Belmont University | FYI


January 16, 2009

ACHIEVERS


Faculty Present Research at Japan Studies Association Conference
JapanConf.jpgEarlier this month, faculty members Dr. John Paine (English and Foreign Lannguages), Dr. Andrea Stover (English) and Dr. Jonathan Thorndike (Honors Program) attended the Japan Studies Association Conference in New Orleans and presented research.

Dr. Paine spoke on "'Some Things Remain Broken Forever’: Christopher Banks’s Missed Connections in Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans.” Paine’s presentation concerned the quest of a London detective to solve the mystery of his own past and find his parents, who disappeared from the Japanese settlement in Shanghai in the 1930s, when Japan was about to invade China. Dr. Paine was given special recognition for accepting the role as editor of the JSA journal and bringing the newest issue of the journal to completion.

Dr. Stover talked on “Infusing Japanese Texts into an Upper-Level Composition Course on Life Writing.” Her essay explained the course she designed that combines Japanese and western authors, looking at how radically different authors construct a narrative self in the autobiographical mode.

Dr. Thorndike presented on “Tendai Buddhism and the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei.” His essay discussed the founder of esoteric Buddhism in Japan (Saichō) and the extreme physical accomplishments of the Buddhist monks on Mt. Hiei, who run rough mountain trails in darkness, covering distances up to 84 kilometers each day for 100 days.

Paine and Thorndike led last summer's Japan Study Abroad trip, and the 2009 Belmont in Japan Program will be led by Paine, Stover, Dr. Cynthia Bisson (History) and Dr. Marieta Velikova (Economics). Scheduled for May 13 to June 3, the program will offer two different academic options: "From the Tokugawa to Toyota: Japan, 1603 to the present" and "Japanese Life Writing in Kyoto."

Alumni's Company Featured in Tennessean
John Price and Sam Dryden, alumni of Belmont, were featured in the Jan. 16 issue of The Tennessean for the work they do as Lifetime Reel, a video production company that focuses on documenting important stories, memories and more for families and individuals. Click here to read the full story.

Watts Publishes Editorial in The Tennessean
Dr. Andy Watts, assistant professor in the School of Religion, had an editorial titled "Tower of Babel shows God's love for language diversity" in the Jan. 16 issue of The Tennessean. Click here to read the article.

ESPN.com Reports on Bruin Basketball
ESPN.com college basketball writer Kyle Whelliston attended the Jan. 5 Belmont-Florida Gulf Coast game and filed a feature story on the Bruins. Click here to read the story.

Longard Interviewed by The Tennessean
Dr. Shelby Longard, assistant professor of sociology, was recently interviewed by The Tennessean for a story on the new trend in relaxation beverages. To read the story, click here.



    For more stories from the Achievers Archive, click here.