Gabriele Belletti
Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature, in the upcoming 40.1 issue next year.
In collaboration with Delaney Johnson (Honor Student), Dr Belletti developed a University Scholars Program (USP) course that explores the intersection of Italian and Floridian ecopoetry and their translations. This interdisciplinary initiative delves into ecological and cultural narratives through literary works from both Italy and Florida. The course fosters an understanding of environmental issues from a cross-cultural perspective. The article stemming from this project will be published in Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature, in the upcoming 40.1 issue next year.
Belletti is also leading the interdisciplinary SHINE project (Sciences Humanities Intelligence Nurturing Emotions), supported by the SPARK Grant. This project explores the intersection of ecopoetry, virtual reality, AI, and neuroscience to foster emotional engagement with climate change, contributing to ongoing efforts in Environmental Humanities and AI-related initiatives.
Together with Dr. Daniel Maxwell from UFIT, Belletti is developing a virtual reality language learning experience, integrating AI and environmental themes. He is also exploring collaborations with Alma Edizioni, an Italian publishing house, to expand these efforts in language education.
Dr Belletti also received the following grant awards:
Humanities Scholarship Enhancement Fund – This grant will support the final stages of his book Poetiche per l’ambiente (Ecological Poetics), which focuses on contemporary Italian poetry and its engagement with environmental issues. It will also assist in completing the bilingual anthology of Italian ecopoetry, contributing to the international dissemination of these works.
Library Enhancement Grant in the Humanities – This grant aims to enhance the library’s collection with ecopoetic works from various languages and cultures. It will specifically focus on texts that address urgent environmental challenges, particularly from the past three decades. The grant award was received by Gabriele Belletti and Hélène Huet.
Matthieu Felt
Dr Matthieu Felt published “Decolonizing the origins of (pre)modern Japanese literature” in Japan Forum 2025.
He also presented the following:
“Centripetal Verse: The Nativizing Power of Poetry in Japanese Myths” on the panel “Threads of Myth- Information: Clashing Lineages and Changing Stories in Japanese Mythology” at the Association of Asian Studies 2025 Annual Conference in March.
“Creation Narratives in Premodern Japan” at Florida State University in February, 2025.
“Notes, Paratext, and the Quest for Hidden Meaning in Japanese Myths” on the panel “Hidden Figures and Secret Meanings: Visibility and Invisibility in Premodern Japanese Texts” at the Modern Language Association 2025 Annual Conference in January, 2025.
Matthieu Felt received the following recognitions from the American Association of Religion in 2024:
Shortlisted finalist for “Best First Book in the History of Religions”
Shortlisted finalist for” Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Textual Studies”
Michael Gorham
Dr Michael Gorham published a peer-review article, “Prime-time Solov’ev: Rhetorical Strategies of a Wartime Propagandist, ” in Canadian Slavonic Papers.
He also taught a live webinar on the politics of Russsian-language internet for over 800 K-12 teachers nationwide as a part of the National Humanities Center’s “Humanities in Class Webinar Series. ”
Michael gave an interview to a syndicated public radio show on the U.S. -Russian relations [”Russia Claims Victory After Trump’s Call with Putin…, ” with “Background Briefing with Ian Masters. ” KPKM- FM radio, Los Angeles [19 March 2025])
He also hosted an invited workshop at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, presenting on a draft chapter from his forthcoming book, Networking Putinism: The Rhetoric of Power in the Digital Age (Cornell U.P.)
Stephan Kory
Dr Stephan Kory has an upcoming manuscript publication entitled, Technicians and Artisans of Heaven-and-Earth: Imperial Memories of Diviners, Physicians, and Craftsmen from Mid-Medieval China that will be published by Brill. The blurb for the book is as follows:
“Technicians and Artisans and Heaven-and-Earth reconstructs memories of significant but often overlooked figures from a remarkably diverse yet understudied period of Chinese history. The book includes translations of three biographical collections from the official dynastic histories of the Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui featuring the lives of “technicians and artisans. ” Through a comparative, intertextual, and literary analysis of these works, Stephan Kory not only sheds light on the roles and functions of diviners, physicians, and craftsmen in the imperial courts of mid-medieval North China but also provides us with fascinating insights into medieval Chinese court life and society. ”
The publication is expected to be out this summer, 2025.
Kole Odutola
Dr Kole Odutola was awarded the Green Gator of the Month Award. This award is given to those who, in the words of intern Jessica Cohen, are “committed to promoting sustainability. ” Kole teaches a Quest course entitled, “Is There Culture in Architecture?” (Course code IDS2935.) Cohen writes that in it, “Dr. Kole Odutola guides students to look beyond the physical aspects of buildings or design and instead recognize the sustainability, history, and identity behind them. ” Kole says that his core green habits include using the Gainesville RTS bus system daily, conserving natural resources and energy, living alongside nature, and carpooling with colleagues to minimize carbon emissions. Kole states that, “I believe that if we are kind to nature, it will be kind to us in return. ”
Guelden Olgun
Dr Guelden Olgun’s journal article entitled, “From ‘Woman’s Thigh’ to ‘Lover’s Lips’: Deconstructing Gender in Turkish Food Culture Through the Art of Mehtap Baydu, ” has been accepted for a special issue of Feminist German Studies.
Guelden Olgun has been appointed Affiliate Professor at the UF Center for European Studies.
Chris Smith
Dr Chris Smith recently published the following articles:
Smith, Christopher. “Sharks and Revolutionary Girls: The ‘Imperial Us’ in Kaneko Mitsuharu’s ‘Same’ and Ikuhara Kunihiko’s Shōjo Kakumei Utena. ” The Journal of Japanese Studies 51, no. 1 (January 1, 2025): 109–44.
Smith, Christopher. Review of The Tale of Genji through Contemporary Manga: Challenging Gender and Sexuality in Japan, by Lynne K. Miyake. Pacific Historical Review 94, no. 2 (May 1, 2025): 222–24.
Chris also presented “You Can (Not) Restore: Ecocritique and Intergenerational Ecological Conflict in Evangelion” at the 2025 Society of Cinema and Media Studies conference, Chicago IL, April 6, 2025 and at the 2025 Association of Asian Studies conference, Columbus OH, March 16 2025.
Richard Wang
Dr Richard Wang presented the paper “The Jingming Cult on the Move, ” at “China on the Move, ” the 6th Annual Meeting of the Southeast United States Scholars—Friends of Late Imperial China (SEUSS-FLIC) at UNC Chalotte, February 28, 2025.
Mary Watt
Dr Mary Watt, Interim Dean of CLAS, published:
“Writing and Reading the Way to Rome” in Pilgrimage in the Twenty-First Century: A Kaleidoscopic Inquiry. Ed. Ian McIntosh. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2024. 201-212.
“Le Camino de Dante: Un voyage vers l’ouest jusqu’à la fin du monde” in Interroger les chemins de Compostelle au XXIe siècle. Toulouse: Presses des Mines, 2024. 99-109.
Dr Watt also received the Slater Research Fellowship, Durham University, Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, January – March 2026.