2019 Program

Friday, September 27

Panels will run for 90 minutes, with each presentation lasting no more than 20 minutes for 3-person panels and 15 minutes for 4-person panels. The remaining 30 minutes will be dedicated to conversation between the chair, panelists, and the audience.

Looking for Answers – 1:00pm Axinn 219 – Moderator: Kristina Sargent

Suicide, Accident or Political Assassination? The Enigma of Alan Turing’s Death
Michael Olinick Professor, Department of Mathematics

Of Trenches and Tombs: Experiential Learning in Field Archaeology, Cyprus, Summer 2019
Pieter Broucke Professor of History of Art and Architecture, and Meagan Tan Jingchuu, Architectural Studies ‘21

Have We Found the Secret to Better Speaking?
Dana Yeaton Assistant Professor of Theatre, Department of Theatre and Dance

New Modes of Communication – 1:00pm Axinn 232 – Moderator: Christopher Star

Everything Old is New Again:” Teaching Classical Japanese Literature through Popular Culture
Otilia Milutin Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies, Department of Japanese Studies

Teaching Data Science as a College Writing Class
Alex Lyford Assistant Professor of Mathematics

The Character of Chemistry in Breaking Bad: An Audiovisual Book-in-progress
Jason Mittell Professor of Film & Media Culture and American Studies

Language Learning Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century
Gabriel Guillén Associate Professor, Language Studies (Spanish), Middlebury Institute of International Studies

The Secrets of Nature – 1:00pm Axinn 229 – Moderator: Jim Ralph

The Secret Life of Moss: Using Tiny Plants to Gain Big Insights into Ecosystem Ecology and Climate Change
Kirsten K. Coe Assistant Professor, Biology

Before it Blows: The Science behind Volcanic Eruptions
Kristina Walowski Assistant Professor, Geology

The Coral Holobiont: Investigating Reef Genetics and Microbes for Coral Reef Resilience
Erin Eggleston, Assistant Professor and Jeremy Ward, Professor, Biology Middlebury
(Co-authors: Steve Trombulak, Middlebury; Craig Dahlgren, PIMS; Ross Cunning, Shedd Aquarium; and John Parkinson, University of South Florida)

2:30 Coffee Break

Making Connections: Communities, Policy, and Work – 2:45pm Axinn 232 – Moderator: AJ Vasiliou

Engaging with Addison County About CRISPR-Cas9
Lindsay Repka Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

What Happened to the NAACP?
Jim Ralph Rehnquist Professor of American History and Culture, History Department

Do Workers Discriminate Against Female Bosses?
Martin Abel Assistant Professor of Economics

Citizenship, Policies, and Well-Being – 2:45pm Axinn 229 – Moderator: Erik Bleich

Mapping Wellbeing in the Congo with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Basic Necessities Survey
Jessica L’Roe Assistant Professor of Geography

Impact of Volunteering on Conceptions of Citizenship in China
Jessica C. Teets Associate Professor, Political Science
(Co-authors: Reza Hasmath, University of Alberta; Carolyn Hsu, Colgate University; Jennifer Hsu, University of New South Wales; Timothy Hildebrandt, London School of Economics)

Impact of Foreign Official Purchases of U.S. Treasuries on the Yield Curve
Erin Wolcott Assistant Professor of Economics

International and Global Issues and Exchanges – 2:45pm Axinn 219 – Moderator: Ilaria Brancoli Busdraghi

Migration and Labor Markets: An Historical View
Kristina Sargent Assistant Professor of Economics

U.S.-China Rivalry: Trade War, Tech War or New Cold War?
Wei Liang Professor and Program Co-Chair, International Trade and Economic Diplomacy, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Mastering Languages through Global Debate
Sandra Carletti Professor of Italian

4:15 Coffee Break

Understanding our World (and Beyond), Moderator – 4:30pm Axinn 219 – Jessica Teets

Agricultural Trade and Technology Adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa
Obie Porteous Assistant Professor, Economics

Shape and Sound
Emily Proctor Associate Professor, Mathematics.
(Collaborators: Carla Farsi, University of Colorado Boulder and Christopher Seaton, Rhodes College)

Black Holes, Superfluids & Quantum Entanglement: How Information Shapes the Physical World
Chris Herdman Assistant Professor, Physics

Answering Threats with Threats”: Are Iranian Biological Weapons Fears Driving Offensive Development? 
Philipp C. Bleek Associate Professor, Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies; Fellow, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Complexities of Language and Architecture – 4:30pm Axinn 232 – Moderator:  Jason Mittell

Words and Meanings in Flux: A Historical Linguistic Analysis of Japanese Youth Speech
Sayaka Abe Assistant Professor, Japanese Studies

The Prosperity Gospel and Other Religious Dimensions of American Capitalism
Justin Doran Assistant Professor of Religion

Love and Literacy on Film: Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend (2011; HBO Film 2018, director Saverio Costanzo; subtitled in English)
Pat Zupan C.A. Dana Professor of Italian

Identities and Representations – Axinn 229 – Moderator: Stefano Mula

A “Non-Event” to Remember: Reconstructing Motherhood Following Perinatal Loss
Zohar Gazit Israel Institute Teaching Fellow, Program of Modern Hebrew

Teaching about Food: Culture, Identity and Representation
Ilaria Brancoli Busdraghi Senior Lecturer, Italian Department

Rural Queer Studies on the Move: Reflections on Documentary Film Production as Engaged Research
Carly Thomsen Assistant Professor, Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies

Reception at 6:00pm