Prof. Liang was the guest speaker at the Spring 2011 Helmreich Symposium on March 29.  In his talk, "From Spain to the Middle East and Germany: How One Research Project Leads to Another" he described his work on his upcoming book and how it has led him to new research on parallel developments in Western Europe and the Islamic World in the Late Antique period.  His work, tentatively titled "The Shared Origins and Parallel Histories of the West and Islam (400-900 C.E.)" will enable him to re-envision his Hist 101 and other courses.