Marc Liam Toolan
Lecturer for English
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University Education
- Sep 2003 – Sep 2004: MA in Film Production and Film Studies at University College Dublin, Ireland.
Courses of Major Interest: British Cinema, Documentary, German post-war cinema.
Master's Thesis: New German Cinema: Confronting Reality Through Film in The Federal Republic of Germany. - Sep 1999 – June 2003: MA in English Language and Literature at University of St Andrews, Scotland.
Courses of Major Interest: Tragedy in the Age of Shakespeare, Revolution and Romanticism: Literature, History and Society, Contemporary Fiction, Shakespeare and Film, Philosophy of Film.
Master's Thesis: Woody Allen and the Rise of the Auteur in 20th Century Cinema.
Work Experience
| Oct ’14 - Present | Lecturer for English at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Hamburg
Core responsibilities: Developing and teaching eight Sprachpraxis seminars (16 SWS) each semester for B.A./M.A./B.Ed./M.Ed. students in the institute. Revising and adapting the core curriculum in recent years to accommodate the modernisation of our degree programs. Conducting language assessments for students seeking a DAAD language certificate. Advising students on studying abroad. |
| April ’12 – Mar ’14 | Lecturer for English at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Hamburg
Core responsibilities: Developing and teaching eight Sprachpraxis seminars (16 SWS) each semester for B.A./M.A./M.Ed. students in the institute. Creating and teaching a seminar on hip hop for the institute’s American Studies program entitled: ‘From Hip Hop to No Hope: The Commodification of Street Culture’. |
| Sep ’10 – Mar ’13 | Assistant language lecturer (Lehrbeauftragter) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) (4 SWS)
Core responsibilities: Creating and developing an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program for the first cohort of doctoral students at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. Teaching a weekly class for up to twenty doctoral candidates to improve their academic writing and speaking skills. Preparing poster presentations for academic conferences. |
| April ’09 – Mar ’12 | Assistant language lecturer (Lehrbeauftragter) for English at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Hamburg
Core responsibilities: Teaching two Sprachpraxis seminars (4 SWS) each semester for B.A./M.A./M.Ed. students in the institute. Creating and teaching a film seminar for the institute’s British Studies program entitled ‘British Film in Thatcher’s Britain’. |
| Oct ’09 – July ’10 | Assistant language lecturer (Lehrbeauftragter) at the University of Potsdam (12 SWS)
Core responsibilities: Preparing and teaching both compulsory Sprachpraxis seminars for students studying English, and UNIcert classes for students from a wide variety of disciplines. |
| Oct ’09 – Dec ’09 | Assistant language lecturer (Lehrbeauftragter) at Humboldt University (4 SWS)
Core responsibilities: Preparing and teaching both UNIcert II & UNIcert III classes at the university’s Sprachenzentrum. The classes were attended by students from a wide variety of disciplines. |
| Jan '05 – Mar ’12 | Freelance proof-reader of academic texts. Clients included university professors.
Tasks: Reviewing and consulting on academic papers and peer-review articles |
Mittelbau - Academic Service
Jan 2024 – April ’25 Hiring committee, Creative Writing, permanent position (75%)
Dec 2023 – June ’24 Hiring committee, Sprachpraxis, permanent position (50%) - B.Ed./M.Ed.
Sep 2023 – Present Hiring committee, Professorship (W3) in American Studies
Nov 2023 – Feb ’24 Hiring committee, Sprachpraxis, permanent position (100%)
Jun 2023 – Sep ’23 Interim evaluation committee, junior professor in American Studies
Apr 2022 – May ’23 Hiring committee, Professorship (W2) in British or American Studies
Sep 2020 – Mar ’21 Hiring committee, English Linguistics, permanent position (50%)
Apr 2020 – Aug ’20 Hiring committee, Sprachpraxis, permanent position (50%) - B.Ed./M.Ed.
Oct 2014 – Present Erasmus selection committee, Institute of English and American Studies
International Academic Cooperation
2025-2026: Linguistic Landscapes within the EUGLOH Framework: Best Practices in Multilingual-Awareness Raising Strategies in Foreign Language and Translation Courses
The project brings together members of Universidad de Alcalá, the University of Hamburg, the University of Porto and the University of Paris-Saclay. Members will develop a common methodology, based on Linguistic Landscapes, that will be incorporated into foreign language and translation courses. The expected learning outcome is the creation of collaborative digital maps that integrate Linguistic Landscapes from the different geographical backgrounds of the universities participating in the project, which will be available in the different languages of the project (German, Spanish, French, English and Portuguese). The project will promote teacher exchanges between these universities, improve innovative teaching practices and students' cross-cultural skills. It will ultimately contribute to the internationalisation of the humanities degrees offered within the EUGLOH network.
Digital Teaching
I have spent the past 16 years integrating online platforms such as AGORA and Moodle into my teaching practice. I make extensive use of online academic guides such as Purdue’s OWL and the University of Manchester’s Academic Phrasebank in my undergraduate seminars which have a primary focus on academic writing. My M.Ed. seminars make extensive use of the University of Cambridge’s English Vocabulary Profile and English Grammar Profile. The New Yorker’s superb ‘Comma Queen’ video series is also an online tool that I make frequent use of. My intermediate academic writing courses engage with online research tools such as Mendeley, Connected Papers, and ResearchRabbit. All of my teaching materials are made available to my students digitally, something that ensured a relatively smooth transition to online teaching during the pandemic.
Qualifications
- Broadcast/Film
- Trained Camera Operator (film & digital) and Assistant Director
- Computer-Literacy:
- Word, Excel, Power Point, editing programmes (e.g. Final Cut Pro)
- Detailed understanding of E-Learning-Platforms such as AGORA and Moodle and a good working understanding of STINE.
- Excellent knowledge of online resources and in-class implementation.
- Good working knowledge of Adobe InDesign.
Publications
Articles in internationally distributed magazines. In November 2010, I founded an English language event guide and literary journal with undergraduate students at the University of Hamburg. ‘tbaJournal’ is a monthly online magazine that gives students the opportunity to write articles about the cultural life of the city as well as short stories. I have been editing the magazine from the early months of 2011, and to date we have published some 280 articles (www.tbajournal.com)
Languages
English Proficient (mother tongue)
German Upper Intermediate
Gaelic Advanced
Spanish Elementary
Extracurricular Activities
I cofounded a reading circle in August of 2022 with students from multiple faculties. We meet once a week to discuss texts outside of the confines of a traditional seminar. More than 35 students have participated since its launch, and the group has also attended and organised multiple academic and cultural events since its founding.