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Dana Luciano, assistant professor of English and visiting faculty fellow at the University of Utah, participated in a roundtable discussion, "Keywords for the Study of Untimely Sexualities," at the 2003 American Literature Association Symposium on Queer Theory in Cancún, Mexico in December. Luciano's paper on the keyword "Brooding" discussed the temporality of the queer illness diary, focusing on the Diary of Alice James and the film Silverlake Life.

Zhiqun Zhu, visiting assistant professor of government, published a letter to the editor about Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the U.S. in The Christian Science Monitor.  Zhu said, "Competing national interests determine that the two countries will become neither strategic partners nor strategic competitors. The best we can hope for is a pragmatic relationship in which the two countries continue to cooperate on issues of mutual concern and agree to disagree on issues such as human rights and Taiwan."

Zhiqun Zhu, visiting assistant professor of government, was quoted in a story that appeared on CBS Marketwatch about Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meeting with President Bush.  Zhu said, "On almost all fronts, the two sides are getting close. I wouldn't call them allies, but definitely not enemies anymore."

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, commented on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's U.S. visit in an interview with Washington Observer, a Chinese-language e-weekly on U.S. foreign policy, domestic politics and defense issues.  Li said Premier Wen's four-day U.S. visit is an important opportunity for China to establish better relations with the U.S. by reaching new agreements between China's new generation of leaders and top-level U.S. government officials. "This U.S. visit shows that China is regarded as a major economic power and is one of America's top allies on the world stage," Li said. He added that the U.S. hopes to see China keep its promises regarding international trade and to "actively help support America's war on terrorism."

Frank Sciacca, associate professor of Russian and professor for the sophomore seminar on 1968, along with Matt Stewart '06, appeared on WCNY TV's "HOUR CNY," with George Kilpatrick on Dec. 9. The sophomore seminar class organized the "1968:So You Want a Revolution" exhibition at Emerson Gallery. Sciacca and Stewart brought Life magazines, posters and political buttons to illustrate on air some of the items in the show. The point of the exhibition is to demonstrate how the political and social forces of the era contributed to the cultural evolution that culminated in 1968.

Zhiqun Zhu, visiting assistant professor of government, was interviewed by Cybercast News Service for an article about Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the U.S.  Zhu, a former U.S. diplomatic official in Shanghai, said, "If Wen does not return home with  U.S. promise to rein in the Taiwanese independence movement," Beijing will consider his visit a failure.

Zhiqun Zhu, visiting assistant professor of government, was interviewed on BBC "The World Today" on Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's current visit to the U.S. and U.S.-China relations. Zhu said Taiwan and trade will be two distinct issues on the Prime Minister's agenda. Zhu expected Wen to ask President Bush to issue a clear-cut statement opposing Taiwanese independence. Failing that, Wen would press the American government to curb Taiwan's movement toward formal independence from China. On the trade issue, he said, "Prime Minister Wen is expected to explain China's positions. Wen may argue that trade is global and trade imbalance between China and the U.S. is structural."

Zhiqun Zhu, visiting assistant professor of government, was interviewed on BBC "The World Today" about Taiwanese president Chen Shuibian's decision to hold a referendum on China's missiles in March 2004.  Zhu pointed out that though this particular topic may not evoke an immediate military response from Chinese mainland, it is unnecessarily provocative.  He said it opens the door for future, more dangerous referendums and suggested that the Chinese mainland may simply ask, what can you offer in return if we withdraw the missiles?  "The United States will probably not oppose this specific Taiwanese referendum since at various times, the U.S. has also asked the PRC to reduce tensions across the Taiwan Strait by reducing the number of Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan, said Zhu.  "But the dilemma is, pro-independence politicians in Taiwan will interpret U.S. inaction to rein in further provocations as America's tacit support for their dangerous policy," he explained.

Ann Frechette, Luce Junior Professor of Asian Studies and assistant professor of anthropology, conducted a China cultural workshop for families adopting from China in Foxboro, Mass, November 30. The workshop had 65 participants from throughout the United States.  Frechette lectured on Chinese History; Language, Nation, and Ethnic Relations; and Families, Festivals, and Food.  She also presented a paper at Davidson College, "Democracy and Democratization among the Tibetan Exiles," December 2.

Christopher H. Foreman, Jr., chair of the social policy program at the University of Maryland and author of The Promise and Peril of Environmental Justice, will speak on the relationship between race and environmental policy, Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m.  The program, sponsored by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, will be held in the Red Pit in the Kirner-Johnson Building on campus.