commission’s project of reviewing colonial and apartheid era laws.
“The great thing about law is that if it’s appropriate, it reflects society,” says Shannon. “We’re looking at what legislation was still kind of unreformed, not useful, and didn’t fit with the constitutional values.”
Professor Shannon Hoctor says that when teaching a content-heavy subject like law, it’s important to stimulate the students’ intellectual curiosity. “You make them understand that actually their opinion [on the content they are learning] matters and you help them to get a picture, perhaps, of where this is all going,” he says. PHOTO: Daniela Botha
Life outside the profession
Outside of being a professor, Shannon is a family man at heart. He has two daughters, both attending SU. His youngest daughter, Eliana Hoctor, remembers how her dad has always been there for her.
“Whether it was watching my hockey games in primary school or attending my concerts in high school or helping me with my academics,” she says. “Even if he has a lot of work or external pressures, he will still make time for me.”
Kezia Hoctor, his eldest, says that she has inherited her dad’s sense of humor.
“We love making pun-believably good puns to each other and enjoy laughing at them after a long day of studies and work,” she says.
It was quite an adjustment for Shannon to go from growing up with a brother to now living in a female-dominated household.
“Even when they were little, I thought I can rationally deal with [their] problems. I can work this out,” he says. “And you just see their eyes kind of blazing over: ‘This guy does not understand what’s going on here. He does not get the emotional depth required to resolve this problem’.”
Yet, Michelle describes her husband as kind, light-hearted, and thoughtful.
Professor Shannon Hoctor has a deep appreciation for wines, especially darker grapes. However, his wife does not share the same sentiment. “To convince my wife to be my drinking partner, [the wine] can’t be too heavy,” says Shannon. “If I settle down with a [Cabernet Sauvignon], then I’m kind of on my own.” PHOTO: Daniela Botha
A note to his students
Shannon recalls moments lecturing his students fondly. Most memorable for him is the moment in the classroom “whenever you see the lights go on”, he says.
“Some of these [teachings] are quite complex notions, but you just get the idea sometimes of when actually they’ve got it, and that’s wonderful,” he says.
Eliana began her BAccLLB degree at Stellenbosch this year and had her dad as her lecturer for a mini lecture series. While some students might shy away from admitting this, Eliana is proud to have her dad as her lecturer.
“It has been really amazing to be at the same university that he works at,” says Eliana. “I have been able to have him as one of my lecturers for one of my law modules, and it has been really interesting to see his lecturer side to him – he is an incredible lecturer.”
When speaking about his love for teaching and research, it is apparent that, for Shannon, it is all about the way he is able to change and impact lives.
“There’s that feeling of legacy,” he says. “That part of what you’re doing is impacting the lives of others. People who will go beyond what you’re doing. I’m in my little room here, but there are others who will go out and achieve great things in law and in society. To have been a part of that is a wonderful thought.”
Professor Shannon Hoctor’s credo to his students is to think deeply, think critically, and think for themselves. PHOTO: Daniela Botha