Faculty and Staff
Mika Elovaara, Ph.D.
Lecturer in Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) and Assistant Director, GLS Program
Office: Bear Hall, Room 105A
Voice: 910.962.2427
FAX: 910.962.3542
E-mail: elovaaram AT uncw DOT edu
GLS Courses
- GLS 502: Contemporary Issues in Liberal Studies
- GLS 544: Topics in Literature: War
- GLS 545: Author Focus: Stephen King
- GLS 546: The Sociology of Athletic Heroes
- GLS 592: The Political Voice of Punk - from Rebellion to Registered Voter
- GLS 592: Star Wars - A Complete Saga?
- GLS 592: Writing with Style
- GLS 592: (Mis)Understanding Music: Hip-Hop, Punk, and Metal
- GLS 592: Periods in Literature: American Romanticism
- GLS 592: Cultural Studies in Music: The Legacy of Legends
Academic Interests
Nonfiction Literature, Punk rock and politics, The culture of heavy metal music, The Beat Generation, Gary Snyder, Stephen King, Representations of modern heroism in contemporary athletes, Sociolinguistics, Various aspects of ESL teaching, The Star Wars saga.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Literature and Cultural Studies, University of Oulu, Finland
- Dissertation: Representations of Modern Athletic Hero, Laudatur (outstanding) Honors
- Major in Literature, Minor in North American Studies,
- Recipient of the Emil Aaltonen Foundation's (Tampere, Finland) Young Researcher's Grant (€ 20,300) 2006 for dissertation work
Master of Arts, English Philology, University of Oulu, Finland
- Master's Thesis with Magna Cum Laude Honors
- Minor in Literature, Minor in North American Studies, Minor in Pedagogical studies
Bachelor of Arts, English Language and Literature, University of North Carolina Wilmington
- Magna Cum Laude Honors
- Recipient of Chancellor's Cup
- Recipient of The Writing Place Outstanding Consultant of the Year 1999
- Recipient of The Office of International Programs Award for Outstanding Leadership and Academic Performance
Publications
ProFiles 1 (Co-author)
WSOY, Finland. January 2008. ISBN: 978-951-0-32062-4
- An advanced-level ESL textbook
ProFiles 1, Teacher's Manual (Co-author)
WSOY, Finland. January 2008. ISBN: 978-951-0-33219-1
ProFiles 1, Tests + Audio materials (Co-author)
WSOY, Finland. January 2008. ISBN: 978-951-0-33220-7 ; ISBN: 978-951-0-33221-4
ProFiles 2 (April 2008) (Co-author)
WSOY, Finland. March 2008
- An advanced-level ESL textbook
Suicidal Alcoholics, Metrosexual Family Men and Other Heroes? - Representations of Modern Athletic Hero
University of Oulu, Finland / Department of Art Studies and Anthropology, May 2007
ISBN: 978-952-92-2051-9
- PhD Dissertation
Wordwise - A student's handbook of spoken and written English (Co-author)
WSOY, Finland. April 2005
ISBN: 978-951-029909-8
- A textbook for teaching English composition and conversation, Finnish Upper Secondary Level
Wordwise, Teacher's Manual (Co-author)
WSOY, Finland. April 2005. ISBN 951-0-29910-3.
Sami Hyypiä - From Voikkaa to the Premiership (translation Fin à Eng)
Mainstream Publishing Ltd., The UK. November 2002
ISBN: 1-84018-686-0
Previous Posts
Senior Lecturer in English and Literature; Head teacher of English, OSYK Senior High School, Oulu, Finland, August 2002 - May 2007
Adjunct Faculty in Literature, University of Oulu, Department of Art Studies and Anthropology, January 2004 - May 2007
Writing instructor, part-time, Nukun Sanataidekoulu, Oulu, Finland, August 2002 - December 2004
Visiting Lecturer in Literature, UNC Wilmington, GLS program, June 2004 - August 2004
Lecturer in English and Physical Education, University of Oulu, Teacher Training College, October 2001 - June 2002
Senior Linguist, CoCom Corporate Communications, April 2000 - July 2001
Leadership
UNCW Graduate Liberal Studies Program
- Assistant Director
- Department Advisory Board member
- Graduate Liberal Studies Student Association, Faculty Advisor
University of North Carolina (16 campuses) Exchange Program Committee
- UNCW Nordic representative, August 2007 -->
OSYK Senior High School, Oulu, Finland
- Member of the administrative team
- Head teacher of English
- English Curriculum design and authoring
- Student Council Faculty Advisor
- Language coordinator in an EU-funded international project 2002 - 2005
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) B-license, soccer coaching
The Finnish Armed Forces, Military Police Company in Lapland's Anti-Aircraft Regiment
- Rovaniemi, Finland: Mandatory Military Service
- Military Policeman of the Year 1999
- Corporal ranking, squad leader.
UNCW Student-Athlete Advisory Council
- Team Representative 1996 - 1999
Language Skills
English, Finnish, German, Swedish, Latin
Athletic Career
Coaching:
UNCW Women's Soccer, assistant coach January 2008 -->
Youth soccer coach (Boys U17), 2004-2007, OLS, Oulu, Finland
Player Career:
Finnish National Men's Division I Soccer 1999 - 2003, OLS, Tervarit, AC Oulu; Oulu, Finland
UNC Wilmington
- Men's Varsity Soccer, NCAA Division I, four-year letterman in 1995 - 1999,
- Team Captain 1998 - 1999
Kastelli Sports High School
- Men's Varsity Soccer, four-year letterman in 1991 - 1995
- Team Captain 1994 - 1995
- Three-time National Champion
Dr. Mika Elovaara, Lecturer and Assistant Director of Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS), began teaching in the GLS program in fall 2007. A four-year letterman and former team captain of the Seahawk soccer team, Dr. Elovaara received his BA from UNCW in 1999, and his MA and PhD from the University of Oulu, Finland. His dissertation, Suicidal Alcoholics, Metrosexual Family Men and Other Heroes? - Representations of Modern Athletic Hero examines the characteristics of modern athletic heroes and the concept of heroism in contemporary mediated culture. Dr. Elovaara's dissertation aroused vast media attention in his native country, Finland, and the evaluation committee was unanimous in granting Dr. Elovaara an outstanding grade for his dissertation work. In 2006, Dr. Elovaara was the Recipient of the substantial Emil Aaltonen Foundation's (Tampere, Finland) Young Researcher's Grant. He has also published ESL textbooks and worked as a translator for a number of years.
Last Update: November 17, 2011