University of Michigan - Flint

University of Michigan-Flint

Ms. Cathy Akers-Jordan

Lecturer; Web Master for English Dept., CAS Dean's Office, and the Honors Program

Campus Phone: (810) 762-3477

E-mail: cakers@umflint.edu

Web page: http://spruce.flint.umich.edu/~cakers


Education

Master of Liberal Studies, American Culture, University of Michigan-Flint, December 1998

Thesis: Ellery Queen: Forgotten Master Detective.  (A critical study of the works of Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee and their influence on the detective fiction genre.)

Bachelor of Arts, English and Psychology (double-major), University of Michigan-Flint, January 1986

Post graduate work in
~ Teaching Online
~ Problems in Teaching English
~ Rhetorical Theory and the Teaching of Writing
~ Computers and Writing: Theory and Practice
~ Composition Theory

Specializations/Areas of Interest

Writing: Technical Writing, Web Page Design

Literature: Detective/Mystery Fiction, Medieval Literature, The Lord of the Rings

History: RMS Titanic, Egyptology

Publications/Current Research

"The Light of Stars: Frodo's Elvish Air." Presented at Mythcon 37, The Mythopoeic Society’s Annual Conference XXXVII, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK, 4-7 August 2006.

“Fairy Princess or Tragic Heroine? The Metamorphosis of Arwen Undómiel in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Films.” Tolkien in Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Janet B. Croft, ed. San Francisco: Mythopoeic Press, 2004.

Locked Below? An Analysis of Class Separation Gates on the RMS Titanic.” Presented at the Titanic Symposium at the Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, ME April 23-25, 2004. (This is a huge PowerPoint presentation of my current research project.)

“True Course.” with Captain Charles Weeks, Jr. The Encyclopedia Titanica. <http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/articles/true_course.pdf> December 9, 2003. (This is a Titanic research site which also publishes new research. You do not have to be a member to use the Encyclopedia or read the articles.)

Courses I Teach

Eng. 111 College Rhetoric
Eng. 112 Critical Reading & Writing
Eng./Com. 338 Business Communications
Eng. 345 Technical Writing
Eng. 354 Public and Professional Writing
Eng. 390 Directed Reading
Eng. 391 Advanced Technical Writing
Eng. 399 Directed Expository Writing