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Psychological anthropologist Douglas Raybeck was interviewed for a USA Today article (10/16/02) about 20th century Fox's decision to postpone release of "Phone Booth," a movie about a man trapped in a phone booth by a sniper. The movie studio decided to delay the release of the film, which was to open Nov. 15, because of the ongoing sniper attacks in the Washington D.C. area. The decision "is socially responsible," says Raybeck. "Some studios try to cash in on misfortune."

Professor of Africana Studies and French Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting is the author of Negritude Women, published by University of Minnesota Press. According to the publisher's Web site, "The Negritude movement, which signaled the awakening of a pan-African consciousness among black French intellectuals, has been understood almost exclusively in terms of the contributions of its male founders: Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor, and Léon G. Damas. This masculine genealogy has completely overshadowed the central role played by French-speaking black women in its creation and evolution. In Negritude Women, T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting offers a long-overdue corrective, revealing the contributions made by the women who were not merely integral to the success of the movement, but often in its vanguard."

Professor of Chinese Hong Gang Jin and Associate Professor of Chinese De Bao Xu have been awarded a grant from the National Science Council (NSC) in Taiwan to work with colleagues in the Institute of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language at National Taiwan Normal University during 2002 and 2003. The grant provides about $32,000, which will support Jin's and Xu's research and living expenses for 10 months in Taiwan to work on two projects: a book on teaching Chinese as a second language and experimental studies of multimedia effects on language acquisition.

The Hamilton College Performing Arts continues its Contemporary Voices and Visions series with a performance and residency by the Steve Wilson Jazz Quartet. The performance will be Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall on the Hamilton College campus, and residency activities will take place on Friday, Oct. 25. The Hamilton College Jazz Ensemble will perform one selection with the Steve Wilson Quartet.

Kirk Pillow (Philosophy) presented a paper, "Hegel and Homosexuality," at the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy National Meeting in Chicago in October.

In June, Austin Briggs, Tompkins Professor of English, Emeritus, delivered a paper--"Saucy Sources for 'Circe'"--on a panel he organized for the International James Joyce Symposium held in Trieste, Italy; clips from the panel were broadcast on Italian television, and Briggs was interviewed by an Irish TV team that is producing a program on Joyce. Briggs also delivered a lecture--"Asymmetry and Comedy in Joyce"--at the Joyce Summer School sponsored by Joyce's alma mater, University College, Dublin. Briggs' "James Joyce/J.M. Coetzee/Elizabeth Costello" appeared in the Spring issue of the James Joyce Literary Supplement; the essay is based in part on Coetzee's visit to Hamilton last November.

Sociologist Doug Massey will discuss "Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration," on Monday, Oct. 14, at 8 p.m. in the Hamilton Chapel. He will discuss the book, Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration, which he co-authored with Jorge Durand, and Nolan J. Malone, concerning the effects of Mexican immigration on the U.S. economy. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Tuck Everlasting, a Walt Disney Pictures movie based on the book by Natalie Babbitt, wife of former Kirkland College president Sam Babbitt, opens this weekend (Oct. 11-13). Sam Babbitt was president of Kirkland College from 1966 until it joined with Hamilton in 1978. Sam and Natalie Babbitt collaborated on The Forth-Ninth Magician in the mid-1960s, a book he wrote and she illustrated. Later, Natalie began writing and illustrating her own books, including Tuck. In his commencement address at Hamilton in 2001, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack '72 retold the story of The Forty-Ninth Magician for the graduating class, suggesting that they follow the theme and look for happiness in the simple things in life.

William Finlay, director of theatre at Union College and a world-renowned choreographer of fight scenes, will visit Hamilton on Saturday, Oct. 12, to assist in rehearsing scenes for the upcoming Hamilton production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Hamilton Assistant Professor of Theatre Mark Cryer is directing the production, which will be a contemporary look at Shakespeare's classic love story. It will be performed in Minor Theater on Nov. 14-16 and 20-23.

The Hamilton College Performing Arts continues its Classical Connections Series with the period instrument group Hesperus in a program titled American Roots: Popular Music from 18th-Century America on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall on the Hamilton College campus.