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Instructor of Japanese Kyoko Omori presented a paper, "Detecting Modernism in Interwar Japanese Literature," for the World Modernisms Seminar at the annual conference of the Modernist Studies Association held in October in Madison, Wisconsin. The MSA conferences draw more than 500 participants from various parts of the world. Her article, "Merican-Jap and Modernity: Tani Jôji’s Popular Negotiation of the Foreign," has appeared in Japan from Somewhere Else: The Proceedings of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies, West Lafayette: AJLS, Purdue University, Autumn 2002.

Visiting Professor of Rhetoric and Communication John C. Adams gave a talk, "Epideictic rhetoric and its cultured reception: In memory of the firefighters," at the Symposia on the Rhetoric of Display, department of communication, University of New Hampshire.

Asian Studies Chair and Professor of History Thomas A. Wilson was a discussant for a panel at the annual meeting of the America Academy of Religions in Toronto on Nov. 24. The panel was titled "Innovation and Transmission in Confucian Traditions."

Associate Professor of History Shoshana Keller delivered two talks at Colgate University, courtesy of the Colgate Russian and Asian Studies programs. The first was called "The Silk Roads: Binding Asia, Europe and Islamic Lands in Ancient Times." The second was "Central Asian Islam from Stalin to Karimov: What is the U.S. Getting Into?" In November she attended the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies in Pittsburgh. Keller presented a paper titled "Milliilashtirish Creating a Nation." She also chaired a panel on "War's Impact on Inter-Ethnic Relations in Soviet Lands, 1939-1945: Propaganda and Reality."

Russell Blackwood, the John Stuart Kennedy Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and a long-time trustee of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, has been appointed by the institute to conduct a national undergraduate essay contest in Pakistan Studies. Contest winners will receive a financial prize and publication of abstracts of their papers in Pakistan Studies News.

According to a Time magazine article (Nov. 25) China's new president Hu Jianto may be years away from becoming China's true leader. Former president Jiang Zemin, when he took control of the government 13 years ago, at least had behind-the-scenes backing from his predecessor, Deng Xiaoping. Hu may not be able to count on Jiang's support, portending political infighting that will distract the country's leaders from China's pressing social and economic challenges, which include rising unemployment and epidemic corruption. "Jiang has made a terrible mistake" by undermining Hu and hanging on to power, said Cheng Li, a professor and China expert at Hamilton College.

Assistant Professor of History Kevin Grant published an essay, "Trust and Self-Determination: Anglo-American Ethics of Empire and International Government," in Critiques of Capital in Modern Britain and America, edited by Mark Bevir and Frank Trentmann (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2003).

Professor of Government Cheng Li, who is currently a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, wrote three scholarly articles: "The Sixteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party: Paths to Membership and Balance of Power," in Ding Shufan (ed.) Challenges for the Hu Jintao Era. (Taipei: Xinxinwen Publishing House, 2002); "Poised to Take the Helm: Rising Stars and the Transition to the Fourth Generation" in David M. Finkelstein and Maryanne Kivlehan (eds), China’s Leadership in the 21st Century: The Rise of the Fourth Generation (Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2002), pp. 21-44; and "The Mishu Phenomenon: Patron-Client Ties and Coalition-Building Tactics," China Leadership Monitor (Stanford University), No. 4 (Fall, 2002).

Assistant Professor of Physics Seth Major presented a lecture, "Life without Lorentz Invariance: Good, Worthwhile, or Merely Crazy," at the Perimeter Institute/CITA (University of Toronto) Mini-Workshop Oct. 30. The work, some of which is joint work with Tomasz Konopka '02 and Dan Heyman '03, relates to the intriguing recent claims that Einstein's theory of special relativity may require modification.

This article evaluated Jiang's achievements and failures during his 13 years governing China. Cheng Li, professor of government and Woodrow Wilson Fellow, said "Jiang's weakness is his strength. He relied on think tanks. He talks to other people." Jiang’s achievements included kept the relationship relatively steady through many difficult incidents with the U.S., raised China international stature by joining the WTO, and won the right to host the 2008 Olympics. However, Jiang’s failures included corruption, high unemployment rate and increased disparity between rich and poor.