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Carl Rubino, The Edward North Professor of Classics, presented a paper, "Rome Outside the Beltway: Gladiator and the History of 'Roman Films' in America," at the Ancient Modern Relations section of the annual meeting of the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association, at Pepperdine University in November.

Associate Professor of History Shoshana Keller was invited to address the Graduate Working Group on Central Asia at the University of California, Berkeley, on December 5. She gave a seminar on her recent work and discussed the state of the field of Central Asian Studies. The seminar focused on two chapters from her 2001 book on the Soviet campaign against Islam in Central Asia.  Keller focuses on Soviet and Central Asian history and has written on Soviet Marxism as a missionary faith, the women's liberation campaign in Soviet Uzbekistan, and the development of Soviet government structure in Central Asia.

Philip Pearle, Emeritus Professor of Physics, published a review of Stephen Adler's book Quantum theory as an emergent phenomena (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004) was published in the journal Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 36, 716-723 (2005).

Professor of History Thomas Wilson has been awarded a fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for his study of the cult of Confucius in China from the fourteenth through eighteenth centuries. The book critically examines recent theories of sacrifice on the basis of a historical analysis of Confucian sacrifice and controversies over its practice. Confucian sacrifice entails ritual feasting of gods of the imperial pantheon, including Confucius, at elaborate ceremonies performed by the emperor and officers of the court until the early twentieth century.

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was quoted in the BusinessWeek article, "Banking On Reform In China."  The article focuses on Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China.  Zhou has been a force for change since he started serving as an adviser on economic restructuring to the State Council in 1986. He later did stints as head of China Construction Bank (CCB) and chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) before becoming chief banker in late 2002. Zhou's blunt talk about past errors of economic policy has made him enemies. Li said there was strong resistance from some Communist Party leaders to Zhou's promotion to PBOC chairman. "He wasn't a popular choice, and it was something of an embarrassment," says Li.

The Hamilton College Orchestra will perform "Irrational Exuberance!" on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall, Schambach Center for the Performing Arts. "Irrational Exuberance!" was composed by Hamilton Music Professor Gabriel Gould.  Also on the program are Peggy Glanville-Hicks' Etruscan Concerto and Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 "Spring."  The concert is free, open to the public and tickets are not required.

The students of Government 285: Introduction to Environmental Politics, will hold a mock U.S. Senate hearing on the Kyoto Treaty on climate change, on Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 4-6:30 p.m. and 7-8:30 p.m. in KJ Auditorium.

Michael Shapiro '71, director of Atlanta's High Museum of Art, was awarded one of France's top cultural honors -- a knighthood in the order of Arts and Letters during November. Shapiro was honored for his work in putting together the "Louvre in Atlanta" collaboration that will bring some of the Louvre's collection to the High Museum. It is the first time in the Louvre's 212-year history that the museum has agreed to share entire collections with another museum for an extended period. Shapiro was awarded the knighthood by French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres.

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was recently interviewed on current U.S.-China relations by the Beijing Review, China's only English weekly news magazine. The interview was conducted prior to President Bush's trip to China and meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Interviewed with Li were Stephen Roach, Chief Economist and Director of global economic analysis at Morgan Stanley, and James Dorn, China specialist and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Cato Institute.

Lawrence D. Dodds, an associate with the Blue Bell law firm Wisler Pearlstine Talone Craig Garrity & Potash LLP, has been named a “Pennsylvania Rising Star,” appearing in the December 2005 issue of Philadelphia Magazine and in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine. Only 2.5 percent of all practicing attorneys in Pennsylvania were selected as Rising Stars, after an extensive survey and peer review conducted by Law & Politics Media in a process intended to distinguish outstanding emerging attorneys in the state. A member of the firm’s Education Law Group, Mr. Dodds concentrates his practice in the areas of special education law and family law. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a focus on the treatment of adolescents and forensic issues, and prior to entering legal practice he provided therapy and assessment services in residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children. He is a graduate of Hamilton College and received his doctoral degree from Hahnemann University. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the Villanova University School of Law. Mr. Dodds is a member of the American, Pennsylvania, and Montgomery Bar Associations. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for both Methodist Family Services of Philadelphia and Methodist Services for Children and Families. Lawrence is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Drexel University.