David PesciSeptember 26, 20125min
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask “5 Questions” of William "Vijay" Pinch, professor of history. Pinch spent five weeks this summer interacting with maritime scholars and working in the archives and library at Mystic Seaport.  Q: What were you studying at Mystic Seaport this summer? A: From June 25 to to July 27, I was privileged to be a student in a "summer institute" at Mystic Seaport, focused on "The American Maritime People."  The institute is usually pitched to graduate students, but every few years it is offered to college and university faculty with support from the National…

David PesciSeptember 26, 20121min
In a Sept. 5 op-ed for The New York Times, Wesleyan President Michael Roth discusses the recent calls to further specialize education and narrow what we teach students from K-12 and on to college at the exclusion of the liberal arts, especially the humanities. Roth says this drive to turn students into “human capital” is not a new. In fact, the esteemed 19th century educational philosopher John Dewey argued against the very same calls, saying, in part, “that learning in the process of living is the deepest form of freedom.”

David PesciSeptember 26, 20121min
In an Aug. 24 op-ed for The Hartford Courant, Lauren Caldwell, assistant professor of classical studies, says that U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin’s reference to women being able to consciously prevent conception during rape is relying on “facts” presented by the ancient Roman physician Soranus of Ephesus in the Second Century, A.D. Caldwell also says, “The next time I teach my course, I will be able to bring in the example of Rep. Akin to illustrate the ways in which 'medical understanding' continues to be used with the aim of social control,” which was also an objective of Roman rulers in…

David PesciSeptember 26, 20121min
On Sept. 18, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Jennifer Tucker, associate professor of history, associate professor of science in society, associate professor and chair of feminist, gender and sexuality studies. In light of the current mission of the Mars Curiosity Rover, Tucker writes about the centuries-long search for extraterrestrial life. The op-ed can be read online here. On Aug. 23, The New York Times published an op-ed by Tucker.  Tucker says that the science behind Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin’s comments on rape is completely sound, at least from the perspective of the 12th Century. She says that what may be…