Faculty and Staff Notes
Entertainment Weekly Reviews Debut Novel by Allegra Hyde
March 1, 2022
The debut novel by Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Allegra Hyde, ELEUTHERIA, was reviewed in a recent print issue of Entertainment Weekly. Of the novel, EW said: "Allegra Hyde has a sharp eye for the culture-war chaos and breezy narcissism of modern American life. And enough hope to hint that the youth might (might!) save us from ourselves."
Jennifer Blaylock Publishes Article on Oberlin Alumnus Shirley Graham Du Bois
March 1, 2022
Visiting Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies Jennifer Blaylock recently published an article about Oberlin alumnus Shirley Graham Du Bois for a special issue of Feminist Media Histories on decolonial feminisms edited by Pavitra Sunar and Debashree Mukherjee. Shirley Graham Du Bois was the first director of Ghana Television and likely the first Black woman to head a national television station in the world. Blaylock's article, "The Mother, the Mistress, and the Cover Girls: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and the Coloniality of Gender" analyzes Graham Du Bois' theorization of television as a tool for decolonization and shows that while Graham Du Bois' media practice rarely addressed gender inequality specifically, her work as a female broadcast leader in the mid-1960s set a precedent for decolonial feminist futures.
March Blecher Coauthors, Publishes Two Books Dealing with Class and the Communist Party
March 1, 2022
On February 25, Routledge published Professor of Politics and of East Asian Studies Marc Blecher’s two newest books: Class and the Communist Party of China, 1921-1978; and Class and the Communist Party of China, 1978-2021.
Blecher coauthored the books with colleagues from Harvard, Sciences Po, the University of Sydney, and Xi’an Jiaotong Liwupu University (in Suzhou, China). To mark the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary, the scholars put together this project of research, writing, and conferences on its century-long encounter with the question of class.
Poem by Robin Beth Schaer is Set to Music for Chamber Choir
March 1, 2022
Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Robin Beth Schaer's poem "Holdfast" was set to music by composer Matthew Recio in a composition for vocal chamber choir. The piece was recently performed by the Chicago ensemble "Stare at the Sun." A recording is available online.
Stephen Crowley Discusses His Recent Book in Podcast
March 1, 2022
Professor of Politics Stephen Crowley recorded an interview about his recent book, Putin's Labor Dilemma, on the SRB Podcast. In November and December 2021 Crowley was a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Bologna.
Yveline Alexis Gives Talk on Haiti's Independence Day Soup
March 1, 2022
Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Comparative American Studies Yveline Alexis gave a talk on Haiti's Independence Day Soup (Soup Joumou) for the African-American fraternity Omega Psi Phi at Tufts University. Planners included a nutrition graduate student (Diego Meritus) and their Africana Studies Department. Organizers partnered with Haitian restaurants who served the delicious soup to the attendees.
Grace An Co-edits a Special Issue of French Screen Studies
February 16, 2022
Associate Professor of French and Cinema Studies Grace An co-edited a special issue of French Screen Studies on French documentary film and the ethics of care since 1968. Articles in the issue explore films that addresse topics including education, migration and refugees, disability, incarceration, and postcolonial trauma. An authored the article "Care across divides: militant abortion and film around the Veil Law," which discusses the ways feminists and activist doctors sought alternative practices of reproductive care and justice during the years that led to the legalization of abortion in 1975. Reframing abortion as a labor of care, the filmmakers filmed an ethics of care avant la lettre, just years before the ethics of care was conceived during the 1980s in the U.S., yet developed eventually in France. This article benefitted from the insight and research conducted by Amelia Connelly, Lillian Enoch, Skylar Kleinman, Alison Simonds, Daisy Vollen, and Kiki Widran during the first Junior Practicum (Fall 2020). French Screen Studies is the only English-language academic journal to focus exclusively on French cinema and media.
Anna Levett Publishes Review in Journal of North African Studies
February 15, 2022
Visiting Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature Anna Levett has published a review of The Albert Memmi Reader in the Journal of North African Studies.
Chanda Feldman Named Loghaven Artist in Residence
February 14, 2022
Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Chanda Feldman is one of 25 fellows selected from more than 900 applicants for an artist residency at Loghaven Artist Residency in 2022.
Ohio Arts Council Presents Holly Handman-Lopez with Individual Excellence Award
February 11, 2022
Assistant Professor of Dance Holly Handman-Lopez has been awarded a 2022 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for Choreography. Her prize-winning work was created during the pandemic and performed by Oberlin College students. This is Holly's second such prize from the Ohio Arts Council.