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

14 connections

Industry

Writing and Editing

John Tanke’s Summary

After receiving my B.A. in English from U.C. Berkeley, and my Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Cornell, I began my professional career as an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Michigan, then as Visiting Assistant Professor at Union College in upstate New York. At Michigan I designed and taught courses on college writing, surveys of medieval and Renaissance literature, and graduate courses on Old English, among other subjects. At Union I added courses on Chaucer and Shakespeare to my repertoire. In nine years as an Assistant 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 S.F. Bay Area, I’ve worked as a freelance writer for Wadsworth/Cengage Learning (formerly Houghton Mifflin College Division), a salesperson/demonstrator in the field of computer software, and an online writing tutor for students in South Korea, among other jobs. For the second half of my career, I’m looking in two different, though related, directions: for an editorial or marketing position in higher education publishing or online learning, or a similar position that involves both German and English. With my background as a scholar, teacher, and writer/editor, together with my near-native fluency in German, I would make a valuable asset to companies or organizations in either of these areas.

John Tanke’s Specialties:

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

John Tanke’s Experience

• Freelance Writer/Editor

  Cengage Learning

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

  March 2006 — Present (3 years 5 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 2009 (2 years 1 month)

  * Demonstrated Elgato's EyeTV software at the Macworld Convention (1/8-1/12/2007, 1/14-1/18/2008, and 1/5-1/9/2009).

• 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)

John Tanke’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch