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The Spring 2009 issue of Eighteenth-Century Fiction includes an article by Professor of French John C. O'Neal on the controversial writer of the Spätaufklärung the marquis de Sade. The article, titled "Sade's Justin: A Response to the Enlightenment's Poetics of Confusion, is part of a book project on the period's progressive poetics of confusion, in which O'Neal attempts to show the myriad ways the philosophes rejected dogmatic thinking and embraced complexity.

The Norwegian research group "A l'ombre des Lumières" invited Professor of French John C. O'Neal to speak at a colloquium in Norway, Dec. 4-5. Held at the University of Trondheim, 500 kilometers north of Oslo, the colloquium hosted a group of international scholars on 18th century literature, all of whom made separate presentations in a plenary format. O'Neal made his presentation on the pedagogical writings of Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his uses of the visual.

Professor of French John C. O'Neal has been elected to the board of directors of the American Society for French Academic Palms (ASFAP), a group of scholars who have received recognition from the French government for their teaching and research. An officer in the Order of the French Academic Palms since February 2008, O'Neal will chair the committee for the ASFAP's scholarship fund.

Professor of French John O'Neal recently concluded his second term as president of the Northeast American Society for 18th-Century Studies (NEASECS). He presided over the annual conference of the Society, held this year at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.

At the invitation of the Lycée Français de New York, Professor of French John C. O'Neal presented a lecture on the age of the Enlightenment to an audience of 100 juniors and seniors in the school's auditorium on November 7. These high school students are currently studying this era, which is O'Neal's period of specialization. O'Neal illustrated his lecture with some 80 slides documenting the interdisciplinary nature of the 18th century in France.

Professor of French John C. O'Neal recently finished his second term as president of the Northeast American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies at the annual meeting held at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, October 31-Nov 2. O'Neal had served previously as president of this society in 1992-1993. At the Geneva conference, he organized a session on ambiguity in the politics, literature, and history of the Enlightenment. He also presided over the meeting of the Executive Board and the general assembly of members during the banquet.

A year ago Professor of French John C. O'Neal learned he had been promoted from "chevalier" (or knight) to "officier" (officer) in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms), originally founded by Napoleon in 1808 to recognize meritorious achievements in teaching and research. On May 27, an awards ceremony was held at the French Embassy for Cultural Services in New York City to honor O'Neal and three others, each of whom received a medal from the French cultural counselor, Mme Kareen Rispal. In addition to some of O'Neal's family members and friends, several Hamilton community members were on hand for the event including John and Mary O'Neill, Ben and Laurie Madonia, John Lytle and Sarah Ziegler '05.

Professor of French John C. O'Neal has edited a volume of essays on Rousseau for  Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century (SVEC), a publication of the Voltaire Foundation in Oxford, England. Titled The Nature of Rousseau's 'Rêveries': physical, human, aesthetic, the volume brings together the work of international specialists to explore new approaches to the defining feature – the 'nature' – of the Rêveries. In essays which range from studies of botany or landscape painting to thematic or stylistic readings, authors re-examine Rousseau's intellectual understanding of and personal relationship with different conceptions of nature.

Professor of French John C. O'Neal's article "Understanding and Interpreting Confusion: Philippe Pinel and the Invention of Psychiatry" is among the articles included in volume XXVI (2007) of Lumen. Travaux choisis de la Société canadienne d'étude du dix-huitième siècle. Selected Proceedings from the Canadian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, pp. 243-258. 

Tanguy L'Aminot, editor of Etudes Jean-Jacques Rousseau and director of the study group at the Sorbonne focused on the work of this 18th-century Swiss thinker, has announced the publication of volume 16 in this series, for which Professor of French John C. O'Neal wrote an article: "La confusion de la société dans la Lettre à d'Alembert sur les spectacles et la question de la modernité de Rousseau" (pp. 253-266). As an honorary associate member of the Centre d'Etude des XVIIe et XVIIIe Siècles at the Sorbonne, O'Neal participated in the work of this study group in 2003-2004. He is chair of the French Department at Hamilton.