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Professor of Sociology Dennis Gilbert was a guest on the Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR) morning call-in show “Where We Live” on Aug. 28.  He was part of a conversation on the middle class. Participants discussed political candidates’ views on the middle class as well as how it’s defined and how politicians use the term. Gilbert is the author of The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality.

Ben Salzman ’13 has always been fascinated with science, space exploration and music, but upon entering Hamilton, his chosen academic path gravitated toward the areas of music and art. He has since discovered a unique method of combining art and science in working with Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Music Sam Pellman to create visual accompaniments for musical compositions.

Patrick Reynolds, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, announced the appointment of new faculty for the 2012-13 academic year, including two tenure-track appointments, 25 visiting professors and instructors, and four teaching fellows. New tenure-track appointments are Daniel Barth and Gbemende Johnson.

They’ve moved in to their residence halls, completed  Outreach Adventure and Adirondack Adventure pre-orientation and bid farewell to mom and dad.  Now Orientation for members of the Class of ’16 is in full swing, with advising meetings, discussions of this year’s common reading, and social activities filling their days.  Here’s a look at what Hamilton’s newest community members have been up to since they arrived.

Assistant Professor of English Katherine Terrell published an article on King Arthur and Mordred in the children's history magazine Calliope. The article explores a Scottish version of the Arthurian legend in which Mordred (traditionally the villain of the story) is recast as the hero--a good Scottish boy who is the rightful king of England, while Arthur is an illegitimate usurper.

Hamilton College will open its 201st year with the traditional Convocation ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 4:30 p.m., in Wellin Hall. Members of the administration will welcome students and new faculty, and academic achievement prizes will be awarded to students. This year’s Convocation will feature guest speaker John Chandler, Hamilton’s 15th president and president emeritus at Williams College. His talk is titled “Hamilton: Two Centuries and Counting.” The ceremony will be webcast live.

While studying in Dublin, Ireland, Genevieve Nierman ’13 constantly came across references to early 20th century author James Joyce and his famed work Ulysses. She became intrigued by Dublin’s obsession with the novel and was awarded an Emerson Foundation Summer Research Grant to study the relationship between Ulysses and Dublin and to discern what attributes of the novel are responsible for its international success.

National Public Radio science reporter Richard Harris interviewed Eugene Domack, the Joel W. Johnson Family Professor of Geosciences, for a segment on All Things Considered on Aug. 22 titled “Humans’ Role In Antarctic Ice Melt Is Unclear.”  Domack’s research, published in the journal Nature in 2005, provided evidence that the break-up of Antarctica’s Larsen B ice shelf was caused by a combination of long-term thinning over thousands of years and short term cumulative increases in surface air temperature that have exceeded the natural variation of regional climate during the Holocene period.

Professor of Classics and Africana Studies Shelley Haley presented “Cleopatra: From African Queen to Shifting Icon” on Aug. 12 at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (MWPAI) in Utica. The lecture was in connection with the Institute’s current exhibit, “Shadow of the Sphinx: Ancient Egypt and Its Influence.”

The Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, N.H., is unique among so-called living history museums because it does not focus on a single era of history, but rather documents the transformation of the neighborhood from its original state in 1695 until the residents left in 1955. This unique approach to preserving the past inspired history major Eryn Boyce ’13 to apply for an internship at Strawbery Banke.