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Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was quoted in the BusinessWeek article, "Grinding The Rust Off China's Northeast," (7/19/04). The article focuses on China's efforts to revitalize the northeast. Officials want to restructure, merge and sell off state enterprises and to encourage industries such as software, tourism and even organic farming. According to the article, Premier Wen Jiabao is spearheading the drive. He and President Hu Jintao are committed to creating opportunities for residents of China's impoverished hinterlands. Also important: If the region continues to stagnate, labor unrest could boil over. The leadership "can't ignore it," says Li.  "Unemployed workers feel lots of resentment toward the rich, coastal cities."

Professor of Religious Studies Heidi Ravven has been awarded a four-year Ford Foundation Grant for a long-term project on the philosopher Spinoza.  The project will result in a book titled Rethinking Ethics and American Pluralism.

The National Public Radio program Soundprint aired "Voices of the Dust Bowl"  about migrant farm workers from the '30s and '40s. The segment includes the work of Charles "Lafe" Todd '33, professor of speech, emeritus, who recorded "dance tunes, cowboy songs, traditional ballads, square dance and play party calls, camp council meetings, camp court proceedings, conversations, storytelling sessions and personal-experience narratives of the Dust Bowl refugees who inhabited the camps."

As a chemistry major at Hamilton, Christy House ’06 (West Winfield, NY) has had little time to pursue one of her other true passions: art. As a recipient of a summer research grant, House will put down the test tube and pick up some clay to create her Emerson-funded art project.

Marc C. David, assistant dean of students for multicultural student affairs, presented a paper at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity held in Miami, Fla., on June 1-5. The title of the presentation was "Greek Letter Alternatives: The Search for Brotherhood and Sisterhood in Emerging Multicultural Student Organizations."

Douglas Raybeck, professor of anthropology, was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor article "New on the endangered species list: the bookworm."  Raybeck said, "A few generations ago the whole idea of literacy was something parents thought to be terribly important because not everyone was literate. Now literacy is taken for granted."

As Americans remember Alexander Hamilton on the anniversary of his death, John Romano '49 contributed an article about the romance between Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and Alexander Hamilton. In "An Early American Love Story," Romano points out that Alexander loved Elizabeth dearly, calling her "best of wives and best of women" and proclaiming, "the real goodness of your heart place you in my estimation far above all your sex."

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was interviewed by the BBC World Service on July 6.  Li commented on the political background and ramification of the Chinese government's recent arrest of Jiang Yanyong, a military doctor who challenged the authorities.  Li was also interviewed by the BBC World Service July 9. He commented on the process and nature of China's local election and its implication for Chinese political democracy in the future.

The study, "Red and Blue Scare," by Philip Klikner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, was mentioned in The American Prospect article "Kerry's Non-Southern Strategy." This article was reprinted in the Berkeley Daily Planet on July 30.

Rong Ling You, a 2004 Hamilton College graduate, recently received an honorable mention in the 2004 Ohio State University’s National Undergraduate Research Contest. You was honored for her senior thesis in economics, written under the advisory of Hamilton College Associate Professor of Economics Ann Owen. The annual national contest awards the most outstanding theses and papers regarding agricultural economics, environmental economics, and development economics. Essays were judged by their importance of economic problem, original use of theory and concepts, quality of presentation, and creativity.