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Assistant Professor of History Chad Williams presented a paper, "France, African American Military Service, and Diasporic Consciousness in the First World War," at an international conference titled "Spaces of War: France and the Francophone World," held at the University of Minnesota on Oct. 27. His paper examined how France during the war functioned as an ideological and geographic space where African Americans, and African American soldiers specifically, through the experience and symbolism of military service, developed a broadened international consciousness that was distinctly diasporic in scope. He gave particular attention to the nature of interactions between African American soldiers and African colonial soldiers in the French army. Williams is currently on leave as a fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City.

Austin Briggs, Tompkins Professor of English, Emeritus, and lecturer in English, delivered a paper, "Asymmetrical Joyce," on the panel "Joycean Geometry" that he organized and chaired at the James Joyce Symposium held in June in Budapest, Hungary. In addition, he co-moderated three reading sessions on Ulysses. At the conference, the board of directors of the International James Joyce Foundation nominated him for a position to the board.

Professor of History Maurice Isserman and F.I.L.M Director Scott MacDonald will present three landmark films and discuss them with the audience on two afternoons this month in the Kirner-Johnson Auditorium. These programs are offered in conjunction with the current Emerson Gallery exhibition, “WPA Artists: Prints from the Amity Art Foundation.” On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Hands (1934) and The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) will be screened at 4:15 p.m. On Wednesday, Nov. 15, The River (1937) will be screened at 4:15 p.m.

Professor of Classics Barbara Gold has published an article: "Classics, the Atom Bomb, and the Environment: Team-Teaching Multidisciplinary Courses from a Classics Point of View" in Classical Outlook (Summer 2006). This article arose out of a talk given at the annual meeting of the American Philological Association at the presidential panel on interdisciplinary teaching.

Professor of Chinese De Bao Xu published an article, "On Language Use in Teaching Classical Chinese in the CFL Context," in Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association ( Feb., 2006, vol. 41:11, pp 1-12). The study discusses the appropriate instructional language in teaching Classical Chinese in an English speaking environment.

David Paris, the Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Government, and Professor of Chemistry Tim Elgren discussed the Hamilton advising system in an opinion piece in InsideHigherEd.com. In "Advising: Less is More?," published on Sept. 29,  the writers emphasized that students want timely relevant information. “…what they wanted above all from advisors was for them to be available for assistance, to provide accurate information about course selection and college rules and to warn against obstacles that might impede their progress in the short term regarding registration and in the long term regarding plans for majors.”

Hamilton students in the New York City Program had the opportunity to attend a New York Knicks basketball game on October 17 at Madison Square Garden. The students are sampling all New York has to offer, in addition to holding internships at Merrill Lynch, MoMA, Primary Stage, Sports Illustrated for Kids, and doing pediatric & adolescent AIDS work with SUNY Downstate faculty. On October 26 the group planned to attend a performance of the New York Philharmonic through the generosity of Shirley Bacot, the late Carter Bacot's '55 widow.

Professor of Biology Pat Reynolds has been reappointed as editor-in-chief of the journal Invertebrate Biology for another three-year term. The journal, published by The American Microscopical Society,is one of the oldest biological journals in the U.S., publishing continuously since 1879. Reynolds was named the 20th editor of the journal in 2004, after serving six years as co-editor.

Dr. Peng Hwa Ang gave a lecture titled “Who’s Really Out To Control the Internet? UN and U.S.A. Internet Governance” at Hamilton on Oct. 26. Dr. Ang is the dean of the School of Communication and Information at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, as well as one of 40 persons appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to a UN Working Group on Internet Governance in 2004. He spoke about the current international efforts to create a multilateral, transparent, and democratic method for Internet governance, as well as why it is in the United States’ best interest to relinquish some control over the Internet.

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."