Faculty and Staff Notes

The book launch of Elena Ferrante as World Literature (Bloomsbury Academic) by Stiliana Milkova, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, will be hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute in Dublin at 7 p.m. (GMT)/2 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, February 23.

Elena Ferrante as World Literature studies Ferrante’s works as world literature—that is, as literature that circulates in translation outside its culture of origins. Beginning with the creation of the author “Elena Ferrante” and the figure of the translator, Milkova delves into the intricacies of Ferrante’s texts, offering both an introduction to and a sustained reading of Ferrante’s entire literary production to date. The volume will be presented by Dr. Enrica Maria Ferrara (Trinity College Dublin) in conversation with the Milkova and Ferrante's translator, Ann Goldstein. Register your attendance and receive a link to the event, which will be held via Zoom.

Professor of English and Comparative Literature Wendy Beth Hyman has given two recent invited lectures. The first, “How Sonnets Think,” took place remotely at Oxford Brookes University in the UK; and “John Donne’s Flea and the Scientific Revolution” was delivered to the John Donne Society. She was also recently interviewed by Jeffrey R. Wilson (Harvard University) for a forthcoming project called “An Oral History of Public Shakespeare.”

Associate Professor David Breitman has been introducing Oberlin Conservatory students to historical keyboards since 1991. In his new book Piano-Playing Revisited, What Modern Players Can Learn from Period Instruments, released this month by University of Rochester Press, Breitman acknowledges the dilemma of confronting historical repertoire with modern instruments, then shows how to apply insights from period instruments to practical problems on any piano. A series of videos that he recorded primarily in Oberlin's Clonick Hall illustrates the musical examples .

Chester Andrews, retired director of client services, was named to the the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on University and College Computing Services (SIGUCCS) Hall of Fame. The ACM SIGUCCS Hall of Fame was established to recognize individuals whose specific contributions have had a positive impact on the organization and therefore on the professional careers of the members and their institutions.

Assistant Professor of History Danielle Terrazas Williams is the recipient of a yearlong (2021-2022) visiting fellowship at Notre Dame University's Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Aural Skills Kara Yoo Leaman published a peer-reviewed article in issue 7.2 of SMT-V, the Society for Music Theory Videocast Journal, titled "Dance as Music in George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco."

At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C., a new book by Associate Professor History Tamika Y. Nunley, was published by UNC Press in late January.

Tamika Y. Nunley published "Thrice Condemned: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Practice of Leniency in Antebellum Virginia Courts" in The Journal of Southern History in early February.

Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Comparative American Studies Meredith Gadsby has been invited to participate in a panel discussion that will explore the “powerful and lasting influence” of Toni Morrison. "Toni Morrison at 90" will take place at Cornell University on February 18, Toni Morrison's Birthday. The panel of international scholars will discuss how Morrison’s scholarship and art have impacted writers, critics, and readers, and why her work still feels so fresh and vital today.

Executive Director of the Career Development Center and Associate Dean of Students Dana Hamdan published the editorial “Career Readiness in the COVID World” in the February 5 edition of Inside Higher Ed. Hamdan discusses how COVID-19 and uprisings for racial justice have called for a thorough transformation of how we prepare students for the professional world.