Lauren RubensteinAssistant Professor of Government Logan Dancey started teaching at Wesleyan this semester—the perfect time, he says, to be teaching a course on Campaigns and Elections. “The unfolding presidential and congressional elections continually give us new events to think about as we read and discuss broader theories about the importance and meaning of campaigns and elections,” Dancey says. And though Congress has mostly ground to a halt this election season—meaning a dearth of current events to discuss in his Congressional Policymaking class—the increasing polarization in Congress has led to many interesting and important discussions in that course nevertheless. Dancey describes the…
Olivia DrakeJennifer Tucker will serve as interim director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, beginning immediately through the end of the fall 2013 semester. Tucker has accepted this position in order to enable the faculty and the university to formulate a vision for the Allbritton Center that will engage the curriculum and faculty scholarship, and enhance the intellectual life of the university. Her work this year will provide a framework for strategic planning and guide the search for a new director. Tucker is chair and associate professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, associate professor of history,…
Robert Schmidt, senior project manager for Physical Plant - Facilities, and Anne Marcotty, senior designer in the Office of University Communications, each received a Cardinal Achievement Award in October. Schmidt and Marcotty were honored for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks in their departments. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The award recipients are nominated by department chairs and supervisors. Nominations can be made anytime throughout the year. For more information or to nominate a staff member for the award, visit the Human…
For her exemplary service assisting an organization that improves astronomy research opportunities for undergraduates, Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium (KNAC) recently honored Linda Shettleworth with a certificate of achievement. KNAC is an organization of eight colleges and universities in the northeast that have banded together to improve astronomy research opportunities for undergraduates. The members are: Colgate, Haverford, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan and Williams. The group's activities are supported by the National Science Foundation through a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant to Wesleyan. Since 2004, Shettleworth has administered the grant and assisted with the administration of a previous grant from…
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Wesleyan hosted the 2012 Northeast American Society for 18th Century Studies Conference Oct. 11-14 with a theme of "The Social Individual." Scholars from universities and colleges throughout the country presented papers and participated in panels. Topics included Haiti’s Circum-Atlantic Roots and Routes; The Image and Occupations of the Social Individual; Questions and Experience of Temporality in 18th-Century France; Translation and the Public Good; Rethinking the Early American “Social Individual;" Lunatics, Lice, Mad Doctors, and Assassins; Shakespeare and 18th Literary Criticism; The Social Animal: Humans and Nonhumans; British Narratives; Social Science and the Science of the Social; among many others. Photos of…
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Seven Wesleyan undergraduates presented research at the annual Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium meeting held at Middlebury College on Sept. 22. Pictured above, from left, are: Eric Edelman '13, astronomy major, who worked with Professor Jay Pasachoff at Williams College; Miche Aaron '14, earth and environmental studies major, who worked with Associate Professor Martha Gilmore of Wesleyan; Mark Popinchalk '13, astronomy major, who worked with Professor Debra Elmegreen of Vassar College; James Dottin '13, earth and environmental studies major, who worked with Research Associate Professor James Greenwood of Wesleyan; Ben Tweed '13, astronomy major, who worked with Assistant Professor Seth Redfield of Wesleyan; Kerry Klemmer…
A book by Margot Weiss, assistant professor of American studies, assistant professor of anthropology, received the 2012 Ruth Benedict Book Prize by the Association for Queer Anthropology. Her book, Techniques of Pleasure: BDSM and the Circuits of Sexuality (Duke University Press, 2011) was honored in the category “Outstanding Monograph." This prize is presented each year at the American Anthropological Association's national meeting to acknowledge excellence in a scholarly book written from an anthropological perspective about a topic that engages issues and theoretical perspectives relevant to LGBTQ studies. Techniques of Pleasure is a vivid portrayal of the San Francisco Bay Area’s pansexual…
Jeanine Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, chair of film studies, was honored in Variety magazine's special feature edition, "Women's Impact Report 2012." In the profile, Basinger discusses her typical work week; the often-underestimated number of hours that college professors dedicate to their jobs; her secret to work-life balance; and why she doesn't carry a cell phone. She says, "My worklife and my personal life are very highly integrated. Students I've taught have now become my friends and are a part of my life. I don't have a problem juggling two lives, my life is coherent and it's only one life. In a…
On Sept. 19, the Connecticut Chapter of the American Institute of Architects awarded Wesleyan's 41 Wyllys Avenue project with a 2012 Design Award in the Merit category. Newman Architects of New Haven, Conn. oversaw the building's redesign. 41 Wyllys Avenue, formerly a squash facility, is the new home of the College of Letters, Art History Department and the Wesleyan Career Center. This historic building boasts beautiful new spaces enhanced with light, color and technology. The AIA Connecticut Design Awards celebrate the the accomplishments of Connecticut architects and the excellence of Connecticut architectural projects. An awards ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 3. For…