News & Events 04/2015

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The Mead Art Museum is already planning an exhibition in the year 3015 that will unveil the world's slowest photograph, taken in a single exposure over the course of 1,000 years. 

The conceptual artist behind the project is Jonathon Keats '94, whose "millennium camera" will be installed atop Amherst's Stearns Steeple in June 2015 to document the evolution of the nearby Mount Holyoke Range until the summer of 3015.

The technology behind Keats' camera is simple—so simple, in fact, that it doesn't involve much technology at all. Any technology we have now, says Keats, is going to be unintelligible 10 years from now, much less 1,000 years from now. In order for the camera to be sustainable over time, he continues, it can't rely on a mechanical shutter, a developing process or an operating system. 

Roughly 3 percent of books published in the U.S. every year are works in translation. Of that 3 percent, only about 4.3 percent are translated from Arabic.

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How often do you read books in English that have been translated from other languages? Chances are, not often. Have you ever read a book in English that was translated from Arabic? Chances are, you haven't. Statistically speaking, your chances of finding any work in translation—works from the Arab world in particular—on the shelves of your local bookstore are minimal.

Roughly 3 percent of books published in the U.S. every year are works in translation; of that 3 percent, only 4.3 percent are translated from Arabic. This spring, Jennifer Acker '00, founder and editor-in-chief of Amherst's literary magazine The Common, moderated a panel conversation at Amherst about contemporary Arabic fiction and began by citing these bleak statistics (which come from publisher Chad Post, who provided them to Publishers Weekly for this article).

"Our hope," Acker explained, "is that all of our collective efforts as readers and writers, community members and publishers ... can help to increase that number."

by Bill Sweet

Long a fan of the great European novels of the 19th century, Melih Levi ’15 has a treat in store for his fellow bookworms: the first English translation of an 1875 novel from his native Turkey.

Syracuse University Press has confirmed that it will be publishing an English translation of Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s 1875 novel Felâtun Bey and Râkım Efendi. Melih Levi and Monica M. Ringer, associate professor of history and Asian languages and civilizations, are co-translators. According to Ringer this will be the first published translation of the book in any European language.

April 29, 2015

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Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Amherst History
Professor Frank Couvares speak at Johnson Chapel on April 28

The use of U.S. military force in the world has become “too easy” for American presidents, having become “the first option rather than the last resort,” said former Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a talk to a full Johnson Chapel on April 28.

April 30, 2015

April 30, 2015

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An artistic illustration of a quantum-mechanical monopole. Credit: Heikka Valja.

AMHERST, Mass.—Building on his own previous research, Amherst College professor David S. Hall ’91 and a team of international collaborators have experimentally identified a pointlike monopole in a quantum field for the first time. The discovery, announced this week, gives scientists further insight into the elusive monopole magnet, an elementary particle that researchers believe exists but have not yet seen in nature.

Over the past 10 years, Amherst has made great strides in sustainability by building a co-generation power plant, switching to natural gas, expanding the College’s recycling program and using high-efficiency building practices in construction and renovation projects, among other things. But such progress has centered on college operations, where change isn’t always readily apparent. A new initiative is, though. Thanks to the generosity of an Amherst alumnus, the College has replaced its outdoor lights with more efficient and eco-friendly LEDs.

April 23, 2015

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Leo Arnaboldi ’81

AMHERST, Mass.—The trustees of Amherst College have voted to award Leo Arnaboldi, a member of the College’s class of 1981, the Medal for Eminent Service during the school’s commencement exercises on Sunday, May 24. The medal is presented to members of the Amherst community who have demonstrated exceptional devotion to the College.

April 7, 2015

AMHERST, Mass.—Entrepreneur and philanthropist Jim Ansara ’82, renowned children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle, contemporary artist and educator Sonya Clark ’89, economist Alice Rivlin, computational geneticist Pardis Sabeti and attorney and activist Paul Smith ’76 will all receive honorary degrees from Amherst College during its 194th Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 24, at 10 a.m. on the school’s main quad.

April 16, 2015

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Amy Ziering ’83

By Briana Wiggins ’15

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A 1,000-year exposure camera created by an Amherst alum. The Amherst College Glee Club's sesquicentennial. Student and faculty collaborations across artistic disciplines. All this and more is celebrated at the Spring Arts Festival, taking place at various locations on campus Friday, April 10, through Sunday, April 19.

April 9, 2015

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April 1, 2015

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