Rebecca Sammel, PhD

Rebecca Sammel, PhD

Associate Professor
English, Literature, and World Languages
Phone: (231) 591-3073
Email: [email protected]

Education

• PhD, University of California, Davis, English
• MA, University of California, Davis, English
• MA, University of Toronto, Medieval Studies, languages, culture, literature, history

Biography

Profile
Dr. Sammel's dissertation research explored medieval parody in Middle English, Medieval Latin, Middle Welsh and Old French.
Following a year of research in Medieval and Renaissance Culture at Keble College, Oxford University, in England, Dr. Sammel was awarded a year-long Fulbright Teaching Fellowship teaching English Language and Literature at the Université de Bordeaux, France.
She's had many adventures traveling and says that the best adventures befall you when you travel with an open mind, try to learn the language, and get to know the inhabitants. She has lived in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Iran, Canada, England and France, and she has visited Nepal, Kashmir, Turkey, Greece (including sailing the Ionian Sea), Europe, Papua New Guinea, Australia, the Fiji Islands, Scandinavia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Ghana, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and other countries. An avid traveler, Dr. Sammel sojourns abroad when possible and loves to explore different cultures. She encourages her students to travel to other continents with an open mind and positive attitude, whenever and wherever possible. One of her favorite benefits of teaching is reading the travel blogs of her students abroad. She dislikes shopping and most TV; she enjoys backpacking,
rock climbing, kayaking, skiing, touch football, snowshoe backpacking, tubing and playing any sport except basketball (she's 5'3").
Professor Sammel was voted Outstanding Professor by the Honors Program Students in 2018.
Dr. Sammel is on the Steering Committee for Globalization Initiative, an interdisciplinary group of Ferris faculty, staff and students working to raise awareness of globalization here on campus. She is an organizer for "Critical Encounters with Globalization," bringing experts from industry and academia for presentations and dialogue with the Ferris community. To suggest a speaker or topic, email Dr. Sammel at [email protected].

Presentations

• Paper
  Marquard, D. (Presenter), Courtright-Nash, D. (Presenter), Sammel, R. (Presenter), Webb, T. (Presenter), Michigan College English Association Conference, "Revising and Rethinking the English Major: A Roundtable Presentation," Ypsilanti, MI, (2017).
• Panel
  Courtright-Nash, D., Marquard, D. (Presenter), Sammel, R. (Presenter), Webb, T. (Presenter), Authority and Agency in Divisive Times, “Reframing and Revising the English Major: A Proposed Response to Stagnant and Declining Enrollment Numbers in English Programs.” Michigan College English Association, Ypsilanti, MI, (October 27, 2017).
• Oral Presentation
  Sammel, R. (Presenter), Courtright-Nash, D. (Presenter), Webb, T. (Presenter), Marquard, D. (Presenter), Panel, “Revising the Program Core,” Eastern Michigan University, (October 27, 2017).
• Paper
  Sammel, R. (Presenter), Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching, “The Problem of the Personal Narrative in Freshman Composition,” Washington D.C, (May 31, 2012).
• Paper
  Sammel, R. (Presenter), International Congress on Medieval Studies, “St Jerome vs. Bernard Silvestris: Discipline, Anxiety, and Medieval Negotiations of Natura,” Western Michigan University, (May 2012).
• Paper
  Sammel, R. (Presenter), Peace Studies Conference, “Keeping it Real in the Liberal Arts: Incorporating Discussion of Global Inequities in a World Folk Literature Course,” Grand Rapids Community College, (September 27, 2010).