Faculty Focus–February 13, 2023
Faculty members put their knowledge into action so students and others are able to benefit from it. Recently, faculty published research articles and book chapters, spoke at international conferences, and shared their political predictions for 2023.
Sean Han
Visiting Assistant Professor of History Sean Han published his article "Informal diplomacy in Chosŏn Korea and new engagement with the West and Westernized Japan, 1873–1876" in the January 2023 issue of Modern Asian Studies. The article focuses on non-state actors who shaped Korea’s interstate relations, transforming Korea into an active player in the international arena.
Han’s expertise is in modern Korean culture, media revolutions in East Asia, and diplomatic history/International Relations. At St. Lawrence, Han teaches Early Asian Civilizations, The Rise of Modern China, and the History of the Two Koreas. He holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Studies from Princeton University.
Robin Rhodes
Director of ESOL and Multilingual Student Academic Support Robin Rhodes published a peer-reviewed chapter titled “Investment and Praxis in Asset-Based Assessment: Exploring Transnational Identity and Perspectives for Academic English Writing Pedagogy” in the book Transnational English Language Assessment Practices in the Age of Metrics. The chapter draws on empirical research and focuses on the link between theory and practice while also resting on the foundation of Norton’s second language identity theory and Pratt’s concept of the contact zone.
Rhodes specializes in learner-centered education, instructional methods for English language learners with different cultures and backgrounds, and teaching in difficult circumstances. She is the director of English language learning for the Ubushobozi Project in Musanze, Rwanda. She teaches academic English to multilingual students, courses on teaching English internationally, and has taught courses in the First-Year Program.
Howard Eissenstat
Associate Professor of History Howard Eissenstat used his expertise on Turkish affairs to share how national elections could offer hope for the country in a round-up of 2023 predictions by the Middle East Institute.
Eissenstat’s recent work has focused increasingly on contemporary Turkish domestic and foreign policy, especially on issues of rule-of-law, minority rights, and the reshaping of political culture under the Justice and Development Party (AKP). At St. Lawrence, he teaches courses on Middle Eastern history and politics and in the First-Year Seminar (FYS). In addition to traditional academic work, Eissenstat served for over a decade as a Turkey Country Specialist for Amnesty International-USA. He has lectured at the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. military, and the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, as well as given testimony to the Canadian Senate and offered briefings to Congressional Committees.
Jeff Frank
Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Assessment Education Jeff Frank co-edited a special issue on COVID and education that was published by Studies in Philosophy and Education. His paper examines ways to facilitate student mourning to remember the human excellence people should strive for as they emerge from the pandemic.
During the Queens Conference on Education, the largest undergraduate student-run education conference in Ontario, Canada, Frank spoke to future teachers about how they can support their mental health so they can flourish in teaching while supporting the mental health of their students.
Frank has taught a First-Year Seminar (FYS) titled What Does it Mean to be Educated and courses such as Contemporary Educational Policy, Teaching and Teachers, and American Philosophies of Education. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and education from Columbia University and a B.A. in philosophy from Middlebury College.
Mert Kartal
Associate Professor of Government Mert Kartal co-authored a peer-reviewed chapter, that analyzes the current state of democracy assistance by international actors and its prospects for the future, in the book Handbook on Democracy and Security. Kartal collaborated with Inken von Borzyskowski of University College, London on the chapter.
Kartal's research focuses on the impact of international organizations on good governance. He received his doctorate in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At St. Lawrence, he regularly teaches Introduction to International Relations, International Organizations and Global Governance, and the European Union.
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St. Lawrence’s Faculty Focus is a regular roundup of noteworthy faculty news.
