Current News

Faculty and staff are invited to participate in the Humanities Alumni Society's 2nd Annual Golf Outing on May 19 at Westchester Golf Course in Canal Winchester. Proceeds from the event benefit the Humanities Alumni Scholarship Fund which provides support to Humanities undergraduate students. For details, visit: COH Alumni Web. Contact: Shari Lorbach, 688-4532 or lorbach.1@osu.edu

Scopas S. Poggo, African American and African Studies-Mansfield: "General Ibrahim Abboud's Military Administration in the Sudan, 1958-1964: Implementation of the Programs of Islamization and Arabization in the Southern Sudan," Northeast African Studies Journal 9.1 (Michigan State University Press): 68-101.

David Staley, Goldberg Center, History: "Finding Narratives of Time and Space" in Understanding Place: GIS and Mapping Across the Curriculum, eds. Diana Sinton and Jennifer Lund (ESRI Press, 2007): 35-47.

Daniel Avorgbedor, African American and African Studies and Music, received a summer library research grant from the Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington) toward his project on "Lusophone Cultures and the African Diaspora."

Walter Rucker, African American and African Studies and History, received the 2007 Faculty Service Award from the Black Graduate and Professional Student Caucus at the 2007 Slater/Johnson Scholarship Banquet held at the Longaberger Alumni House. The Faculty Service award is presented each year to outstanding faculty, staff and students who go beyond the call of duty and leave positive imprints in the lives of the students they mentor.

Kevin Boyle, History, was quoted in an article about how people in Detroit are reacting to the news that Toyota has surpassed General Motors as the world's largest automaker (New York Times, April 25). He wrote a review of the non-fiction book Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America by Elliot Jaspin (Washington Post, April 8).

Saul Cornell, History, was quoted in an article about how voters in Virginia, the site of the mass shootings at Virginia Tech, have long been against any regulations of guns (U.S. News & World Report, April 30).

Susan Hartman, History, wrote a letter to the editor in which she argued that programs that force poor people to give up simple pleasures to save a little bit of money are not going to help them in a real financial emergency (New York Times, April 15).

Daniel Avorgbedor, African American and African Studies and Music, presented a paper and led a workshop on "Performance as Site for (Re)Membering Africa in Diasporic Spaces" at the annual meeting of the National Society of Black Engineers, March 31, Columbus.

Alan Beyerchen, History, delivered an invited paper on "Clausewitz and the Quest for a Science of War," as a Spring Colloquium speaker for the Department of the History of Science and Technology at the University of Minnesota, April 17.

Nick Breyfogle, History, presented "Saving Baikal: Industrialism, Environmental Activism, and the Meanings of Nature after World War II" at the Russian and East European History Workshop, Harvard University, April 25.

Hasan Kwame Jeffries, History, was a panel participant in a breakfast discussion entitled "Katrina Was Not a Natural Disaster: What Went Wrong in the Gulf Coast?" sponsored by The Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundation, New York City, May 4.

Graduate student Chris LaHue, History, was invited by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts to participate in a dissertation workshop chaired by Gordon Wood on April 27.

David Stebenne, History, presented "Now What? Lessons of the Eisenhower Era for Today's Republican Party" at the Upper Arlington, Ohio Public Library, as part of its "Sundays with Authors" series, April 29.

Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, History, presented a session entitled "Involving Students in Transformative Research: A Multi-Media, Community-Based, and Group Oriented Approach" for the OSU Academy of Teaching's Mini-Conference on Great Teaching, held at the Digital Union on May 4.

James Schmidt (Boston University) will present "Misunderstanding the Question: 'What Is Enlightenment?'," 4:00 pm, May 11, 20 Page Hall, for the 2007 George R. Havens Lecture. Contact: Department of French and Italian, 292-4938.

Judson Jeffries, African American and African Studies Community Extension Center, will present "Being a Professor and All That Comes with it in the 21^st Century," 11:30 am, May 16, Knight House, 104 East 15^th Avenue, in the Horizons Lecture Series (lunch by reservation only). Contact: zacher.1@osu.edu.

John Edgar Wideman (Brown University) will make a public appearance, 7:30 pm, May 16, Wexner Center Film/Video Theatre, in the African American Literary Cavalcade. Contact: Department of English, 292-6065.

Nayan Shah (University of California-San Diego) will present "Intimacy, Strangers and Democratic Life in Early 20th Century Asian America," 11:00 am, May 18, Hale Center, for the Annual Distinguished Lecture in Asian American History. Co-sponsors include College of Humanities, Departments of East Asian Languages and Literatures, History, and Women's Studies, Sexuality Studies Program, Asian American Student Services, Multicultural Center, and the Office of Minority Affairs. Visit the Asian American Studies Web site. Contact: Joe Ponce, ponce.8@osu.edu.

Claudia Swan (Northwestern University) will present "In the Realm of the Senses: Collecting Marvels in Early Modern Europe," 2:30 pm, May 18, 90 Science and Engineering Library, in The Marvelous Lecture Series. Contact: Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 292-7495.

The Fourth Annual History of Black Columbus Conference will convene on May 19 at the African American and African Studies Community Extension Center, 905 Mount Vernon Ave. This year's focus is "The Black Church." The conference will feature panel discussions and guest presentations. Contact: African American and African Studies Community Extension Center, 292-3922.

Kostis Kourelis (Clemson University) will present "Byzantium and Modernity: Corinth's Archaeological Avant-Garde Circa 1930," 3:00 pm, May 24, 056 University Hall. Contact: The Department of Greek and Latin, 292-2744, or Yiorgos Anagnostou, anagnostu.1@osu.edu.

Abril Trigo, Spanish and Portuguese, will present "A Critique of the Political and Libidinal Economy of Contemporary Culture," in the ninth Inaugural Lecture of the year at 4:30 pm, May 24, OSU Faculty Club. Contact: Melissa Soave, 292-1882.

David Brakke (Indiana University) will present "Gnostics and Other 'Heretics': Imagining the Diversity of Early Christianity," 4:30 pm, May 24, 090 Science & Engineering Library, in the Religion and the Academy: Enduring Issues, New Approaches Series. Contact: Program in the Study of Religions, 688-8010.

The Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Seminar on Literacy Studies will have a discussion of Deborah Brandt's recent work -- "Drafting U.S. Literacy," "Sponsors of Literacy," and "Ghostwriting and Shifting Values in Literacy" -- 11:30 am, May 25, Knight House. Contact white.1142@osu.edu.

Wendy Doniger (University of Chicago) will present "Putting Women, Low Castes, & History Back into the History of Hinduism," 4:30 pm, May 31, 010 Page Hall, in the Religion and the Academy: Enduring Issues, New Approaches Series. Contact: Program in the Study of Religions, 688-8010.

Faculty and staff are invited to the College's 13th annual Baccalaureate at 3:30 pm, Saturday, June 9, in 131 Hitchcock Hall. Alumnus Craig Zimpher (B.A./M.A. History) will give the Baccalaureate address. Mr. Zimpher is vice president of government relations for Nationwide. RSVP College of Humanities, 292-1882. Please encourage graduating students to participate. Visit student information on the College of Humanities Web site.

The Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing needs volunteer-tutors for 5th graders at Africentric Elementary School. Tutors work with student-tutees as they complete writing assignments using laptops. Tutoring sessions convene every Wednesday from, 3:45 - 5:15 p.m. at the Africentric School, 300 E. Livingston Avenue (614) 365-6517. Contact: Nancy Hill McClary, 688-5357 or fette.8@osu.edu if you want to share your wealth with our youth!!

The Department of African American and African Studies Community Extension Center is seeking volunteers to assist with the upcoming History of Black Columbus Conference on Saturday, May 19. Volunteer opportunities are available during the afternoon on Friday, May 18, and all day May 19. Responsibilities may vary but may include: preparation of registration materials, assisting with audio visual equipment, and assisting with conference set up. Contact: Marvin Mitchell, 292-3922 or mitchell.39@osu.edu.

The Next Chapter Book Club is recruiting volunteer facilitators again and needs your help! Have you been looking for a way to give back to your community? Do you have about one hour to spare each week? The Next Chapter Book Club is for you! The Next Chapter Book Club is an exciting program of the OSU Nisonger Center that promotes literacy, social connectedness, and community inclusion for adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities. Book clubs meet weekly for one hour in bookstores and coffee shops such as Borders and Panera Bread. We are looking for volunteers to serve as group facilitators. A previous facilitator reports, "We have all become real friends and to a great extent, have positively changed each other's lives." As a volunteer facilitator, you will be provided with training and ongoing support. If you would like to volunteer or learn more about the Next Chapter Book Club, please contact Program Coordinator Jillian Ober at ober.7@osu.edu or visit our Web site.