Current News

Greg Anderson, History: "Before turannoi Were Tyrants: Rethinking a Chapter of Early Greek History," Classical Antiquity 24 (2005): 173-222).

Michael Les Benedict, History: "The Blessings of Liberty," A Concise History of the Constitution of the United States, second edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2005).

Nina Berman, Comparative Studies and Germanic Languages and Literatures: "Autobiographical Accounts of Kenyan-German Marriages: Reception and Context," Germany's Colonial Pasts Eric Ames, Marcia Klotz, and Lora Wildenthal, eds. (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2005): 205-26.

Kate Haulman, History: "Fashion and the Culture Wars of Revolutionary Philadelphia," William and Mary Quarterly, 3d, ser., 62/4 (October 2005): 625-662.

Andrew Hudgins, English: "Laughter in the Dark," review of At Day's Close: Night in Times Past, by A. Roger Ekirch. Raleigh News and Observer, 31 July 2005: 4G.

Lee Martin, English: "Easter Sunday," Tiferet 2.1 (2005): 56-59.

Jeredith Merrin, English: "Cooking," poem, The Gay and Lesbian Review, 12.6 (November-December, 2005): 40.

Graduate student Sheila Bock, English, has been awarded the 2005 ElliKöngäs-Maranda Student Prize of the Women's Section of the American Folklore Society for her paper "From Harem Fantasy to Female Empowerment: The Re-Articulation of Belly Dance."

Peter Culicover, Linguistics, has won an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award, which honors the academic achievements of the award winner's lifetime. It is given annually to scientists and scholars from abroad with internationally recognized academic qualifications. Award winners are invited to carry out research projects of their own choice in Germany in cooperation with colleagues.

Patrick Mullen, English, was honored by two sessions entitled "I Heard the [Not-So-Old] Folklorist Say: Papers in Honor of Pat Mullen's Retirement," Part I and II. These sessions were made up of his former students and organized by Martha Sims and Rosemary Hathaway (Ph.D., The Ohio State University). Mullen was a discussant on both panels.

Allan Millett, History, was quoted in an article about how the reserve forces that are fighting the war in Iraq have special challenges as they try to engage in urban warfare (San Francisco Chronicle, October 26).

James Phelan, English, was quoted in an article about the career of Wayne C. Booth, one of the pre-eminent literary critics of the second half of the 20th century (New York Times, October 11). Booth died recently.

Carole Fink, History, presented "Briand, la Société des Nations et la Question des Minorités" at the International Colloquium "Artistide Briand, la Société des Nations et l’Europe, 1919-1932," sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Association Internationale d’Histoire Contemporaine de l’Europe.

Graduate student John Maass, History, presented "Braddock and the verdict of history" at the 4th Annual Potomac History Symposium at the Lyceum in Alexandria, Virginia, October 21.

Sara Pugach, History, presented "In Admiration of Well-Run Empires: Germany's Fascination with South African Racial Policy, 1890-1914" at the German Studies Association Annual Conference in Milwaukee on October 1. The paper was part of a panel called "Networks of Empire: German Encounters with the Wider World, Part I", which she organized. At the same conference she also was part of a "Roundtable on Methodological Challenges" concerning the theme "Towards a Transnational and Interdisciplinary German Studies."

David Staley, Director, Harvey Goldberg Program for Excellence in Teaching, History, presented "Assessment Strategies for Teaching and Learning with Technology" at the League for Innovation in the Community College’s Conference on Information Technology, Dallas, October 24.

The Department of Women's Studies organized and convened a meeting of all the departments nationwide that offer the Ph.D in Women's Studies on October 22; this was the first such meeting ever organized and will serve as the precedent for annual meetings. The Department also hosted the CIC Women's Studies chairs on October 21 and co-hosted a meeting of Women's Studies chairs from Ohio universities and colleges on October 7.

Stephen Kuusisto, Cindy Gaillard, and Bart Skarzynski, English, will present An Evening of Prose and Poetry, 7:00 pm, November 3, 311 Denney Hall. Contact: Creative Writing Program, 292-2242.

Ian Gregory Leverhulme (Queens University of Belfast) will present "Using GIS to Study Long-run Demographic Change: Infant Mortality Decline in England and Wales, 1851-1911," 2:00 pm, November 7, George Wells Knight House, 104 East 15^thAvenue, for the History Cartographic Working Group of the Institute for collaborative Research and Public Humanities. Contact: Philip Brown, OSUHistoryProf@columbus.rr.com.

Michael Gomez (New York University) will present "Malcolm X: A Meditation," 1:00 pm, November 8, 347 University Hall. Contact: Department of African American and African Studies, 292-3700.

The Center for Folklore Studies will present a Forum on Popular Culture and Social Change in Kenya Today featuring Kimani Njogu (Twaweza Communications, Nairobi) and Mbugua wa-Mungai (Kenyatta University, Nairobi), 3:30 pm, November 8, 347 University Hall. Contact: Dorothy Noyes, noyes.10@osu.edu, or Nina Berman, berman.58@osu.edu.

The College of Humanities will host Study-Abroad Night for Humanities majors at 7:00 pm, November 8, 180 Hagerty Hall. Students will receive information on various study-abroad programs and scholarships and have an opportunity to talk one-on-one with Humanities faculty who coordinate programs and students with study-abroad experience. Organized by the Dean’s Student Advisory Group. RSVP: 292-1882. All students are welcome. Contact: Shari Lorbach, lorbach.1@osu.edu.

Panelists Steve Acker (TELR; Communications/Journalism), Henry Fields (Dentistry/Orthodontics), Carol Gill (Art/Design), Blaine Lilly (Engineering), and Paul Nini (Art/Design) will present "Design(ing) Literacy and Learning: Spatial and Kinetic Domains," 4:00 pm, November 10, George Wells Knight House, 104 East 15^th Avenue, for the OSU Literacy Studies Working Group of The Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities. Contact: lantz.38@osu.edu or 688-0265.

Matt Goldish, History, will present "Sephardic Life After 1492," in the College of Humanities’ first Inaugural Lecture of the academic year, 4:30 pm, November 15, OSU Faculty Club. After the Iberian Jews (Sepharadim) were expelled from Spain and Portugal at the end of the fifteenth century, they were scattered across the Ottoman Empire and parts of Western Europe. Narratives of their lives over the following centuries can be found in an unexpected source: the responsa, or legal questions asked of rabbis with their responses. Hundreds of responsa collections from the Sephardic world have been preserved; selections from some of these will be discussed. RSVP: 292-1882.

Gregg Orr will give a Poetry/Nonfiction Reading, 7:00 pm, November 17, 311 Denney Hall. Sponsored by the ADA Office. Contact: Creative Writing Program, 292-2242.

Robert C. Darnton (Princeton University) will present "Mlle Bonafon and the Private Life of Louis XV: Communication Circuits in 18^th Century Paris," 4:00 pm, November 18, 180 Hagerty Hall, for the George R. Havens Lecture. Contact: Department of French and Italian, 292-4938.

Erin McGraw, English, will present "Invented Language: Creating Historical Dialogue," in the College of Humanities’ second Inaugural Lecture of the academic year, 4:30 pm, November 29, OSU Faculty Club. Novelists writing about the past face a number of issues. One of the most complex is the creation of dialogue between characters that does the narrative and psychological work that will satisfy contemporary readers, while maintaining the illusion of historicity. Looking at examples and analyzing the choices represented in language and subject, this discussion will focus on some of the ways writers shape dialogue that represents the past without attempting directly to recreate it. RSVP: 292-1882.