Professor of Chinese De Bao Xu gave the keynote speech at the 47th International Conference on Elementary Chinese Education (ICECE) held July 20-22 at the University of Zhengzhou Normal University, Henan Province, China. Xu’s address focused on macro Chinese education.

L’impair de la nation by Associate Professor of French Joseph Mwantuali was introduced to the Congolese public by Groupe L’Avenir and Digital Congonet, two major Congolese news groups.

Several poems by Visiting Assistant Professor of English Jane Springer have recently been published in literary magazines.

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Nathan Goodale and Professors of Anthropology Tom Jones and Charlotte Beck recently published an article titled “Natural Selection and Material Culture” in a special edition of the journal Evolution: Education and Outreach.

A. Todd Franklin, professor of philosophy, conducted six days of workshops from Aug. 2-7 on the nature of a liberal arts education as part of an academic summer camp for students of LOGOS, a private high school in Tbilisi, Georgia. Founded by Giorgi Chavleishvili ’08, LOGOS is unlike other high schools in the Republic of Georgia, providing students with a full college prep curriculum consisting mainly of small discussion oriented classes.

Dean of Faculty Patrick Reynolds announced the promotion of five Hamilton faculty members to the rank of professor.  Todd Franklin, philosophy; Marianne Janack, philosophy; Katherine Kuharic, art; Bruce Walczyk, dance and movement studies; and Steven Yao, English and creative writing, were promoted effective July 1.

Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics, was interviewed for an American Public Media Marketplace evening report about what Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke might announce at Friday’s conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Owen said the Fed could trade its holdings in short-term Treasuries for long-term ones and that  the goal of that would be to lower long-term interest rates.

Professor of Comparative Literature Peter J. Rabinowitz has published “‘The Absence of Her Voice from that Concord’: The Value of the Implied Author” in a special issue of Style. The essay is an expansion and refinement of a paper originally given at the International Conference on Narrative in Birmingham, England, in 2009.

Years of dedicated research, writing and design have culminated in the publishing of On the Hill: A Bicentennial History of Hamilton College. On Wednesday, Aug. 24, from 1:30-2:30 p.m., Maurice Isserman, the Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History and the book’s author, will speak briefly about the book and sign copies in the  Burke Library Browsing Room.

Associate Professor of Economics Julio Videras became the new director of the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center on July 1. He replaces Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics, who served a two-year term as the center’s director and oversaw a reorganization of the center’s programming and the initiation of several new projects.