Faculty Digest
American Studies
Kevin Britz is offering two new courses in American studies. The first is a senior seminar called "Museums and Memory." The students will create an exhibit on the effects of World War II in Knox County for the Knox County Historical Society. The exhibit will open in the spring of 2005. The second course, "The West and American Culture," explores the creation, application, and continuing role of the Western myth. Britz participated in the creation of a comprehensive plan for the management of historic resources in the city of Deadwood, South Dakota. He will be the keynote speaker for the seventy-fifth anniversary celebration of the Adams Museum in Deadwood, speaking on the topic "The Days of 76 Celebration, the Adams Museum, and the Birth of Tourism in Deadwood." Affiliated Scholar Pamela Hollie attended a workshop on Environment, Culture, and Development in East Asia at Ohio Wesleyan University October 14-16. The workshop was sponsored by the Asia Studies Development Program, a joint venture of the East-West Center and the University of Hawaii through a grant from the Freeman Foundation. Hollie is currently consulting on projects involving nonprofit organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Asia and is also a consultant for Microsoft in Asia. Hollie presented "Brown v. Board: A Personal Journey" during Common Hour on December 7. Last year, 2004, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal." Hollie is from Topeka, Kansas, where the case began its journey to the Supreme Court, and was among the first black children to integrate white schools. Sarah Kaplan, Kenyon's Dissertation Fellow in American studies, has been appointed vice chair of the Modern Language Association's Committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Profession and will assume the chair in 2005. She presented papers at the American Studies and Modern Language Association's annual meetings this past fall. Peter M. Rutkoff and his longtime coauthor William B. Scott have received word that the Department of Education has awarded their Teaching American History Project $1 million for the next three years. The grant will support their work with the Cleveland Municipal School District in a hands-on American-history project that is a direct outgrowth of North by South, a course they taught at Kenyon. Rutkoff's new book, The Last Hedgerow, short stories by Harry Rutkoff (1912-1949) and Peter, was published by XOXOX, a small press run by Jerry Kelly '95 and based in Gambier. Rutkoff found three of his father's war stories and added a story of his own for this book.
Anthropology
Kenneth Smail provided the concluding article in the September/October 2004 special "Population Issue" of World-Watch magazine. The title of Smail's contribution, "Global Population Reduction: Confronting the Inevitable," reflects the neo-Malthusian approach to global overpopulation and finite ecological limits that he has been articulating in a series of essays and papers over the past decade.
Art
A recent performance of Sergei Prokofiev's Opus 39 by Ensemble United Berlin, conducted by Andreas Brautigam, was accompanied by a video projection created by Claudia Esslinger. The video featured performances and technical contributions by Kenyon students, faculty members, and staff members. The Ensemble performed at the Intersonanzen Festival in Rathaus, Potsdam, Germany, on October 29, 2004. Marcella Hackbardt's show "Feminist Expressions in Art" was exhibited at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, during the month of November.
Art History
The volume Sarah Blick co-edited with Rita Tekippe, Art and Architecture of Late Medieval Pilgrimage in Northern Europe and the British Isles, was published in November 2004 by Brill Academic Press in Leiden, Holland. Blick is also editing a collection of essays titled Beyond Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges: Essays in Honor of Brian Spencer. Spencer, who died last year, was the keeper of medieval collections at the Museum of London. The volume will be published in 2006. Eugene Dwyer has been invited to present a paper at a conference on The Fragmented Figure, organized by the Centre for Ceramics Studies at the Cardiff School of Art and Design in Wales, United Kingdom, in June 2005.
Biology
Robert Mauck has been named director of the Bowdoin College Scientific Station at Kent Island through 2008. Mauck does research on Kent Island each summer and takes a Kenyon student with him to assist in the work. Joan Slonczewski reports that the biology department has received a $1.5-million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The grant will enable Kenyon to establish a math center for students in science courses, to participate in a collaborative research program with the University of Wisconsin, Madison, on DNA microarrays, and to create a new tenure-track position in biological physics. Slonczewski published a landmark DNA array study on pH-regulated genes in Escherichia coli with student coauthor Lisa Maurer '04, Microbiology Research Associate Elizabeth Yohannes, and former Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Biology Michael Radmacher. A followup study of anaerobic E. Coli by Everett Hayes '05 is in the analysis stage. She has completed all but the final chapter of the manuscript for her textbook Microbiology: A Genomic Perspective, coauthored with John Foster of the University of South Alabama. Wade Powell attended the World Congress of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Portland, Oregon, in November with his lab students. Emelyne Dengler '05 and Blythe Philips '05 presented a paper titled "Aryl hydrocarbon receptor expression precedes CYPIA inducibility by dioxin during Xenopus laevis development."
Chemistry
Scott Cummings attended the Project Kaleidoscope Faculty for the 21st Century National Assembly in Dallas, Texas, October 15-17. The meeting focused on "three dimensions of leadership" to improve science education in the United States. He presented a talk at Ohio State University on November 3 on "A Science Career at a Liberal-Arts College." The chemistry faculty discussed and developed plans to improve the department's program at a retreat October 22-23.
Classics
Paolo Asso is writing several articles on Roman Africa in preparation for a book he plans on that subject. He has submitted an article on Africa for publication in Silius Italicus' Punica and is working on two other articles, one about a desert storm in Africa discussed in Lucan and the other about African allusions in Statius' Thebaid. Another paper, on Statius' Silvae 2.1, has been accepted for publication in Vichiana. He is writing two reviews for Bryn Mawr Classical Review, one on the new volumes 2 and 3 of the Loeb Statius by Shackleton Bailey, and another on a volume of collected essays on Lucan. Robert Bennett is teaching a new course, "Slavery in the Ancient Mediterranean World." In the fall of 2005, he and Assistant Professor of History Glenn McNair will codirect the Newberry Library seminar in Chicago on "The Problem of Slavery and Visions of Freedom in Western Culture." Bennett team-taught the advanced Latin course with President Georgia Nugent during the fall semester. Carolin Hahnemann is on sabbatical leave this academic year and in October attended a conference on ancient philosophy.
Dance and Drama
In August, Julie Brodie presented a paper at an international dance conference in Taipei about reconstructing the dance "Bamboo Grove." In September, her creation "The Changing Room," along with a site-specific improvisation, were performed at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio. The performers were Kenyon students as well as faculty and staff members and their children. Assistant Professor of Dance Balinda Craig-Quijada was among the performers. Brodie's paper, "Integrating Fundamental Principles Underlying Somatic Practices into the Dance Technique Class," was published in the Journal of Dance Education. She has been asked to guest-edit a special issue of this journal on a similar topic. Brodie sat on a panel for the Columbus, Ohio, "Treasures of Dance" conference in November. Wendy MacLeod's play Schoolgirl Figure, a dark comedy about eating disorders, received its West Coast premiere November 12-20 by the American Conservatory Theater's Young Conservatory in San Francisco, California. A panel of experts led a discussion on eating disorders following the November 20 matinée performance.
English
Jennifer Clarvoe is on sabbatical leave in Santa Monica, California. She is finishing her second book and starting a third. Poems were scheduled for publication in Barro Street, The Journal, Tri-Quarterly, and The Yale Review. Clarvoe will return to Rome, Italy, in February for additional research. The following month, back in California, she will do a reading in the Casa Romantica Reading Series in San Clemente. In September, she did a presentation called "Scaling Roman Ruins" for her son Sam's seventh-grade humanities class at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica. "It was as much of a challenge for me as any other kind of scholarly presentation," she says. To her relief, Sam gave it a rating of nine out of a possible ten. Timothy Shutt, who also teaches in the Integrated Program in Humane Studies, had two lecture series and books published in the Modern Scholar series: Monsters, Gods, and Heroes: The Epic in Literature and The Literary Works of C.S. Lewis. A third, Wars that Made the Western World: The Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian Wars, and the Punic Wars, was scheduled to appear at year's end.
Mathematics
Bradley Hartlaub continues to work with the Educational Testing Service and the College Board as the chief reader for the Advanced Placement statistics program. He completed the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon on October 17, 2004, with a time of 3:24:10. Judy Holdener is on sabbatical leave at the University of Colorado (CU) in Boulder. The university has a strong number-theory group, and she is finding the environment to be both productive and relaxing. She is auditing two classes, one a topics course in transcendental number theory and the other a course in painting. One of her neighbors is Caroline Spritzer '02, who is working as an environmental scientist at Martin/Wood Water Consultants in Boulder. She also sees Joseph Craig '04, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in economics at CU.
Modern Languages and Literatures
Jianhua Bai has been selected to serve as a member of the College Board's Advanced Placement Chinese Task Force. He chaired a panel on grammar pedagogy at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Chinese Language Teachers Association conference in Chicago, Illinois, in November. Bai was invited by the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language to travel to Beijing and Guangzhou, China, during winter break to present his work on the integration of computer technology into the Chinese language curriculum. He will present a paper on the use of Chinese films in the advanced Chinese curriculum at the Association for Asian Studies conference in Chicago, Illinois, in April. Mary Jane Cowles is spending the 2004-05 academic year in Paris, where she is the resident director of the Sweet Briar College Junior Year in France. Among the more than seventy students in the program are three Kenyon juniors.
Music
Adjunct instructors Cary and Linda Dachtyl are recording a CD produced by Hammond Organ artist Tony Monaco. The disc will feature Linda on Hammond B-3 organ and Cary on drums. The tentative title is Blue-Bop. Cary has been elected to a three-year term as president of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), Ohio chapter. PAS is a music service organization promoting percussion education, research, performance, and appreciation throughout the world. The Dachtyls plan to bring the PAS-sponsored Ohio Day of Percussion to the Kenyon campus some time during the next two years.
Philosophy
Yang Xiao presented a paper on philosophy of language, "Reading the Analects with Davidson," at an international conference in Beijing, China, last summer. He was an invited speaker at the symposium "The Impact of Liberalism on Contemporary Chinese Thought" at the University of British Columbia in September. Book reviews appeared in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. In October, he attended the Midwest Faculty Seminar on "Relating to Animals," which is relevant to his course "Practical Issues in Ethics." In the spring he will be teaching a new course, "Early Chinese Philosophy."
Political Science
Pamela Camerra-Rowe published an article titled "Agenda 2010: Redefining German Social Democracy," in German Politics and Society. The article, which focuses on labor-market and welfare reforms in Germany, was based on research she carried out in Berlin during 2003 under a Whiting Foundation Grant. In October, Camerra-Rowe spoke about changes in the European beer-brewing industry as part of a panel titled "European Business in the Transatlantic and Global Marketplace" at the International Business Center of the University of Pittsburgh. She also presented a paper titled "Changing Patterns of Business Representation in the European Union" at the Council for European Studies Conference in Chicago in March 2004. The paper was based on research she carried out in Brussels, Belgium, on business lobbying in the European Union during the 2003-04 academic year. Pamela Jensen was honored at a dinner at the Standard Club in Chicago, Illinois, where she was attending the American Political Science Association meetings in early September. The event, organized by Ann Davies '87, Lilly Goren '87, and Lisa Disch '83, all college professors in political science, was attended by Lauren Weiner '81, Carol Fiedler '85, Natalie Feuhrer Taylor '92, Pia Catton '94, and Allison Greer '98. Anne Hickey '93 and Allison Greer '98 sent letters. "Considering the immense talent and wonderful, varied contributions to the world being made by this group of extraordinary women, readers can imagine how touched and profoundly grateful I was," says Jensen. Joseph Klesner completed an article for publication in Latin American Politics and Society in 2005 titled "Electoral Competition and the New Party System in Mexico." He contributed a chapter in The Changing Structure of Mexico: Political, Social, and Economic Prospects, second edition, on "Institutionalizing Mexico's Democracy," and a chapter in Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction, second edition, on "Mexico and Brazil." Klesner presented two conference papers, "Campaign Effects in a New Democracy: How to Win a Mexican Election (Legally)," and "Social Capital and Political Participation in Latin America" at the XXV International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association held in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 7-9.
Psychology
Andrew Niemiec has replaced Professor Emeritus of Psychology Jon Williams as the chair of the Neuroscience Program and as chair of Kenyon's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. He attended a Midwest Faculty Seminar titled "Relating to Animals" at the University of Chicago in October. The seminar explored recent developments in the study, use, and consideration of animals as well as their role in the environment and our relationship to other species. Michael Levine was awarded the Lori Irving Award for Excellence in Eating Disorder Prevention and Awareness in October in Atlanta, Georgia. The award is presented by the National Eating Disorders Association. Levine was honored for his pioneering research and writing in the field and especially for his willingness and capacity to mentor others.
Religious Studies
Joseph Adler attended the workshop "Environment, Culture, and Development in East Asia," held at Ohio Wesleyan University in October. The workshop was sponsored by the Asian Studies Development Program.
Sociology
In September, a film crew from InTelliCom, a California-based company, came to Gambier to film John Macionis in "talking head" mode for several segments of "The Way We Live," a video sociology course that is supported by his Sociology textbook and that will be used in colleges and universities across the United States beginning in the fall of 2005. Later that month, he spoke at Luzerne County Community College near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on "What's It Good For, Anyway? Sociology and Choosing Your Life's Work." In October, he spoke to an introductory sociology class at Ohio State University on "Rich and Poor: A Global Perspective." Affiliated scholar Anna Xiao Dong Sun's essay on contemporary Chinese fiction, "Mao-ti," was published in July in the London Review of Books, which has the largest circulation of any literary magazine in the United Kingdom. She has completed her archival research in London and has begun writing her dissertation. At the Society for Scientific Studies in Religion conference in Kansas in October, she chaired three sessions in addition to giving a paper on the fate of Confucianism as a religion in the twentieth century. At the Social Science History Association (SSHA) conference in Chicago, Illinois, in November, her paper "Sacred Texts on the Marketplace" won an SSHA-Rockefeller Travel Award. In the spring, Sun will teach a seminar on the social life of knowledge. Jan Thomas spent three weeks in Sweden in June as an assistant faculty member for a program run by the University of Kansas on the health and welfare systems in Sweden and Finland. Next year, she will be the primary faculty member on the program. In August, she attended the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in San Francisco, California, where she was an invited panelist for a session on making effective hiring choices. She was also an invited panelist for an "author meets critic" session at the annual meetings of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and for a session on balancing life and work at the summer meetings of Sociologists for Women in Society.
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