Faculty members put their knowledge into action so students and others are able to benefit from it. Recently, faculty have presented at conferences, been featured as experts in regional, national and international media sources, published articles, films, and much more.
Eloise Brezault
Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the World Languages, Cultures, and Media Department and Coordinator of the African Studies Department Eloise Brezault was featured by the department for multiple accolades.
Brezault recently presented at the Northeast Modern Language Association conference in Boston on “Reframing French classes in the era of AI.” During this presentation, Brezault reflected on what it means to teach a foreign language with AI, and whether language instruction can be limited to just grammar and vocabulary. Brezault advocates for the importance of humanities in teaching French, explaining that learning a language is more complex than just mastering its grammatical rules. “By teaching a language, you teach a worldview that can’t be reduced to a computer algorithm. You give students an opportunity to embrace the discomforts of being yourself in translation, you allow them to understand those uncomfortable feelings (of not fully understanding everything, including who you are in a foreign language).” Brezault argues that learning a foreign language such as French helps students become more astute and self-critical citizens in today’s globalized world by decentering American perspectives.
Brezault was also recognized for her paper presentation at the American Comparative Literature Association in Montreal. She talked about the metaphors or representations of mining in three recent African novels. The title of her talk was: “Suturing the city: Poetic of extraction in the novels of Aanza and Mujila, writers from the DRC.” Brezault discussed the ways Mujila and Aanza redesign a map of current Congolese towns to delve into the past and extract a difficult history of suffering.
Gisele El Khoury
Director of the Language Resource Center for the World Languages, Cultures, and Media Department Gisele El Khoury was recently featured for her exploration of artificial intelligence's role in Arabic language learning. At the recent Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) conference in Boston, El Khoury presented a paper on using AI, specifically ChatGPT, in Arabic language education. Additionally, El Khoury explores using ChatGPT for storytelling, generating artwork descriptions, and integrating AI image generators. Her research analyzes the challenges of translating Arabic proverbs with AI tools and proposes solutions. This includes creating contemporary proverbs, crafting riddles with AI assistance, and translating proverbs into emojis.
Brian Chezum
A. Barton Hepburn Associate Professor of Economics Brian Chezum was featured as an expert source by American Express in its article about strategies to help businesses raise prices without alienating customers: “Effective Methods to Help Execute a Price Raise.” Chezum’s research is focused on the markets in which information conflicts between buyers and sellers exist.
Mark MacWilliams
Professor of Religious Studies Mark MacWilliams was recently highlighted by the religious studies department for becoming a member of the American Academy of Religion’s Religion, Film, and Visual Culture’s Steering Committee. This unit offers a forum for theory and methodology of visual culture for those interested in the interdisciplinary study of religion, film, and visual culture. MacWilliams shares that there is no single way to study religion and the visual, thus scholars are expected to provide new perspectives on the way we understand visual culture and to provide this understanding through traditional and emerging methodologies.
MacWilliams teaches courses in several areas in the field, but his interests lie primarily in Japan. His major course offerings include, Explaining Religion, Fantasy Religion, Japanese Anime and Spirituality, The Buddhist Religious Tradition, and Religious Life of Japan.
MacWilliams has conducted special research in Japanese pilgrimage in Japan —particularly the Chichibu Kannon pilgrimage route, and is interested in religion and film, religion and the internet, and "spirituality" and religion in Japanese pop culture - comic books (manga) and anime.
Jeff Frank
Professor of Education Jeff Frank recently had his peer reviewed paper published. The paper, "Polarization and the student mental health crisis: Lessons on the future of democracy from Jonathan Lear" was published in the journal Philosophy of Education.
In his article, Frank discusses the impact of polarization on mental health and democracy, drawing from Jonathan Lear's work and philosophical concepts like skepticism concerning other minds. He explores how polarization affects classrooms and families, particularly concerning differing political beliefs. Frank emphasizes the importance of mourning and understanding in overcoming polarization, suggesting that acknowledging common humanity and embracing mercy can help mitigate its harmful effects. He calls for creating spaces for reflection, mourning, and mercy to foster understanding and address the mental health crisis exacerbated by polarization.
Patti Frazer Lock
Professor of Mathematics Patti Frazer Lock was highlighted by the mathematics department for speaking at the W.E.B. Du Bois Symposium. Lock was an invited panelist at the W.E.B. Dubois Symposium on Data Science, held in February. Lock was one of three panelists discussing “How to Craft an Undergraduate First Course in Data Science.”
Lock’s research is on mathematics and statistics education with a focus on network theory.
Atal Ahmadzai
Visiting Assistant Professor of Government Atal Ahmadzai recently had his article “After Moscow Attack, Great Powers Should Rethink Geopolitical Competition” published by Foreign Policy in Focus.
In Ahmadzai’s article he discusses the geopolitical competition among major powers which has caused a shift in focus, allowing Jihadi groups to regain momentum. Their growing proficiency in operating in various strategic theaters was demonstrated in the recent attack on Crocus City Hall in Russia. Unless major powers reexamine their consensus and trust-building efforts against terrorism, this scourge will continue to flourish amidst the shadows of their geopolitical rivalries.
Ahmadzai’s research is focused on geopolitics and terrorism.
Robin Rhodes
Director of ESOL and Multilingual Student Academic Support Robin Rhodes presented at the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Conference on March 22 in Tampa, Florida. Rhodes’s presented on "A Digital Story Map: Sustaining Multilingual Identity in Higher Education.” TESOL International Conference is the largest conference in the field and presenting at the conference is highly competitive.
Howard Eissenstat
Associate Professor of History Howard Eissenstat has garnered recognition from various media outlets for his expertise in contemporary Turkish domestic and foreign policy. Recently, he participated in a panel discussion titled "Turkey's Local Elections: Outcome and Implications," organized by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
Additionally, Eissenstat's insights on the repercussions of the opposition's victories in Turkey's municipal elections were highlighted in German-language coverage across newspapers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. He was also featured on the Middle East Institute’s Monday Briefing for his insights on the unexpected success of Turkey's opposition parties in municipal elections.
Eissenstat's commentary on the upcoming municipal elections in Turkey was quoted in Turkey Recap, where he pointed out the disparities between Ankara’s rhetoric and actions, shedding light on the constraints faced by the Turkish government.
He was later quoted in the German-Language Press regarding speculation about Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's retirement plans at the end of his current term.
Eissenstat's research focuses on contemporary Turkish political dynamics, particularly issues surrounding the rule of law, minority rights, and the evolving political culture under the AKP.
Michael Schuckers
Charles A Dana Professor of Statistics and Data Science Michael Schuckers was part of a panel on “Successful Outreach in Sports Analytics” at the 2023 New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports (NESSIS), which took place at Harvard University. The discussion also included distinguished panelists Tegan Bunsu Ashby from the Philadelphia Phillies, Lawrence Clark from the University of Maryland, and Mike Lopez from the National Football League. The panel was moderated by Brian Macdonald from Yale University.
The focus of the panel was on bringing underrepresented groups into sports analytics. Schuckers is part of a National Science Foundation grant that is developing educational materials based upon sports data to enlarge the pipeline of students considering careers in statistics and data science.
Schuckers is a leader in the field of sports data science having published dozens of papers on analyzing data in sports, especially ice hockey. He has been named Significant Contributor by the Section on Statistics in Sports of the American Statistical Association. He is also one of the prominent figures in developing statistical methods for bioauthentication devices such as facial recognition and fingerprint readers. A Fulbright Scholar at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in 2013, his research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and the Center for Identification Technology Research.
Ronnie Olesker
Michael and Virginia Ranger Professor of Government Ronnie Olesker published an article co-authored with St. Lawrence alum Zachary Lang '19. The article, "Lessons From Dragons: Teaching Political Science with HBO’s House of the Dragon" explores the use of the show to teach courses in comparative and American politics. The article explores the impact of changing political attitudes on gender and race on the show's aesthetics compared to its predecessor Game of Thrones.
“This article was really fun to work on with Zach. We share a strong interest in Game of Thrones and have worked on research in the field of popular culture and world politics since Zach completed a summer fellowship with me in the summer of 2017.” Lang is completing his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Missouri in May 2024.
Anna Fahr
Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Film Anna Fahr’s film Valley of Exile, a debut narrative feature film, has won three awards at festivals in New York and Toronto. The film won Best Actress for Maria Hassan and the Grand Prize Narrative Feature at the SR Film Festival in New York City. At the Canadian Film Fest in Toronto, Canada the film won Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) Ontario Award for Best Director
Fahr’s research is in film production, screenwriting, directing, Middle East cinemas, women in film, transnational film and new media practices.
Erika Barthelmess
Piskor Professor of Biology Erika Barthelmess was featured in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution for her part in the paper “Mammal Responses to Global Changes in Human Activity Vary by Trophic Group and Landscape” on changes in animal behavior during the COVID lockdown.
Barthelmess’s paper was also featured by The New York times in their article “Where the Wild Things Went During the Pandemic.”
Barthelmess is a vertebrate ecologist and conservation biologist. Her research interests include the biology of small, isolated populations, the intersection of behavioral ecology and conservation, road ecology, and the ecology and natural history of porcupines.
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St. Lawrence’s Faculty Focus is a regular roundup of noteworthy faculty news.
