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Austin Briggs, the Hamilton B. Tompkins Professor and Lecturer in English Literature emeritus, is celebrating his 50th year of teaching at Hamilton in 2007. An expert on the work of Irish poet and novelist James Joyce, Briggs has offered a Joyce seminar at Hamilton each fall since his retirement from full-time teaching in 2000. To commemorate his golden jubilee, the English department is sponsoring a day-long symposium on James Joyce as part of Fallcoming 2007 events. As he looks forward to being reunited with former students and colleagues, Briggs recently sat down to recall some of his memories from life on the Hill.

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Haeng-ja Sachiko Chung gave two lectures for the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina at Columbia. On September 20, she gave a talk on her book chapter "Mizu-shoubai and the Sex Industries in Japan" from the forthcoming edited volume Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society. Chung discussed the legal categories of the sex industries in Japan by focusing on the legal term "fuuzoku" (folkways) and its applications to the industries.

Rafael Campo, an award-winning poet and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will give a lecture and present a poetry reading at Hamilton College on Thursday, Sept. 27. The lecture, “Fact versus Truth: Examining Health Disparities through Diverse Illness Narratives,” will take place at 4:10 p.m. in the Chapel and the poetry reading begins at 8 p.m. in the Fillius Events Barn. Both events are free and open to the public. 

Hamilton’s annual Fallcoming will take place this year on Sept. 27 through 30, with a full slate of activities to suit every interest. Among highlights are the inaugural Multicultural Reunion celebrating alumni of color, sponsored in part by the Multicultural Alumni Relations Committee (MARC); a day-long James Joyce Symposium in honor of Austin Briggs' 50 years of teaching at Hamilton College, featuring internationally-recognized Joyce scholars and concluding with an evening reception in the reading room of Burke Library; a reunion of members of the 1967 Hamilton football team, whose record of 6-1 has been matched only once in 40 years; and a World Class jazz performance.

During her discussion on September 25, titled “Living Downstream,” Sandra Steingraber outlined the devastating effects chemical toxins can have on the human body, more specifically, during the reproductive process. The ecologist, author and mother began with her own life’s story. Diagnosed with bladder cancer at the age of 20, Steingraber persevered through her illness and became dedicated to researching the effects of toxic chemicals on the body. Such topics of her research include the contaminants found in drinking water, as well as the way toxic chemicals could work their way into a woman’s body and confront the fetus, better known as “fetal toxicology.” 

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Two-time Everest climber Conrad Anker told a jam-packed Kirner-Johnson Auditorium on September 25 about his experiences climbing various mountains, and his place in the history of exploration. The author of 1999’s The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest, hoped to inspire young people to follow their natural inclination to explore, yet his lecture drew audience members of all ages from the local community.

The "Eat Local Challenge," hosted by Hamilton food service provider Bon Appétit and local farmers on September 25, received widespread local media coverage. All the food served at a campus-wide picnic came from local producers -- within a 150-mile radius. Articles on the Eat Local Challenge appeared in the Syracuse Post-Standard and Utica Observer-Dispatch, and the event was covered on local NBC affiliate WKTV. Follow links below to see the stories.

Martha Mockus, Irwin Chair and visiting assistant professor of women’s studies, presented a paper at the “Music, Justice, and Gender” conference at Syracuse University in September. This event brought together scholars, performers and activists from the worlds of women’s studies, performance, composition, historical musicology and ethnomusicology with faculty and students from the universities involved in the newly instituted Upstate New York Humanities Corridor – the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester), Syracuse University and Cornell University.

The X-Viper Hour (audio theater group) presented Alfred Hitchcock's classic WWII spy thriller, Notorious, in their first-ever live audience performance on September 23.  XVH entertained residents at Clinton's Alterra Assisted Living Center, recreating the feel and fun of old-time radio for an excited audience.