Professor of Anthropology Emeritus Douglas Raybeck was interviewed for a Washington Post article (12/31/08) about the tradition of dropping an object at midnight to mark the entry of a new year. Raybeck contends that it all comes down to a human need to mark moments of change. "It's a shared experience. Everyone can see the inception and the terminus of the ball drop," he said. More ...

Chris Vasantkumar, Luce Junior Professor of Asian Studies and Anthropology, delivered a paper titled "Merely (About) Minzu?: Marginal Han, Whiteness Studies and the Symptoms of Social Difference in Contemporary Northwest China" at the first Critical Han Studies Conference at Stanford University April 25-27. More ...

Nathan Goodale, visiting instructor in anthropology, published two chapters in Systèmes Techniques et Communautés du Néolithique Précéramique au Proche-Orient edited by Laurence Astruc, Didier Binder and François Briois. The chapters titled "Lithic Technology of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Late Natufian Occupations of 'Iraq ed-Dubb, Jordan," co-authored with Ian Kuijt, and "Chipped Stone Variability: An Overview of the PPNA Lithic Assemblage from Dhra', Jordan," coauthored with Ian Kuijt and Bill Finlayson, are representative of Goodale's research in the Near East on the origins of agriculture over the past seven years. The edited volume stems from the 2003 5th International Pre-Pottery Neolithic Lithic Workshop in Fréjus, France. More ...

Hamilton College's highest awards for teaching were presented on May 9 to five faculty members. Professor of Biology Ernest Williams Jr. received the Christian A. Johnson Professorship; Associate Professor of Physics Brian Collett was awarded the Samuel & Helen Lang Prize for Excellence in Teaching; Associate Professor of English Catherine Gunther Kodat received the Class of 1963 Excellence in Teaching Award; Assistant Professor of Anthropology Haeng-Ja Chung was honored with the John R. Hatch Excellence in Teaching Award; and Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Mark Oakes received the Sidney Wertimer Award. More ...

Nathan Goodale, visiting instructor in anthropology, published a chapter in Recent Advances in Paleodemography: Data, Techniques, Patterns, edited by Jean Pierre Bocquet-Appel. The chapter, titled "The Demography of Prehistoric Fishing/Hunting People: A Case Study of the Upper Columbia Area," considers the role of demography and the evolution of socioeconomic systems among hunter-gatherers. The volume stemmed from a session at the international conference the 25th World Population Congress, July 2005 in Tours, France. This publication represents the third related to Goodale's M.A. thesis research. More ...

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Haeng-ja Chung has received a fellowship from the Social Science Research Council and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (SSRC-JSPS). While being affiliated at the Department of Cultural Anthropology, University of Tokyo, in 2008-2009, Chung will conduct research on performative, emotional and affective labor of Korean nightclub hostesses in Japan. Based on this research, Chung plans to work on two book projects in English and Japanese.
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