Global Scholars

Numerous faculty members who traveled around the world this summer to continue their academic work wrote virtual postcards to the campus community about their pursuits.

By Ryan E. Smith
Date

For many, summer offers a valuable break from rigorous academic work in Gambier. But for some faculty, it’s simply an opportunity to continue their fascinating projects further afield — continuing research, deepening scholarship, and expanding their understanding of the world and its challenges.

This year, faculty from all disciplines hit the road and got to work all across the world — from Belize to Japan to India. Here are some messages sent from them over the summer and photos highlighting their important work in fascinating locales.

Digging into History in Belize

Claire Novotny, associate professor of anthropology

Dear Kenyon, 

Hello from Chan Chich, Belize! I’m here working on an archaeological project investigating ancient Maya households. In 2023, we used LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data to document thousands of ancient households and agricultural features built by the ancient Maya between 600-900 A.D. We have been visiting them and excavating ever since! My current project investigates differential access to resources between households in one rural Chan Chich neighborhood. I also visited several local schools to talk about archaeology and distribute a coloring book with information about the ancient Maya. Looking forward to sharing these discoveries this year in my “Introduction to Archaeology” and “Mesoamerican Archaeology” classes! 

Best,
Claire

NATO in the Netherlands

David Rowe, Harry M. Clor Professor of Political Science
NATO Public Forum.

Dear Kenyon, 

Greetings from The Hague! I am here for the NATO Summit to further my work on the future of the transatlantic alliance amid a rapidly changing and increasingly ominous world order. Peace does not come easy. I observed close-up the 32 member states confronting the many challenges of building the political consensus and military capacities necessary to create a just and durable peace for Ukraine and prevent the further spread of war. With so many heads of state and senior officials in one place, the security was insane. There were even armed bicycle patrols. In the days leading up to the summit, I appreciated amazing art, viewed quaint cityscapes, enjoyed good food and even saw a unicorn!

Dave

Summer School in Switzerland and Italy

Alex Novikoff, assistant professor of history

Dear Kenyon,

This June I returned to Lugano, Switzerland, with eight Kenyon students to teach my history class on location: “Italy from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance.” I have been teaching this class since 2018. We are based at the lovely campus of Franklin University Switzerland, but the class included on-site visits to Como, Monza and Bergamo in Italy, as well as the Sforza castles of Bellinzona in the Swiss Alps, among other locations. The class of 19 was a mix of Kenyon, Franklin and other study abroad students. Following the four-week June semester, I conducted some of my own research in Italy and presented a paper at an invited workshop on medieval typology hosted by the Humboldt University in Berlin. This was then followed by some much-needed down time with my wife’s family in Lithuania and my own family in France.    

— Alex

Exploring Jewish History in Italy and Spain

Krista Dalton, associate professor of religious studies

Dear Kenyon, 

I spent June traveling through Spain and Italy, digging through Jewish archives from the 15th to 18th centuries and dipping into historic synagogues and basilicas. I ended my time in Bologna, where I presented research about late ancient rabbis at a conference devoted to “Sacred Politics in a Secular Age: Jewish Political Theology Through History” hosted at Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose. This photo features me in the magnificent San Vitale Basilica in Ravenna where I viewed a mosaic of Abraham’s three angelic visitors and the Akedah (“binding of Isaac”) that we discuss in my RLST 115 (The Bible and Its Interpreters) class every spring. 

Sending my best,
Professor Dalton

Studying Poetry in Tokyo

Kai Xie, associate professor of Japanese

Greetings from Tokyo!

I’m spending two months at Waseda University working on my first book, a study of how Japanese and Sinitic poetry intertwine in linked verse from 14th to 17th century Japan. Alongside research, it’s been a joy reconnecting with Kenyon students currently studying abroad and catching up with alums now living and working in Japan.

See you back on campus soon!
Kai

Artistry in Japan

Manami Ishimura, assistant professor of studio art
From left: Sidney Plummer ’26, Ari Rustad ’26 and Takahiro Okubo.

Dear Kenyon,

I am in Japan for eight weeks with Kenyon students Ari Rustad ’26 and Sidney Plummer ’26! I was the artist in residence in Kijimadaira, Nagano, Japan where many traditional craftsmen and artists live. We learned one of the traditional washi papermaking techniques, Uchiyama washi; created large installation works; and just installed an exhibition at Shigakogen Roman Museum! Here is my awesome team that made this project successful!! 

Have a lovely summer!
Manami

Memorializing the Past in India

Wendy Singer, special assistant to the president for strategic initiatives and partnerships and Roy T. Wortman Professor of History
From left: Richa Jha ’03, Aaron Lynn ’14 and Archita Jha ’07.

Greetings Kenyon,

Here I am at the Bihta Ashram in Bihar, India, giving a speech in honor of the great peasant leader, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of his death. The Swami and the peasant movements of the 1930s were the topic of my first book. The anniversary, too, coincided with a memorial for my dissertation advisor, University of Virginia Professor Emeritus Walter Hauser, whose ashes, as he had wished, were immersed in the Ganges River. Hauser’s family, former students, politicians, journalists and others — connected to these figures and this place — joined in the ceremonies. This included three Kenyon alumni — Richa Jha ’03, Archita Jha ’07 and Aaron Lynn ’14. The whole trip was a powerful experience, embracing and recalling my 40 years of study in and about India, Bihar, rural politics, and peasant movements.  

Wendy