WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 2, 2007 -This year's Tuesday Teas, a series of conversations with Williams College authors about writing and publishing, will begin Tuesday, April 10, with lecturer in English Karen Shepard's discussion of her recently published novel.

The event will continue with discussions of books by three other faculty members: Monique Deveaux (associate professor of political science), Soledad Fox (assistant professor of romance languages), and David Edwards (Carl W. Vogt '58 professor of anthropology). The events will take place in the Stetson Faculty Lounge, on the Williams campus, every Tuesday through May 1 at 4 p.m.

The Tuesday Tea series is sponsored by the Williams College Libraries and the Office of the Dean of the Faculty. The event is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.

April 10-Everything I Didn't Know: The Story Behind Don't I Know You?

Shepard, lecturer in English, will discuss her third novel, "Don't I Know You?" the suspenseful and moving story of a twelve-year-old who discovers his mother's lifeless body on the floor of their New York apartment.

The novel successfully intertwines the lives of three initially unrelated characters that attempt to understand the mystery of the murder. In taking readers to the depths of consciousness, the story beautifully exposes the limitations of intimate knowledge and understanding.

Shepard graduated from Williams College in 1987, and obtained her M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Houston, Texas. She is the author of "An Empire of Women" and "The Bad Boy's Wife," as well as of numerous pieces of short writing published in Vogue, The Atlantic Monthly, Southwest Review, and Mississippi Review.

April 17-From theory to practice (and back again): Writing Gender and Justice

Deveaux will talk about her book, "Gender and Justice in Multicultural Liberal States," in which she addresses the tensions between broad liberal norms, and cultural and religious customs that often occur in liberal democracies.

Deveaux's work explores the tensions facing liberal states by focusing on gendered cultural conflicts in Canada, Britain, and South Africa, and suggests a "deliberative" approach to conflicts of culture, to enable communities to evaluate their customs within the context of democratic dialogue.

She received her B.A. and M.A. from McGill University and her M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Cambridge University. At Williams, she teaches a broad range of courses, including "Multiculturalism and Political Theory," "Sex, Gender and Political Theory," and "Equality."

April 24-A Spanish Woman's Life: From Memoir to Biography

Fox, assistant professor of romance languages, will discuss "Constancia de la Mora in War and Exile: International Voice for the Spanish Republic," a book on the life and work of a fascinating female figure of the Spanish Civil War, drawing on interviews, archival materials and correspondence.

Constancia de la Mora, the focus of Fox's research, was director of the Republican Foreign Press Office during the Civil War. She wrote her life story and described her political views in her memoir, "In Place of Splendor," one of the first personal accounts of war to be published and one of the best examples of 20th century women's literature.

Fox received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, and her Ph.D. in comparative literature from City University of New York. Before coming to Williams, she taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sarah Lawrence, Hunter College, and Hostos Community College. She was recently awarded a Fulbright Research Grant, and a Williams World Fellowship for her project "Three Spanish Women Writers in War and Exile: Maria Teresa Leon, Constancia de la Mora and Merce Rodoreda."

May 1-Making Sense with Pictures: Kabul Transit a Year Later

David Edwards, the Carl W. Vogt '58 professor of anthropology at Williams, will discuss "Kabul Transit," a documentary that is part of the bigger Afghan Media Project he began in 2001. A product of Edwards' close work with technical experts, as well as Afghan journalists, "Kabul Transit" is a collection of digitized images and videos of Afghanistan during the 1987-92 war.

The video delves into the contemporary history of Kabul, a city devastated by a war that lasted more than three decades. Edwards' makes remarkable use of black humor and "sardonic good sense" and manages to skillfully make sense of his various observations of Afghan daily life.

Edwards is the author of various other anthropological studies and works, including "Heroes of the Age: Moral Fault Lines on the Afghan Frontier." His work on Afghan issues has served as the basis for stories in The New York Times, NPR, and BBC World Service.

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For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of Public Affairs (413) 597-4277. The map can also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/home/campusmap/

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News Cristina Florea