There’s a new assistant professor in the English department at
Finlandia University this fall, and he’ll be teaching those students who are interested in literature and writing classes.
Mark Lounibos, who has a bachelor of arts in English from Fordham University and a master’s degree in English from Binghampton University, recently completed his PH.D. in English literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His doctoral research, according to Finlandia University, investigated the relationship between religious dissent and British romantic literature, and particularly the ways in which dissenters wrote about their persecution and suffering in order to define and sustain their community identities.
"Lately, I’ve begun to focus on community writing projects, particularly memoir and autobiography and involving senior citizens, to consider how such work might inform our understanding of the importance of the Humanities today," Lounibos says.
Lounibos has instructed English and writing at Madison Area Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Elmira College, and Tompkins-Cortland Community College.
His teaching philosophy is student-centered and focused on collaborative knowledge production.
"Above all else I love teaching, and I’m excited to begin my career here at Finlandia University where the importance of community engagement and holistic education are primary values," he says.
Lounibos was born in the Bronx, New York, but has been gravitating north and west ever since. He has lived in Vermont, upstate New York, and, most recently Madison. His connections to the Upper Peninsula include a family friend in Hancock and vacations in the Porcupine Mountains.
Lounibos and his wife, Amanda, live in Hancock. They have three children, ages seven, three, and one. In his free time, Lounibos likes to be with his family, read speculative fiction, play soccer, hike, ski and canoe.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Mark Lounibos, Finlandia University
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