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Associate Professor of Religious Studies Steve Humphries-Brooks was interviewed for a CNN.com article about a new film, "Color of the Cross," in which Jesus is portrayed as a black man. Humphries-Brooks, an expert on portrayals of Jesus in film, said "Universally in American film up until now Jesus has been a white male. For the first time you have a depiction of Jesus in the hands of an African American director and an African American cast that says what their particular community's understanding of Jesus is." Humphries-Brooks, author of Cinematic Savior: Hollywood's Making of the American Christ, noted, "In my reading, every Jesus film has been about the current moment. Film is primarily a medium of communication between a contemporary director and a contemporary audience. There's never been an authentic, historically accurate Jesus put on film. Will there ever be? We shouldn't expect it."

Assistant Professor of English Gillian Gane contributed an article, "Postcolonial Literature and the Magic Radio: The Language of Rushdie's Midnight's Children," to the Fall 2006 issue of Poetics Today (Volume 27, Number 3).

Hamilton Action Volunteer Outreach Coalition (HAVOC) is hosting a Hunger Banquet on Tuesday, Oct. 24, from 6-8 p.m. in the Annex.  Students, faculty and staff will learn about world hunger and food inequalities in an Oxfam America style hunger banquet. Upon entering the banquet, everyone will be given an identity with a corresponding income. They will receive either a three-course meal or a bowl of rice depending on their identity. Participants should leave the event with a better understanding of the harsh reality of hunger. More information can also be found at http://www.oxfam.org/en/.  

Bon Appétit chef Reuben Haag was quoted in an article on the Restaurants and Institutions Magazine Web site titled, “California Dreamer: R&I Executive of the Year Fedele Bauccio.” The article discussed Bon Appétit's “Eat Local Challenge,” in which cafes only use food from within a distance of 150 miles for a day. Haag commented on the success Hamilton College had finding local suppliers and that he continued buying from the same suppliers. “I think the more we do this, the more we get into networking and making contacts and relationships,” he says. “Last year we worked with a local dairy that supplied yogurt, butter and cheese for the Challenge. Now it’s our yogurt supplier, and we go through a lot of yogurt on this campus. Programs like this lead to opportunities for us and for farmers and communities.”

Professor of Religious Studies Steve Humphries-Brooks was interviewed for an Associated Press article about a new film, "Color of the Cross," in which Jesus is black. It is the first representation in the history of American cinema of Jesus as a black man. Humphries-Brooks said, "It's very important because (the film) is going to provide an image of Jesus for African-Americans that is no longer under the control of whites." He is the author of Cinematic Savior: Hollywood's Making of the American Christ.

New York Sen. Ray Meier visited the ACCESS Project at Hamilton College on Oct. 26 to announce that he has secured another $500,000 through the 2006-07 New York State budget to continue the project. Meier has secured $3 million for the ACCESS Project since its inception in 2000.

Alan Taylor, professor of history at the University of California, Davis, presented the Victor “Torry” Johnson III lecture on October 25. Taylor’s book, William Cooper's Town, won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for American history, Columbia University's Bancroft Prize, and the Albert J. Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association.

In preparation for Halloween, the earliest surviving film version of Dracula will be screened on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. Nosferatu (1921), directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, will be screened in the Kirner-Johnson Auditorium in the Kirner-Johnson Building. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the F.I.L.M (Forum for Images and Languages in Motion) series organized by Visiting Art History Professor Scott MacDonald.

Dean of the Faculty Joseph Urgo contributed a chapter to What Democracy Looks Like: A New Critical Realism for a Post-Seattle World, edited by Amy Schrager Lang and Cecelia Tichi (Rutgers University Press, 2006). Urgo’s chapter is titled “'There is evil in the world an I’m going to do something about it': William Faulkner as Political Resource."

Two Hamilton alumni are included on a short list of individuals recognized as the nation’s foremost leaders. Now in its second year, U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Leaders” edition (Oct. 30, 2006) recognizes the achievements of A.G. Lafley ’69, CEO, Procter & Gamble, and Robert Moses ’56, founder of The Algebra Project. Conducted in collaboration with the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, honorees were selected by a committee of government, community and private sector leaders. Chosen were men and women who, among other things, inspired a shared vision, challenged established processes and achieved measurable results in their respective fields.