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Page 1 The Dean's musings Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Around the college Page 8 Page 9 Grants in the news Page 10 Bookbeat Page 11 Page 12 |
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The University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences -e' ;' ~ : / -, ' -W. I" 19111%( In this Issue: Announcing the 2002-2003 CLAS Term Professors....................... 3 Fulbright Faculty ............................ 4 Chemistry Undergraduates Experiment in France..................... 5 Learning to be Understood............. 6 Around the College ....................... 8 Grants.................................. ....10 Bookbeat ...................................... 11 Archaeological Summer School Digs Deep ........................12 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA College of Liberal Arts and Sciences News and Publications 2008 Turlington Hall PO Box 117300 Gainesville FL 32611-7300 editor@clas.ufl.edu http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu CLASnotes is published monthly by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to inform faculty, staff and students of current research and events. Dean: Editor: Contr. Editor: Design & Photography: Graphics Intern: Writing Intern: Copy Editor: Neil Sullivan Allyson A. Beutke Buffy Lockette Jane Dominguez Simone Williams Kimberly A. Lopez Lynne Pulliam The Dean's Musings The Importance of International Studies At a time of uncertainty in world relations, students and scholars seek a deeper understanding of society and the different cultures and belief systems of peoples around the world. Students are no longer satisfied with merely learning to read and speak one or two languages, important as they may be, but also seek a more meaningful grasp of different customs, international literature, religion, history and eth- ics in order to prepare themselves not only for more mean- ingful careers but also for a more meaningful and more fulfilling life. To earn the trust and respect that is essential to success in the conduct of international business, foreign diplomacy and global knowledge-building, nothing is more important than the ability to understand our fellow human beings in terms of their own societies and beliefs. Then we can start to move forward together. Our college is committed to providing a broad international experience for all undergraduates, including studies of international affairs, global political economies, language and literature studies and studies of different civi- lizations throughout history. Development of strong programs in these areas is so important for the future of our graduating students and is in such demand that we are preparing a new BA degree in international studies with our partner colleges. Indeed, we believe that no student should be without a basic ground- ing in some aspects of international studies on completion of a first degree at the University of Florida. I would even be willing to support the addition of a survey of world cul- tures to the undergraduate core curriculum. Equipped with a firm understanding of how world affairs work, a sound footing in basic languages and litera- tures and an appreciation of different societies, our students will have the international dimension that will allow them to succeed in the modern world and to help make the world a better place for all to live. Neil Sullivan sullivan@phys. ufl. edu Additional Photography: Randy Duran: p. 5 Kimberly A. Lopez: p. 11 (Harry W. Paul) Florin Curta: p. 12 % Printed on recycled paper On the Cover: Marketing PhD student Qiong Wang prepares to teach her Sales Management class. Wang takes courses through UF's Academic Spoken English program. See page 6. CLASnotes February / March 2003 page 2 Each year, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences awards CLAS Term Professorships to outstanding faculty who excel in both scholarship and teaching. These pro- fessorships allow the college to recognize faculty who are making a significant difference in the classroom, as well as through their research. Funded entirely by private sources, the number of term professors and the amount of the award varies from year to year. For 2002-2003, six CLAS Term Professors have been selected, and they will receive a one-time $6,000 salary supplement and an additional $5,000 for their research. Announcing the 2002-2003 CLAS Term Professors James Button, Political Science Mitchell Magid Term Professor James Button special- izes in the politics of social change, including minority and urban politics. He teaches courses on politics and poverty, minori- ties and change, gay and lesbian politics, urban politics and the politics of race and gender. Button is working on a research project investigating black employment and affirmative action in the South and recently published the book The Politics of Youth, Sex and Health Care in American Schools through Haworth Press. Christopher Stanton, Physics st Jean and Robin Gibson Term Professor Christopher Stanton specializes in theoreti- cal condensed matter physics. He teaches a broad range of courses, including applied physics, introductory solid state physics, optics and statistical mechanics. His research involves theoretically calculating and modeling the electronic, transport and optical properties of bulk and quantum con- fined semiconductors. He recently published the book chapter "Theory of Coherent Pho- non Oscillations in Bulk GaAs," in Ultrafast Phenomena in Semiconductors. Anthony Oliver-Smith, S A nrlr. .p..l.. ' Mitchell Magid Term Professor Anthony Oliver-Smith specializes in both socio-culture and socio- economic bases of natu- ral and technological disasters and development-induced displace- ment and resettlement. He teaches courses on racial and cultural minorities, the people of the Andes, economic inrl...p. ...;-,, environ- ment and cultural behavior, rural peoples in the modern world, the transition to capital- ism, and change, crisis and social reconstruc- tion. Oliver-Smith is involved in a research study of eight nations that were affected by El Nifio and recently published the book Catastrophe and Culture: The A .-'. ...:... of Disaster through SAR Press. Daniel Talham, Chemistry Jean and Robin Gibson Term Professor Daniel Talham special- izes in hybrid organic and inorganic materi- als with organic and inorganic interfaces. He teaches general chemistry, inorganic chem- istry and a graduate course he developed in materials chemistry. He is involved in two research projects, one developing new light- weight magnets, and the other, studying how organic interfaces can be used to template inorganic objects. Talham has published three articles this year and has one in press for Kid- ney International entitled "Presence of Lipids in Urine, Crystals and Stones: Implications for the Formation of Kidney Stones." Malini Johar Schuel- ler, English Waldo W Neikirk Term Professor Malini Johar Schueller specializes in Ameri- can literature, Asian- American literature and postcolonial studies. In addition to her research on 19th and 20th- century American literature, Schueller teaches courses on issues of empire, race and con- temporary US women of color. Her recent anthology, Messy Beginnings: Postcoloniality and Early American Studies, will be published this year by Rutgers University Press. Manuel Vasquez, Religion Waldo W Neikirk Term Professor Manuel Vasquez spe- cializes in religion and social sciences, with an emphasis on Latin America and US Lati- nos. He teaches courses on Latin American religions, religion and globalization, and the implications of modernism and post-modern- ism on contemporary religious life. Vasquez is working on a research project that brings an interdisciplinary team of scholars from Gua- temala, Mexico and Brazil to Florida to con- duct ethnographic research on immigrants from those countries. His book, Globalizing the Sacred: Religion Across the Americas, will be published in 2003 by Rutgers. -Buffy Lockette CLASnotes February / March 2003 page 3 fULBRIGHT FM..A Faculty A Letter From Abroad Every year UF faculty and students receive Fulbright awards to teach, conduct research and learn in more than 140 countries around the world. This year, UF nominated 59 students for the award, almost three times as many as last year. Nineteen of these students have been selected to be reviewed by their host country. They will find out about their official selection this summer. Nearly 200 UF faculty have received a Fulbright award during their academic careers. The UF Inter- national Center maintains a list of awardees on its Web site at www.ufic.ufl.edu/fulbright/fulblist.htm. Last summer, Political Science Professor Richard K. Scher received a Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program Award for the 2002-03 academic year. The award is among the most prestigious appoint- ments in the Fulbright program. Scher has lived in Hungary since last fall, and below is an article he has written about his experiences as a Fulbright scholar. Since mid-August of 2002. I have had the privilege of serv- ing as a Fulbright visiting scholar in Hungary, while occu- pying the John Marshall Distinguished Chair of American Government for that country. During the fall semester I taught three undergradu- ate classes at Debrecen University located in Debrecen, a Calvinist city of 300,000 (in a primarily Roman Catholic country) in the far eastern corner of Hungary, near the bor- ders of Romania and the Ukraine. All classes, fortunately, were in English. Those courses were on political cam- paigning (happily, major political campaigns took place in Hungary during the fall) and American political culture as portrayed by the media. I also taught a presidency course in the political science department. Regardless of the course titles, one of the most impres- sive aspects of teaching in Debrecen has been the students' curiosity about the US. Some have visited America, but most have not. All have read a good deal about us, and of course the influence of American television is all pervasive. They wanted to know everything: Is it safe to walk on the streets? Why does Mr. Bush ignore European opinion about war with Iraq? Has the rapper Eminem ever come to UF? They were concerned if they compare favorably to students at UE I reassured them on that point: aside from speaking Hungarian outside of class instead of English, they looked, dressed, talked and behaved just like UF undergrads, and had the same interests. And there are just as many empty pizza boxes and beer cans, per square foot, on the campus in Debrecen as in Gainesville! However, they do smoke more than UF students; indeed, smoking in Hungary is part of the national culture and extremely widespread in spite of new government programs aimed at reducing it. Serving as the Marshall Chair also allows me the opportunity to talk formally and informally about political life in the United States. I have made a number of pre- sentations on politics in America (including two with UF Professor of Political Science Aida Hozic when she visited in November) and engaged in a number of impromptu discussions with faculty and students. One of the most intriguing presentations came in early December, when another Fulbright scholar and I were asked to explain the Thanksgiving holiday to faculty and students. But the best feature of serving as the Marshall Chair is the chance to meet extraordinary people I would never have had the opportunity to know otherwise; this includes other Fulbright scholars, academics from other countries and of course Hungarian scholars and students. The range of my friends and colleagues and students here is both staggering and breathtaking. I am totally convinced that I am learning much more from them than they are from me. And I have the opportunity to immerse myself in Hungary's 1,100 year-old culture, history and traditions. In itself, this is worth the occasional inconveniences and disruptions any Fulbright scholar encounters. Yes, I have gotten homesick. But memories-standing on the Margit Id in Budapest looking at the magnificent Parliament build- ing and at St. Stevens Basilica, walking along cosmopolitan Andrassy ut (Budapest's version of Fifth Avenue) or eating delicious food in restaurants frequented only by locals- somehow these irreplaceable memories will have to stand me in good stead as I search for a parking spot at UF upon my return. -Richard K Scher CLASnotes February / March 2003 page 4 Research Abroad Chemistry Undergraduates Experiment in France Growing up in rural Brooksville, deep in Florida's "orange country," Jessica Hancock never had the opportunity to see much of the world. As a participant in the chemistry department's Research Experience for Undergraduates, she recently spent three months at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris gaining valuable international research experience. "I now have a wide background," says the chemistry senior, who is being heavily recruited by graduate schools. "It's given me a foot in the door because I now have so much more to offer." Sponsored by the National Sci- ence Foundation (NSF), the Research Experience for Under- graduates (REU) program funds research opportunities for stu- dents in the sciences by sending them to host universities to work closely with faculty on a research project. Top students are recruited from all over the United States and sent to REU labs for the summer. UF has five REU programs, including psychology and physics. What makes the chemistry depart- ment's program special is that it is the only REU program on campus that has an internation- al component, sending students to France since 1996. "In the 1990s, the NSF realized that undergraduates in the US weren't getting enough international research experi- ence," says Randy Duran, asso- ciate professor of chemistry and the director of the chemistry REU program. "We take really strong students in the sciences and send them to world-class research labs in France-two of them Nobel Prize-winning labs-and they get treated like graduate students. They have the chance to see what graduate research is like and also what research is like in a foreign country." After one summer of train- ing at the REU site at UF, students are sent to laboratories CLASnotes February / March 2003 in Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Grenoble, LeMans, Lyon, Mainz, Montpellier, Pau or Strasbourg to work in chemistry laboratories at top French uni- versities. Sarah Lane, now a UF graduate student, spent the summer of 2001 at the Uni- versity of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, working on an inorganic chemistry project. "The experience has made me a stronger, more independent person, which helps a great deal in graduate school," Lane says. "I learned that science is very international. Every country in the world is contributing to chemistry, and it is important to have an international per- spective when working with sci- entists from other countries." In addition to sending stu- dents to France, the UF chemistry REU program has the distinction of being the only REU program in the nation that also hosts foreign students. Funded by UF and the French Minis- try of Research, French under- graduate students spend the summer living in Gainesville and researching with UF professors and American REU students. Florent Allais came to UF from the University of Bordeaux in 1999 to work on a radical chemistry project with chemistry professor Eric Enholm. After finishing his master's degree in France in June 2000, he decided to return to UF to pursue a PhD. "I enjoyed just coming to the US to discover a new culture and a new way to work in the lab," he says. "I met new people and made new friends." Duran, who earned a PhD from the University of Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg in 1987, R.. .,, .. ... is also the associate director of UF's France-Florida Research Institute. He was responsible for bringing the chemistry REU program to campus and has a strong interest in promoting and developing international research teams. "Randy wrote a proposal, it underwent merit review, and based on the quality of the proposal it was accepted," says Robert Kuczkowski, an NSF program officer. "NSF has an interest in promoting global undergraduate research, and this met those needs. In other words, he did a great job." -Buffy Lockette UF graduate student Sarah Lane spent the summer of 2001 researching inorganic chemistry at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. She is pictured here on a visit to Notre Dame in Paris. page 5 Learning to be Udrstood Academic Spoken English Program Facilitates International Exchange of Ideas UF marketing PhD student Qiong Wang says the thing she enjoys most about teaching is feeling that she and her students are learning from each other. "When I feel that the students are learning something that they are interested in and feel hopeful about their career and life, I feel that I am doing something valuable. I am also learning from my students in and outside the classroom." .who is from China, is one of around 75-150 international students each semester who takes classes through the Academic Spoken English (ASE) program, which is part of UF's Research and Graduate Program (RGP) and the C 11 of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The program was established in 1986 in response to a Florida state statute that. : ,:: faculty mem- bers and teaching assistants at state universities to be proficient in the oral use of- i This proficiency is determined by having potential teachers take the SPEAK -. .. Proficiency F.. 1 1. ...: Kit) or the TSE (Test of Spoken English) exam and earn a satisfactory grade. Even though the program is housed in the .... program in CLAS, the majority of its :.... comes from RGP, and international students from : 1: :- from it. "Many of our students are from chemistry, phys- ics, mathematics and engineering, but we teach stu- dents from all over the university," says Gordon Tapper, who first worked with the ASE program as a graduate student in 1987. Now he coordinates the program and teaches some of its courses. "UF has one of the old- est and most comprehensive International 1... Assistant (ITA) Tapper says. "We offer three different ASE courses. ASE 2 is the class ITAs must take if they receive a low score on the SPEAK or TSE test and are also teaching. It's the course required by the statute. The ITAs take this class the same semester they are teaching their own course." There is also ASE 1, an introductory course that some students take before ... : the SPEAK or TSE exam, as : as the advanced course ASE 3, for students who want to fur- ther improve their language and cultural i i Chen is a mathematics PhD student from Taiwan who is .' .. ASE 1 this semester. The class meets three times each week in one of the lan- guage labs on campus, and Chen says the 1 '.. exercises with other students help him with his pro- nunciation. "I don't always know how to say certain words. Even 1 people :me they can under- stand what I am saying, I say that being understood is different than .' .. ', " Chen's ASE I instructor is John Bro, who also has been affiliated with ASE since the late 1980s. Bro and Tapper teach several of the ASE courses, along with several i...... :.. .graduate students. In the ii of 2002, more than 100 international students were .. :: in the ASE courses. The : .. has grown extensively since it began. "We started with one section ofASE 2 made up of six or seven students," Bro says. "This semester, there are seven sections with 10 to 12 students in each section. We could offer more sections of each ASE course and add an ASE 4 and 5 because there is that much of a demand for them. As UF's international graduate student enrollment grows, ASE needs to grow. Another change arises out of technological advanc- es with computers and video. use digital cameras to videotape the ASE 2 students every other week when they are teaching in their individual classes," Bro says. : -- we come back to our 'edit suite' and upload the video to the Web, so the ASE students can log on to our Web site and watch themselves teaching. The ASE instructors then meet with the students and S:: about the mistakes and progress they see. ... who is currently taking ASE 2 and teach- ing Sales Management in the _.... : .. ( .i:. .i of Business, says even though she is a bit nervous when being taped, she realizes how valuable it is to see teaching. "Sometimes I watch myself and think, 'Did I really sound like that?' or 'I wasn't looking at the stu- dent when he asked me the .: 'The ASE class helps us identify the problems in our teaching, improve teaching and communication ii. and be more pro- fessional." Wang has designed a Web site for her class that includes photos of her students, PowerPoint pre- sentations and notes. In addition to the video 1 '.. the ITAs see their interaction with undergraduate students, it serves another purpose. "John (Bro) is i ": an online video database, where we are able to make notes about the students we have recorded and provide pLASnotes February / March 2003 page 6 details about them. Our hope is that with student consent, this informa- tion can be utilized by researchers who are work- ing on projects related to speech, linguistics and other topics." Bro is working on a search engine compo- nent that would allow a potential researcher to look for specific materi- als in the database. "At some point in the future with Institutional Review Board approval, a researcher at the University of Iowa, for example, can access our database on the Web and search for male Chinese students in chemistry to hear their intonation patterns. We'll provide a one or two minute audio clip of these speakers," Bro says. "The field as a whole can benefit from the information we're gathering here at UE" The research component of the ASE is another unique element ofUF's program. "Fortunately, we were able to bring in a director of the ASE program when linguistics faculty member Helena Halmari was hired in 2001," Tapper says. With Halmari's arrival, linguistics-related research has taken off. "Practically everyone who is teaching with ASE is involved with research projects on different aspects of language in classroom teaching situations," Halmari says. "However, our research not only benefits our own students, both ITAs and their undergraduate students, but it is filling important gaps in the knowledge of cross-cultural communication in general and has theo- retical implications. We present our research findings at national and international conferences and publish them." Currently, Halmari is working on several projects, including one she will present in March at the annual meeting of the American Association for Applied Lin- guistics. She and Jules Gliesche, an ASE lecturer, have looked at the differences in how ITAs chat with the undergraduate students in the classroom versus how native English speaking TAs chat with them. "We are finding that "small talk" between the ITAs and the undergraduate students at the beginning of class when students are walking in, may be missing or its nature may differ from the expected American 'norm'," explains Halmari. "Small talk often helps in rapport building with the students, and we are seeing examples of culturally more or less appropri- ate instances of small talk, as well as an occasional complete lack of it. When these interactions are analyzed, the knowledge we gain can be incorporated into teaching how to carry out successful rapport-building small talk." Many ITA programs do not have the funding to support research, according to Tapper. "We consider ourselves to be in a very fortunate position to contribute to the field," he says. "Another research project I'd like to explore is looking at the class- room expectations of today's American undergraduate students because I think in some ways we've lost touch with them. There was a study done about 12 years ago at UCLA that looked at this, but students have changed a lot since then. Many want course Web sites and online notes. I would love to repeat the study with today's UF undergraduates." Another idea the group thinks is worth exploring is how American undergradu- ates could benefit from international students. Tapper, Bro and Halmari have devel- oped a way for the two student groups to interact and learn from each other. "We are proposing that ASE 3 students and undergraduate students in my Introduction to Linguistics course this fall work together on a final project," Halmari says. "They would research a linguistics topic such as Korean phonology, Chinese tones or Polish consonant clusters, and each would earn a grade in their class." Tapper's dream is to take things a step further at UF by encouraging and rewarding undergraduates for increasing their contact with international students. "IfUF required every undergraduate student to have 10 contact hours before gradu- ation with an international student, UF graduates would be more cross-culturally sophisticated and aware. It would be a valuable thing for everyone." International students also want to step things up a notch. "Our students are looking for us to help them become better," Tapper says. "We're seeing a much savvier and culturally aware group of students who want to learn more than just language skills." Bro agrees. "Our classes go beyond teaching remedial grammar and pronunciation. These students have questions about culture, race, politics, you name it. We not only teach them how to speak, but how to communicate." -Allyson A. Beutke CLASnotes February / March 2003 page 7 Around the College Mark Your Calendar The Center for African Studies Presents the 2003 Gwendolen IV. Carter Lecture Series Dynamics of Islam in Contemporary Africa will include talks about legal systems and pun- ishment (shari'a law), democratization and religion, relations between Muslims and non- Muslims, and national identity, and gender issues. All lectures will take place from 4-6 pm in the Kccne-Flint Hall auditorium, room 050, and the schedule is below. February 21: Sudan-Asma Abdel Halim and Ismail H..': i :: February 28: .. Soulaymane Bachir .. .. and Fatou Sow March 21: '. .. -Ousmane Kane and FI- ..... : :. . ' .I 44: Farid Azzi and Saide Benhablyes April 11: Tanzania-Leila Sheikh and second speaker to be announced CAS and FFRI Host Writer-in-Residence from Senegal The Center for African Studies and the France-Florida Research Institute will host Boris Boubacar Diop, a: ......1 and author from Senegal, on February 24-March 7. One of Africa's most provocative public intellectuals, Diop is a prize-winning writer whose most recent novel on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Murambi,, e livre ods ossements I was included in the Zimbabwe Book Fair's list of the 100 Best African Books of the 20th Century. He also has been instrumental in the development of a free and independent press in his native -. as co-founder of the daily newspaper Suda, dubbed "the paper of the people." Diop will be featured in the ::- i ... events: February 24: Roundtable discussion: Retrospective on Rwanda: African Studies in the Shadow of Genocide, 4-6 pm, 209 Emerson Hall March 3: Roundtable discussion: African ....: in French: Texts and Contexts, 4-6 prm, 219 Dauer Hall Fiona '.'. ... ..i... an associate professor .* ... and African and Asian languages and literatures, has received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to trans- late Diops recent novel from French to F. 1: ! Children and Violence Conference UF's Center for Children's Literature and Culture and the Center for Children and the Law will co-host the conference Children, Culture & Violence from March 20-21. The conference will examine the zones in children's lives where violence occurs and its cultural manifestations. Keynote speakers for the event include Geoffrey Canada, president of the Centers for Children and Families in New York, Florida Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead, who has been a leader in improving the courts that serve Florida's children and families, and Ntozake i UF visiting professor. Visit for more information. Career Resource Center Offers Workshops for CLAS majors Just for Liberal Arts and Sciences (The 405 Series) A// workshops start at 4:05 pm in the CRC cissivom on the 1st floor of the Reitz Union. March 19 Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives: Careers in the Non-profit Industry 9 Careers in the Government So You Want to Work in Academia All workshops start at 11:45 am in the CRC classroom. March 4 Here We Go: ...... the Academic Job Search March 18 Cover Letters and Correspondence for Academia .': I 1 Academic Interviewing April 8 Exploring Career Options Outside of Academia Florida Frontiers Lecture Series Spring 2003 Celebrate 150 Years With Us! In honor of the University of Florida's sesquicentennial celebration in 2003, CLAS has organized a lecture series ': 1 ''.,: prominent speakers and performers who lead the frontiers of modern research. Visit www.clas.ufl.edu 150 for more information. Lectures start at 7:30 pm. February 26: Mikel Rouse, Award-Winning Composer and Director, : : ..: Center for the -. : Black Box Theatre, "Real Opera for Real People." March 5: Laurence Alexander, Associate Professor of Jour- nalism in UF's ( : of Journalism and Communica- tions, ::: Center for the Arts, Black Box Theatre, "A Test Case for Newsgathering: The c 0 Role of the Press. March 19: Richard Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University, Harn Museum of Art, "Analytic Philosophy and Narrative Philosophy." March 26: Speaker to be announced, Florida Museum of Natural History. April 2: Ellen Wartella, Dean of the University of Texas at Austin ( : of Communication, Harn Museum of Art, "Growing Up -. .i How Interactive Media Influence Children's Development." S... 9: Ntozake Shang6, Poet, T .. and . Professor at UF, Harn Museum of Art, "Poetry: Do it With a Stick." Carnevale Conference The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere and the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Program, with the support of the Department of Romance Lan- guages and Literatures, present the conference In the Wake of Carnevale: Ritual Wandering as a Prelude to Paradise on February 24-26. Visit www.clas.ufl.edu/ Sfor more information or 392-2016, ext. 243. Julia Kristeva Lecture Inaugurates France-Florida Research Institute The France-Florida Research Institute held its inaugural lecture on February 10 with internationally known literary theorist and psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva. Her talk, "Is There a Female Genius?" focused on her recent three-volume publication, "Le G6nie feminin" ("The Female Genius"). Kristeva is a professor of French literature and ... at the University of Paris VII, Denis Diderot. As a' she :: with French semiotician Roland Barthes and other prominent theorists in the influential Tel Quel group. Her ...i:' ... include texts S. .. with semiotics, critical theory, psychoanalysis, religion, politics and other aspects of contemporary society. The inaugural lecture also brought several French visitors to campus, .... i.. the Conseiller Culturel of the French Embassy, M. Jean-Rend Gehan, as i as Consul Gen- eral (i : : i Bouchard and Cultural Attachee Victoire Di Rosa of the French Consulate in Miami. pLASnotes February / March 2003 page 8 DEPARTMENT NEWS Anthropology Irma McClaurin has been named to Choice Mag- azine' list of "Outstanding Academic Titles: The Best of the Best in Published Scholarship" for her work Black Feminist Anthropology: Theory Praxis, Politics and Poetics. The Choice list represents about 10 percent of the more than 6,600 works reviewed and is highly regarded in the academic library com- munity. Selection is based on overall excellence in presentation, scholarship importance, relativity to other literature in the field and originality of value. Currently on leave from UF to serve as deputy provost at Fisk University, McClaurin also has been promoted to fellow status based on experience and seniority by the Board of Directors of the Society for Applied Anthropology. Botany Doctoral candidate Ashley Morris has received a Canon National Parks Scholars Program award. Morris and UF fisheries and aquatic sciences doc- toral student Linda Grober-Dunsmore are among only eight students from the US, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean to receive $78,000 each for innovative research on scientific problems critical to national parks. Classics Hans-Friedrich Mueller has received a research and travel grant from Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany, where he delivered lectures on "Die naechtliche Ordnung im alten Rom" (Noc- turnal Regulation in Ancient Rome) and "Ritus und Moral bei Valerius Maximus" (Ritual and Morality in Valerius Maximus). Geological Sciences The department presents the American Geophysi- cal Union Chapman Conference, "Timescales of the Geomagnetic Field," from March 9-11 in honor of the 70th birthday of UF Distinguished Professor Neil Opdyke. Opdyke has been at UF since 1980 and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The conference will provide a forum for discussion of current controversies in geomagnetic research. History The US Senate has unanimously confirmed Ste- phen McKnight's appointment to the National Council on the Humanities. He will participate in a medal ceremony and attend council meetings in Washington, DC at the end of February. Last fall, President George W Bush nominated McKnight to serve on the 25-person advisory board to the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Senate confirmed McKnight's nomination in Janu- ary, making him the first person from UF to serve on the council. Mathematics The department recently held the International Conference on Galois Theory as part of the Special Year in Algebra during 2002-03 to honor the 70th birthday of Graduate Research Professor John Thompson. Helmut Voelklein organized the con- ference, which featured talks by leading researchers around the world on the latest advances in Galois Theory. Physics Senior Secretary Darlene Latimer received the 2002 Department of Physics Employee Excellence Award. Latimer works with the graduate program in the physics student services office. She received a certificate and a $500 check. The new award will be given annually to a staff member for outstand- ing and meritorious service. Religion Several articles by Richard Hiers have appeared in various journals recently, including "Biblical Social Welfare Legislation: Protected Classes and Provi- sions for Persons in Need" in the Journal ofLaw and Religion; "The Spirit of Biblical Law" in Wash- ington University Studies Law Review; and "Insti- tutional Academic Freedom vs. Faculty Academic Freedom in Public Colleges and Universities: A Dubious Dichotomy" in the Journal of C,.,;,' and University Law. Romance Languages and Literatures Assistant Professor of French Sylvie Blum pre- sented the paper "The Elusive Search for Nora Luca: Tony Gatlif's Adventures in Gypsy Land" at the Modern Language Association's annual conven- tion in New York in late December. Sociology The Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities of the American Sociological Association has recog- nized Joe R. Feagin, by naming the Feagin Distin- guished Undergraduate Student Paper Award in his honor. Students can be nominated or self-nomi- nate their papers by March 15. Visit www.asanet. org/sectionrem/awards.html for more information. Scholarship Finalists Two CLAS students are nationwide finalists for the 2003 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Political science majors Valerie Lynch and Teresa Porter are each vying for one of the 75 to 80 awards, which recognizes college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, non-profit or advocacy sectors, education or public service. More than 200 finalists were selected nationally from 144 institutions, and only six stu- dents represent the state of Florida as finalists. The Truman Foundation provides a $30,000 merit- based grant to assist recipients in graduate school. The foundation will announce the winners on March 21. Undergraduate Political Science Stu- dents Launch Online Journal The Department of Political Science welcomes the inaugural issue of the International Review-a student-run, student- edited quarterly undergraduate journal of international affairs. The online publication provides a forum for debate across campus and the state concerning international issues of today that have the potential to shape the future. Visit web.polisci.ufl.edu/UF_Review to read the first issue. CLAS Teachers/Advisors of the Year CLAS has 11 college-level teaching and advising award winners for 2002-03. The awards recognize excellence, innovation and effectiveness in either teaching or advising. Nominations were collected from students, faculty, department chairs and administrators. Teaching Awards Darragh Devine, Psychology James Horvath, Chemistry Benjamin Karney, Psychology Ido Oren, Political Science Brian Ward, History Advising Awards Selman Hershfield, Physics Robert Hatch, History Konstantinos Kapparis, Classics David Metzler, Mathematics Sergei Pilyugin, Mathematics Kathy Rex, Academic Advising Center Hatch and Rex have been nominated for the university-wide Teacher and Advisor of the Year Awards, which will be announced in April. CLASnotes encourages letters to the editor. E-mail editor@clas.ufl.edu or send a letter to CLASnotes, PO Box 117300, Gainesville FL 32611. CLASnotes reserves the right to edit submissions for punctuation and length. Read CLASnotes online at http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu CLASnotes February / March 2003 page 9 Grants In the News Physics Professors Receive CAREER Grants T he National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded two assistant physics pro- Sfessors with a $450,000 grant through the organization's CAREER program. Yoonseok Lee and Stephen Hill each will receive $90,000 a year for the next five e years to support their research in the field of physics. "It is hard to describe how overjoyed I feel," Hill says. "This grant rewards many years of incredibly hard work and is a tremendous help. It will provide student salaries, materials and supplies, and fund a much needed summer salary for the next five years so that I may focus on research and research-oriented education." S Hill's research focuses on the use of electron mag- Stephen Hill netic resonance spectroscopy to study the characteris- tics of molecule based materials. He will work closely with chemistry professor George Christou during the project. Lee's award was based on his research proposal, "Nature of Pure and Dirty Liq- a uid 3He." "This award supports our research on the fundamental nature of pure and Yoonseok Lee dirty liquid helium three," Lee says. "This unique property allows us to study the property of liquids at extremely low temperatures." He will work with colleagues at Northwestern University. Both Hill and Lee came to UF in 2001. -Kimberly A. Lopez UF Receives Ford Grant to Fund Interdisciplinary Study of Latino Immigrant Communities U F has received $550,000 from the Ford Foundation to conduct interdisci- plinary research concerning the interaction between religion and politics in Florida's Latino communities. The project, "Latino Immigrants in Florida: Lived Religion, Space and Power," will be coordinated by Associate Reli ion Professor Manuel Vasquez and Political Science Professor Philip Williams and is based at the Center for Latin Ameri- can Studies. "A key goal is to link theory and practice, bringing innovative scholarship in the study of religion and society into debates about immigration and global- ization in a state that has become a bellwether for national changes," Williams said. Philip Williams The research team will explore the role religion plays in migration trajectories and transnational experiences among Brazilians, Mexicans and Guatemalans in Florida. Furthermore, multinational research will focus on building detailed accounts of social, cultural and religious life in US immigrant communities. Manuel Vasquez Kimberly A. Lopez Read the full grants listing at http:// clasnews.clas. ufl.edu/news.shtml in this month's issue of CLAS- notes online. CLASnotes February / March 2003 page 10 Bookbeat Bacchic Medicine BacchicMedicine Wine and Alcohol Therapies Wine and Alcohol Therapies Recent publications from Napoleon to the French Paradox 64 from CLAS faculty History Professor Harry W. Paul, author of Bacchic Medicine (Rodopi). Amazon Sweet Sea: Land, Life and Water at the River's Mouth Nigel Smith (Geography) University of Texas Press So rich is this biological treasure house that early European explorers deemed it inexhaustible. In this highly readable book, Nigel Smith explores how human use of the Amazon's estuary's natural resources has been affected by technological change, rapid urban growth and accelerated, market integration. His findings underscore the importance of understanding the history of land use and the ecological knowledge of local people when formulating development and conservation policies. The book will be of interest to every- one concerned with the fate of tropical for- ests, conserving biodiversity and developing natural resources in a sustainable manner. -Book jacket ineteenth century Europe did not pro- claim the "apple a day" adage, but could a glass of wine a day keep the doctor away? "The ancient Greeks probably had it right-a little wine a day, with meals, is good for you," says Harry W Paul, history professor emeritus. "It is good for the body and mind, not only as a preventive measure but perhaps as a cure for some diseases." With scientific and historical research to back his conclusion, Paul presents the age-old debate over alcohol as medical treatment in his new book, Bacchic Medicine. For his research, Paul spent time in the libraries and archives of Paris and in France's major wine cities-Bordeaux, Dijon and Reims. Medical documentation was found in famous medical journals, such as The New England Journal of Medicine. "That's what his- torians do, right? Look at a bunch of old stuff nobody else wants to look at," Paul says. The topic of wine and alcohol came to Paul through his study of the history of Projecting History: Projecting German History Nonfiction G r onfition Cinema, Cinema, 1967- 1967-2000 Nor M. Atr 2000 Nora M. Alter (Germanic and Slavic Studies) University of Michigan Press Between 1967 and 2000, film production in Germany underwent a number of significant trans- formations, including the birth and death of New German Cinema as well as the emergence of a new transnational cinematic practice. Nora M. Alter explores the relation- ship between German cinematic practice and the student protests in both East and West Germany against backdrops of the Vietnam War, terrorism in West Germany in the sev- enties, West Germany's rise as a global power in the eighties, and German reunification in the nineties. -Book jacket CLASnotes February / March 2003 science and par- ticularly through writing his 1996 book, Science, Vine and Wine in A Modern France. 4w y w Though he HarryW.Paul had focused on France for so long, Paul was intrigued to learn that alcohol and wine therapies were more important historically in Great Britain. Challenges to the idea of moderate con- sumption of alcohol, however, have produced heated medical debates despite evidence of wide historical acceptance of its benefits. "The benefit of drinking a moderate amount of wine with a meal is now accepted as a perfectly reasonable argument, backed up by clinical and epidemiological studies. So, we seem to have arrived back at the medical wis- dom of the Hippocratic teachings." -Kimberly A. Lopez The Presidency, Congress and Divided Government Richard S. Conley (Political Science) Texas A&M University Press Can presidents hope to be effec- tive in policy making when Congress is ruled by the other party? Conley argues persuasively that the conditions of "divided government" have changed in recent years, and he applies a rigorous ir, rl'.....1...', that allows the test- ing of a number of important assumptions about party control of the legislative process and the role of the president. Scholars of the presidency and those interested in the larger American political process will find in this book both food for thought and a model of analytic sophistication. -Book jacket Conley recently edited Reassessing the Reagan Presi- dency and authored Florida 2002 Elections Update. page 11 The Presi-dency Cogrs Archaeological Summer School Digs Deep Summer days of being buried in beach sand is nothing but child's play for Assistant History Professor Florin Curta and those who enroll in his medi- eval archaeology course. Their summer days instead will be filled with digs and excavations of an early medieval site in Transylvania, Romania. Ten students will have the opportunity this summer to travel with Curta to Lazuri, Romania and explore the 7th- to 8th-century settlement. Located just a few miles from the Romanian-Hungarian border, the site is associated with important events including the destruction of the Avar qaganate by Char- lemagne's armies in 791-795. "I believe the course reflects a variety of cultural experiences," Curta says. "The course targets students interested in heritage and the relationship between archaeology and nationalism." The archaeological summer school travels to different locations each year. In 2002, the students traveled to Longford, Ireland where they searched for clues to determine the age of the town of Granard. The trip garnered attention from Irish media and was featured in several newspapers. Besides the excavation in Lazuri, the archaeological summer school also will visit neighboring sites in Carei-the site of a 6th-century cemetery and 8th-century castle-as well as some of the most important sites of medieval architecture, including the fortified churches of central Transylvania, the medi- eval towns of Sighisoara and Brasov, and the Hunyadi castle in Hunedoara. The Clonmacnoise monastery in County Offaly, Ireland, was founded Visit Curta's Web site at www.clas.ufl.edu/users/fcurta/Lazuri.html for by St. Ciaran in 545 or 547, but the the South Cross and Round Tower more information. pictured above are much older, dating back to the late 9th and early rlyA. L z 10th century. Clonmacnoise is one of the most important monuments of medieval architecture in Ireland. UNIVERSITYY OF SFLORIDA Honoring the past, shaping the future College of Liberal Arts and Sciences News and Publications 2008 Turlington Hall PO Box 117300 Gainesville FL 32611-7300 editor@clas.ufl.edu http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu |