ScotBlogs

Our day began early today with a lovely breakfast with the President of International Christian University, Junko Hibiya, followed by a bullet train ride past many rice fields, ending in Kyoto. Our breakfast conversation at one point turned to gender … Continue reading →

Our day started with a bit of a mad dash to catch the bus so we would make it on time for our Meiji Shrine visit. The best part of running with a group of academics is that someone will … Continue reading →

Our day today was topped off by an activity straight from my own bucket list: an evening at one of the major sumo wrestling tournaments. One thing is certain: the experience did not disappoint! While it is not terribly surprising … Continue reading →

  After yesterday’s crazy start, we finally all arrived in Japan last night at the International Christian University Dialogue House (guest house) and were greeted by gracious hosts and treated with awesome accommodations. We started out today with a special … Continue reading →

This little slab of crinoid stem fragments comes from the Co-op Creek Member of the Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic) exposed in northwestern Kane County, Utah. I collected it with my friend Carol Tang as we explored a beautiful encrinite (a … Continue reading →

After four and a half hours into our trip, we have moved from gate B4 to B3. Mechanical problems with the plane to Atlanta. Is this global engagement?

Introduction The 2013-14 Hales Fund Faculty Study Group has been exploring the discourse and practice of interdependence in Japan. For over half a century, academic work on Japan has debated whether “Western” notions of self, individual, agency and autonomy have meaning … Continue reading →

My first thought on seeing this distorted fossil was how much it evoked one of those Palaeolithic “Venus figurines“. It is certainly difficult to deduce that this is actually a crinoid column (or stem). It was found during my last … Continue reading →

WOOSTER, OHIO–Steph Bosch (’14) and Lizzie Reinthal (’14) volunteered to examine the Matmor Formation fossils I collected last month in Israel. Each fossil, most of which are crinoid ossicles, must be scanned under a microscope for tiny encrusters (especially bryozoans), … Continue reading →

This tiny but fearsome jaw is known as a scolecodont, and they are fairly common in the Cincinnatian rocks (Upper Ordovician) in the tri-state area of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The label on this particular specimen does not indicate the … Continue reading →