Faculty and Staff Notes

Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology John Petersen recently published the paper "Biochar has positive but distinct impacts on root, shoot, and fruit production in beans, tomatoes, and willows" in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems with undergraduate collaborators and coauthors Sunniva Sheffield and Taylor Hoeffer. Additional Oberlin College students acknowledged for their research contributions include: Grace Gao, Aidan Kirchgraber, Stephanie Macedo, Elise Steenburgh, Qiao Hui Zhang, and Sophia Cartsonis.

Two fourth-year sociology majors and one faculty member presented at the annual meeting of the North Central Sociological Association in Columbus, OH on March 30. Maggie Balderstone ’24 presented research on experiences of transgender athletes at Oberlin, and Luca Johnson ’24 delivered a talk about public transportation in Los Angeles. Assistant Professor of Sociology Alicia Smith-Tran ’10 spoke on teaching photovoice methodologies to undergraduate students.

Associate Professor of Economics Evan Kresch presented his paper “Greener on the Other Side: Inequity and Tax Compliance” in the Economics department seminar at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago.

Associate Professor of Art History Matthew Rarey has also been named the winner of the 2024 Afro Latin American/Afro-Latinx Scholarship Prize for his essay “Leave No Mark: Blackness and Inscription in the Inquisitorial Archive,” published in Black Modernisms in the Transatlantic World (National Gallery of Art, 2023). The award honors an outstanding scholarly essay on Afro Latin American and Afro-Latinx art, and is awarded jointly by the Association of Latin American Art and the Visual Culture Section of the Latin American Studies Association.

Oberlin College Dance Department is sponsoring a panel on Contact Improvisation at the Dance Studies Association conference in Buenos Aires. This is in direct response to assisting Argentinian dance scholars who are deeply affected by the new austerity policies being put in place by their new president Javier Milei.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics Amanda Zadorian is a contributor to "Costs of Non-Enlargement - a Foresight Report on EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood" (published by Visegrad Insight and Zeit-Stiftung Bucerius). It argues that Europe's interests are best served by bringing Ukraine and its neighbors into the European Union as full members. The report launches this month with events in Brussels and Berlin. Download the report here.

Assistant Professor of Politics Joshua Freedman contributed to the Robert Jervis International Security Studies Forum roundtable on Michelle Murray’s book, The Struggle for Recognition in International Relations.

Head of the Conservatory Library Kathleen Abromeit and Public Services Librarian Grace Elliott presented, "Stop Being a Fatphobe: Bringing a Larger Conversation to Critical Information Literacy" at the annual meeting of the Midwest Music Library Association.

Head of the Conservatory Library Kathleen Abromeit presented on the panel, "It Takes Time: Perspectives on Leadership, Career Development, and Job Transitions" at the annual meeting of the Music Library Association.

Professor Emeritus of Religion Margaret Kamitsuka has published "Vulnerability, Recognition, and the Ethics of Pregnancy: A Theological Response" in the feminist philosophy journal Hypatia. She analyzes how notions of vulnerability and grievability are mobilized in Christian anti-abortion writings and in feminist philosophy.