Current News

The College of Humanities welcomes the following new faculty: Theresa Delgadillo, Comparative Studies; Louisa Shea, Comparative Studies and French and Italian; Henri Cole, Jennifer Higginbotham, Daniel Keller (Newark), Sandra MacPherson, Carolyn Skinner (Mansfield), and Nathan Wallace (Marion), English; Michael O'Riley and Dana Renga, French and Italian; Bernard Malkmus and Angela Mergenthaler, Germanic Languages and Literatures; Theodora Dragostinova, Tryntje Helfferich (Lima), Christopher Otter, and Kristina Sessa History; Kathryn Campbell-Kibler, Linguistics; Bruce Fudge and Georges Tamer, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures; Richard Samuels, Philosophy; Ludmila Isurin, Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures, Jonathan Burgoyne and Rebeka Campos-Astorkisa, Spanish and Portuguese; and Guisela Latorre, Women's Studies.

Graduate student Yigit Akin, History: "Reconsidering State, Party, and Society in early Republican Turkey: Politics of Petitioning," International Journal of Middle East Studies 39/3 (2007): 435-457.

Franco Barchiesi, African American and African Studies: "South African Debates on the Basic Income Grant: Wage Labour and the Post-Apartheid Social Policy," Journal of Southern African Studies 33 (3): 561-575. 2007

Kevin Boyle, History: "The Fire Last Time," in The Washington Post, July 29.

Mary Cavender, History: Nests of the Gentry: Family, Estate, and Local Loyalties in Provincial Russia (University of Delaware Press, 2007).

Anna Grotans, Germanic Languages and Literatures, and Barbara Hanawalt, History: co-edited, Living Dangerously: On the Margins in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).

Law, and the Economy in Late Medieval London (Oxford University Press, 2007).

Jane Hathaway, History: "The Exalted Lineage of Ridvan Bey Revisited: A Reinterpretation of the Spurious Genealogy of a Grandee in Ottoman Egypt," eds. Baki Tezcan and Karl K. Barbir, Identity and Identity Formation in the Ottoman Middle East and the Balkans: A Volume of Essays in Honor of Norman Itzkowitz, special issue of the International Journal of Turkish Studies 13/1-2 (2007): 97-111.

Ludmila Isurin, Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures: "Teacher's Language: L1 Attrition in Russian-English Bilinguals," Modern Language Journal 91, iii (2007): 357-371.

Robin Judd, History: Contested Rituals: Circumcision, Kosher Butchering, and Jewish Political Live in Germany, 1843-1933 (Cornell University Press, 2007).

Administrative Associate Elizabeth Lantz, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities: "Becoming Visible," American Literary Review, XVIII.1 (Spring 2007): 8-19.

Robert McMahon, History: "American Studies and the Challenge of Globalization," Nanzan Review of American Studies (Japan).

Geoffrey Parker, History: an Estonian translation of his Compact History of the World (TEA publishers of Tallinn) and a Turkish edition of his Military Revolution (Küre Yayinlari).

Christopher Phelps, History: "Neglected Document on Socialism and Sex," Journal of the History of Sexuality 16.1 (January 2007): 1-13; and an obituary for Martin Seldon, a socialist autoworker and medical doctor, in Against the Current 129 (July-August 2007): 44.

Randy Roth, History: "Guns, Murder, and Probability: How Can We Decide Which Figures to Trust?" in Reviews in American History (June 2007).

Debating the 1960s: Liberal, Conservative, and Radical Perspectives, co-authored by David Steigerwald, History, and Michael Flamm, has appeared as part of Rowman & Littlefield's Debating History series.

Graduate student Michael Alarid, History, was awarded a Gerald L. Davis Fund travel fellowship from the American Folklore Society, given in memory of the pioneering African American folklorist, to participate in the joint annual meeting with the American Folklore Society and the Folklore Studies Association of Canada in Québec on October 17-21.

Graduate student Rachael Ball, History, received a small grant from the Program for Cultural Cooperation between the Spanish Ministry of Culture and US Universities for her project, "Treating the Public: Public Entertainment, Public Health, and Public Opinion in Seventeenth-Century Madrid, London, and Puebla."

Arc of Justice, written by Kevin Boyle, History, has been chosen as this year's campus-wide summer reading book at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan.He was awarded a TELR Research on Research Grant for summer 2007. He and his undergraduate research partner, Adam Heider (History and Political Science major), demonstrated the work they completed on August 21.

Snjezana Buzov, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, received an ACLS Southeast European Studies Program Conference Grant to organize the conference "Conversion to Islam and Islamization in the Early Ottoman Balkans."

David Cressy has been awarded a Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship for residency at the Liguria Study Center, Italy, in February-March 2008.

Theodora Dragostinova, History, received the 2007 John O. Latrides Prize from the Modern Greek Studies Association, awarded on a biennial schedule for the best English-language dissertation on a Greek subject.

Undergraduate student Joshua Lotz, East Asian Languages and Literatures, who is working on a combined degree in Chinese and biochemistry, earned a first place award in the Chinese Bridge competition in Changchun, Jilin. Chinese Bridge is supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education and is considered the ultimate forum for displaying advanced level skills in Chinese language and culture. The competition is broadcast across China and attracts the attention of both an academic and non-academic audience that easily numbers in the millions. In winning this competition, Lotz had to stand before a live audience and give a rehearsed speech, a spontaneous response to a discussion question, answer questions on Chinese history, geography, and culture, and give a performance. For his performance he did "Wu Sung Fights the Tiger." Lotz is also a recipient of a FLAS scholarship from the East Asian Studies Center and the Truman Fellowship. He was coached in this competition by Ms. Huanzhen Zhao and received special coaching on his performance by Professor Eric Shepherd. He will receive scholarships to Chinese universities to pursue his research on Chinese herbal pharmacopeia. In the same competition, James Wilson, also a Chinese Flagship student, won a Talent Award for his display of martial arts. Wilson does a routine with a "nine-link iron whip." Chinese Bridge attracts over one hundred participants from over fifty countries. Since 2003, when Ohio State students began participating in Chinese Bridge, OSU students have garnered three first-place awards, one second-place award, and a Talent Award.

James Phelan, English, has been awarded an NEH grant to conduct a Summer Seminar on Narrative Theory during the summer of 2008. The subject is Rhetoric and Ethics in Fiction and Nonfiction, and is a revised version of a successful 2005 seminar on the same topic.

Melinda Robinson, Spanish and Portuguese, received the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences Outstanding Staff Award. Elona Boykin, African American and African Studies, was a nominee.

Kevin Boyle, History was quoted in an article about the difficulties the United Auto Workers union will face in protecting health benefits for its workers during negotiations with the major automakers (New York Times, July 19). In an op-ed piece that he wrote for the Washington Post (July 29), and in a Detroit Free Press article (July 20) that quotes him, he discussed the causes and effects of the 1967 riots in Detroit. He was interviewed about the causes and effects of the 1967 riots in Detroit (NPR's Tell Me More, August 1).

Articles in The New York Times (July 10) and the International Herald Tribune (July 12) mentioned John Burnham, professor of history, and his research examining society's attempts to regulate "bad habits" like drinking, gambling and smoking.

Steven Conn, History, wrote a letter to the editor arguing that the only sensible way to decide federal tax rates is to decide what we want to achieve as a nation, and then adjust tax rates accordingly (New York Times, July 22).

David Stebenne, History, was quoted in a front-page story in USA Today (August 30) about the fiftieth anniversary of the desegregation crisis at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Graduate student Michael Alarid, History, presented "Crime and Punishment in Early Santa Fe, 1847-63," at the Palace of the Governors in The Fray Angelico Chavez Library in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Michael Les Benedict, History, delivered six lectures on American constitutional history at an Institute for Teaching United States History in China, Dalian, China, July 30-August 5.

Nina Berman and graduate student Kennedy Waliaula, Comparative Studies, presented "Kipofu hasahau mkongojo wake: Negotiating Local Knowledge" at a workshop on "Disability, Culture and Human Rights," Lenana House Conference Center, Nairobi, June 15.

Mansel Blackford, History, presented "Business Development and Environmental Change in the Pacific" at the Wailuku Public Library, Wailuku, Hawaii, August 30.

Kevin Boyle, History, gave talks at the University of Michigan's Law School and its Institute for Social Research.

Carter Findley, History, presented "Competing Autobiographical Novels, His and Hers," at an invitational conference on "Custom and Innovation in Middle Eastern 'Ego-Documents,'" in honor of Suraiya Faroqhi, Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des Nahen Orients sowie Turkologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, June 28, and presented "Reflections on Twentieth-Century World after Twenty-Five Years," World History Association Conference, Milwaukee, June 30.

Donna Guy, History, presented "The Buenos Aires Jewish Hospital During the First Half of the Twentieth Century" at the meeting of Latin American Jewish Studies Association in Buenos Aires on July 30; and "Theorizing Gender and the Welfare State" at Grand Valley State University on September 11 and at Michigan State University on September 13.

Austin Kerr, History, delivered six lectures on American business and political history at an Institute for Teaching United States History in China, Dalian, China, July 30-August 5.

Robert McMahon, History, delivered a comment on the forthcoming book by Melvyn Leffler (For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War), as part of a conference at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, May 11. He also served as a commentator at a plenary session on Domestic Politics and U.S. Foreign Policy at the annual meeting of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations at Chantilly, Virginia, June 21. He commented on a session at the annual American Political Science Association meeting, in Chicago, on August 30. He also commented on a session at a conference on "The Politics of Fear in the Cold War" at Hamburg University's Institute for Social Research, on September 5.

Christopher Reed, History, served in 2006-07 on the Book Prize committee of the International Conference of Asia Scholars (ICAS). In July 2007, he traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for an awards presentation.

Randy Roth, History, chaired a session at the Society of Historians of the Early American Republic on "Southern Slavery and Northern Democracy."

David Stebenne, History, served as chair and discussant for a panel entitled "The Little Rock Crisis and Modern Republicanism," at "The Little Rock Desegregation Crisis Fifty Years Later: An International Conference," in Little Rock, Arkansas, September 7.

Heather Tanner, HistoryMansfield, presented "The Later 12th-Century Countesses of Boulogne" at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds, July 10.

Sonia Alvarez (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) will present "Global Localities: The Travels and Translations of the World Social Forum Process," 10:00 am, September 28, 104 East 15^th Avenue, for the Differences and Democracy Working Group. Contact: ettlinger.1@osu.edu.

The Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Seminar on Literacy Studies will present "Harlot," 11:30 am, September 28, 311 Denney Hall. Contact: white.1142@osu.edu.

Peter Burke (University of Cambridge) will present "Translating the Turks: A Case-study in the Translation of Cultures," 2:30 pm, September 28, 090 Science & Engineering Library, for the Literacy Studies Group. Sponsors: Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities, Department of History, and Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Contact: graff.40@osu.edu.

The Fifth Graduate Colloquium of Slavic Linguistics takes place at 8:30 am, September 29, 104 East 15^th Avenue. Contact: curtis.199@osu.edu.

Novelist Lore Segal will give a Reading, 4:00 pm, October 2, 311 Denney Hall. Contact: Creative Writing Program, 292-2242.

Independent scholar Terry Jones will present "Translating Richard II," 4:30 pm, October 8, 1000 McPherson Lab, for the Translations Lecture Series. Contact:Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 292-7495.

Herbert Lindenberger (Stanford University) will present "Arts in the Brain," 4:30 pm, October 9, 104 East 15^th Avenue, for the Narrative and Cognition Working Group. Contact:aldama.1@osu.edu.

Rebecca Barry, Okla Elliott, and Mike Bierschenk will participate in a Student/Faculty Reading, 7:00 pm, October 11, 311 Denney Hall. Contact: Creative Writing Program, 292-2242.

Lindsay Jones, Comparative Studies, will present " On Juxtaposition: New Uses of Old Buildings at the Archaeological-Tourist Site of Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico" in the first Inaugural Lecture of the year at 4:30 pm, October 15, OSU Faculty Club. This presentation, by a historian of religions, moves from the general to the more specific. It opens with some very broad comments on the heuristic meritsindeed, the inevitabilityof juxtaposing persons, ideas, symbols, objects and/or practices that do not, on the face of it, seem to have any direct or significant connection to one another. Nextreflecting on juxtapositions of widely and weirdly diversified uses of very old buildingsis a brief inventory of ways in which long-abandoned pre-Columbian ruins of Mesoamerica have been variously utilized (or 'revalorized') as: (a) sites for the religious devotion of contemporary indigenous peoples and 'New Age' enthusiasts, (b) objects of archaeological, 'scientific' inquiry into the ancient past, (c) tourist destinations and economic commodities, (d) sources of literary and artistic inspiration, (e) outdoor museums for the construction of national identity, and (f) pawns in local territorial and political disputes. Then, more specific attention focuses on the spectacular mountaintop ruins of Monte Albán, one of Mexico's premier archaeological-tourist sites. This will include some reflection on (a) the pre-Columbian history and original religio-political conception of this once-great Zapotec city and (b) the post-contact history of investigation of the long-vacant capital. The final portion of the presentation will address (c) ways in which these Oaxaca ruins are currently functioning as a religious, economic and cultural resource by addressing recent and on-going contestation over access, control and ownership of this so-designated World Heritage Site. There'll be lots of pictures. Contact: Kelli Fickle, 292-1882.

Robert Tauber, OSU Libraries' Logan Elm Press, will present "The Art of Books," 4:00 pm, October 16, 104 East 15^th Avenue, for the Literacy Studies Group. Contact: graff.40@osu.edu.

Richelle Schrock, Women's Studies, will present "Risky Representations: Seeing Ourselves/Being Seen By Others," 7:00 pm, October 18, Columbus Museum of Art, in conjunction with the "Stories From the Somali Diaspora: Photographs of Art by Abdi Roble" exhibition, for the Big Picture Lecture Series. Contact: Christian Zacher, zacher.1@osu.edu.

Malcolm Barber (Reading University) will present "From Heroes to Heretics: The Sudden Demise of the Templars," 2:30 pm, October 19, for the Translations Lecture Series. Contact: Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 292-7495.

Poet Linda Gregerson will give a Reading at 7:00 pm, October 18, 311 Denney Hall. Contact: Creative Writing Program, 292-2242.

Eugene Holland, Comparative Studies and French and Italian, will present "Narrative and Ideology after Althusser," 4:00 pm, October 19, 104 East 15^th Avenue, for the Narrative and Cognition Working Group. Co-sponsored with Project Narrative. Contact: herman.145@osu.edu.

Poet John Menaghan will give a Reading at 3:30 pm, October 23, 311 Denney Hall. Contact: Creative Writing Program, 292-2242.

Ian Cross (Cambridge University) will present "Music as a Medium for the Management of Social Uncertainty," October 23 (time and place TBA), for the Music as a Biological Imperative Working Group. Contact: fisher.14@osu.edu.