John Tanke

Current

Freelance Writer/Editor at Cengage Learning

Past

Presenter/Sales Representative at Elgato Systems
Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Union College
Assistant Professor of English at University of Michigan

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Education

Cornell University
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
University of California, Berkeley

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Recommended

1 person has recommended John

Connections

15 connections

Industry

Writing and Editing

John Tanke’s Summary

After receiving my B.A. from U.C. Berkeley, and my Ph.D. from Cornell University, I began my professional career as an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Michigan. At Michigan I designed and taught courses on college writing and writing about literature, surveys of medieval and Renaissance literature, and graduate courses in Old English. As a Visiting Professor at Union College, I added courses on Chaucer and Shakespeare to my teaching repertoire. In my nine years as a professor (1993-2002), I served on department committees, advised undergraduates and Ph.D. candidates, published three major articles, and delivered seven presentations at academic conferences in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Since moving back to the Bay Area in 2005, I’ve worked as a salesperson/presenter in the field of computer software, an online writing tutor for students in South Korea, and a freelance writer for Wadsworth/Cengage Learning (formerly Houghton Mifflin College Division). With my background as a scholar, teacher, and writer/editor, I am looking for a full-time editorial or marketing position in Higher Education publishing or Online Learning.

John Tanke’s Specialties:

Teaching and presenting, writing and editing in the Humanities and Social Sciences; German-to-English translation.

John Tanke’s Experience

Freelance Writer/Editor

Cengage Learning

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Publishing industry)

March 2006 — Present (2 years 9 months)

* Authored online descriptions for primary sources in "A History of Western Society," 9ed. by John P. McKay et al. (Houghton Mifflin, 2008).
* Authored 16-page geography supplement, with analytical introductions and focus questions to seven full-page world history maps, for "Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History," by Craig A. Lockard (Houghton Mifflin, 2008).
* Revised six chapters in accordance with new editorial protocols for introductions, focus questions, chapter summaries, and illustrations, for "The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History," 4ed. by Richard A. Buillet et al. (Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
Presenter/Sales Representative

Elgato Systems

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Software industry)

January 2007 — January 2008 (1 year 1 month)

* Demonstrated Elgato's EyeTV software at the Macworld Convention (1/8-1/12/2007 and 1/14-1/18/2008).
Visiting Assistant Professor of English

Union College

(Educational Institution; 51-200 employees; Higher Education industry)

August 1999 — July 2002 (3 years)

* Designed and taught courses in Freshman composition, Chaucer, and Shakespeare, as well as surveys of medieval and Renaissance literature, and courses on special topics.
* Advised Freshmen and supervised Senior Honors Theses.
Assistant Professor of English

University of Michigan

(Educational Institution; 10,001 or more employees; Higher Education industry)

August 1993 — July 1999 (6 years)

* Designed and taught a range of courses, including college writing, introduction to literature, surveys of medieval and Renaissance literature, courses on special topics, and graduate courses in Old English and Old Norse language and literature.
* Served as Doctoral Committee member for two successful Ph.D. candidates.
* Served on departmental committees including Graduate Admissions and Undergraduate Composition.
* Reviewed articles submitted for publication to Michigan Germanic Studies.

John Tanke’s Education

Cornell University

Ph.D., Medieval Studies (English and Germanic Literature), 1985 — 1993
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

German literature 1984 — 1985

Activities and Societies:

Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
University of California, Berkeley

B.A., English, 1979 — 1984

Activities and Societies:

University Symphony Orchestra (trumpet)