Olivia DrakeGay Smith, professor of theater, emerita, is the author of the book Lady Macbeth in America: From the Stage to the White House, published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2010. Lady Macbeth has haunted American history since the conflicts of Shakespeare’s England spilled over into New England’s real witch hunts. To reveal how Lady Macbeth entered American politics as an icon for the First Lady, this investigation focuses on the prominent actresses in the role, how they performed, and their effect on audiences anxious about the country’s First Lady and her influence over the President—especially at times of war. In this…
Carl Viggiani, professor of romance languages and literatures, emeritus, died suddenly on Jan. 16, 2010. He was 87 years old. He joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1954, teaching French language and literature. He was active in the Center for the Humanities in its early years, offered numerous colloquia for the College of Letters, founded the Wesleyan program in Paris which he directed or served as resident director in Paris over seven and a half years, and served frequently as chair of the Romance Languages and Literatures Department. Viggiani earned his bachelor’s degree from Columbia College, master’s degree from Harvard University,…
David PesciSeth Redfield discusses a new way to search for extraterrestrial life.
Jeanine Basinger on the importance of Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar nomination for "The Hurt Locker"
Swinehart: 'The Privileges' "may be our finest guide yet to gracious living in the 21st Century"
Elizabeth McAlister and Holly Nicolas present and narrate "Music and the Story of Haiti"
Anthony Braxton's 8 hour, 60-musician piece will premier as part of the Vancouver Cultural Olympiad
Christiaan Hogendorn on how Internet neutrality works and why it's important to keep.
Kirk Swinehart reviews a new biography of a well-known, pioneering female photographer.
Douglas Foyle on the political landscape in the aftermath of the Massachusetts Senatorial special election
Corrina KerrTo determine the difference between a decisive and an indecisive person, follow the movements of their eyes. Andrea Patalano, associate professor of psychology, and Barbara Juhasz, assistant professor of psychology, have collaborated on research examining how decisive and indecisive people differ in their processing of information, which is a little-studied area. Their full findings are scheduled to be published in the near future, and both researchers are excited about what they found. Patalano has spent many years studying decision-making while Juhasz has spent time tracking readers’ eye movements using a device called an eye-tracker. Since the researchers were examining the…
In the past decade, the Wesleyan Men's Water Polo Club captured two titles and appeared in six Division III National Collegiate Club Championships. For their efforts, the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) named the team the "Collegiate Club Division III Team of the Decade" for 2000-09. Unlike many teams in their conference, the Wesleyan club runs its program without monetary or administrative support from the Department of Athletics. The students are coached by team captains, and occasionally a graduate student who has played on the team will coach without compensation. Nevertheless, the team won the 2004 and 2005 Division III…