While Union and Confederate troops were slaughtering each other at Antietam in 1862 in what is called the bloodiest day in American history, Taiping rebels were leading millions of Chinese in the final stages of an uprising against the Manchu rulers of China in what, says the History Department's Stephen R. Platt, stands fully as the bloodiest civil war in human history. Platt's new book "Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War" (Knopf), is garnering glowing advance reviews in high places.
Sabina Murray of the Master of Fine Arts for Poets and Writiers Program has been invited to deliver the annual Harmsworth Lecture in American Arts and Letters at the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford University on June 12. Murray, whose most recent book is a collection of short stories titled "Tales of the New World," has been asked to address the historical and political influences on her fiction. Among those who have been invited to deliver the Harmworth Lecture in recent years are Joyce Carol Oates, Marilyn Robinson, and Richard Ford.
M.V. Lee Badgett, professor of Economics and director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, has been in the media spotlight this week - first in the New York Times and then on National Public Radio - for the work she does championing the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Vegetable Crops specialist and associate professor Frank Mangan of the Plant Soil and Insect Sciences Department has been selected to receive the 2012 New York Farmers Medal by the New York Farmers Club.
Sharon Rallis, Dwight W. Allen Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and Reform, led a workshop, "Conducting Useful Evaluations", in Istanbul.. The workshop, sponsored by Bahcesehir University, was attended by teams of teachers and school administrators, as well as by teams from NGOs, foundations, and businesses.
The Weed Science Society of America has honored more than two dozen individuals, including weed scientist Prasanta Bhowmik of the Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences Departmenet for their outstanding contributions to the field of weed science. The awards were presented during the organization's annual meeting, held this year in Waikoloa, Hawaii.
Allen Barker, professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, has been named the 2011 Agronomy Journal Outstanding Associate Editor by the American Society of Agronomy. According to the group, Barker has long provided outstanding service as associate editor and on the editorial boards of various professional journals.
Emeritus professor Joseph Larson will discuss the historic buildings at the Amherst campus at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Agricultural Club on Feb. 25. The talk begins at noon at the Marriott Courtyard Inn on Route 20 in Marlborough.
What lunch-pail mystic wouldn't be thrilled to be featured in The New Yorker, complete with a two-column portrait drawing? The English Department's Peter Gizzi may or may not be thrilled, but his poetry, says the magazine, is ecstatic. Gizzi and his recently released fifth book of poems "Threshold Songs" (Wesleyan) are the focus of a flattering full-page-plus write-up in the Feb. 6 issue.
Christine B. McCormick, dean of the School of Education, has been elected to the executive board of the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions.
The Center for Communication of Sustainable Social Change is hosting two visiting fellows from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China. In addition, those who missed "Communication for Sustainable Social Change: Back to the Basics," CSSC director Jan Servaes' Oct. 3 inaugural speech upon assuming the UNESCO Chair in Communication for Sustainable Social Change, can watch an edited version of it here, courtesy of amherstmedia.org.
Chemistry's Scott Auerbach and executive director of Marketing and New Business Development Michael Grabscheid - who is likely the only campus employee with both Sam the Minuteman and Jerry Garcia bobbleheads on his desk - will discuss the Grateful Dead in separate presentations at the Popular Culture and American Culture Association Conference in Albuquerque on Feb. 11.
