Faculty

Rethinking Insurgency Symposium Sept. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

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Rethinking Insurgency will be held at Allbritton 311 at 9:30a.m., 9-17

“Rethinking Insurgency” a Terrorism and Insurgency Research 2010 Symposium will be held on Friday, Sept. 17 from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at Allbritton Center, Room 311.

The program features a presentation of original research by Wesleyan students who served as Program on Terrorism and Insurgency Research (PITR) Summer Interns:

Lo-Ching Chow ‘13
A. J. Hinds ‘12
Yvonne Lin ‘13
Evan Schnoll ‘11
Dan Tofan ‘11
Lydia Tomkiw ‘11

There will also be discussions by experts on terrorism and insurgencies and their impact regionally and globally. They include:

Matthew Furhmann, University of South Carolina
Jeff Goodwin, New York University
Jason Lyall, Yale University
Adria Lawrence, Yale University
Michael Nelson, Wesleyan University

The event is free and open to the public, and a coffee service is available.

“Rethinking Insurgency” is sponsored by the Program on Terrorism and Insurgency Research and the Center for the Study of Public Life.

Basinger on Name Actors Who Become Directors

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Commenting in a piece for The Boston Globe, Jeanine Basinger, Chair and Corwin Fuller Professor of Film Studies, says that the phenomenon of working actors becoming film directors goes beyond vanity and comes from, among other things, a genuine desire to improve a film and give it a fresher perspective.

Yohe on Independent IPCC Review, Suggestions

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Reported by PBS’s The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Gary Yohe, Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics, Professor of Environmental Studies, and a senior member of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), commented on the recent review of IPCC’s processes and procedures by the independent InterAcademy Council (IAC). The IAC’s primary recommendations include an executive committee with a full time director and more attention by the IPCC toward enforcing its own rules.

Grabel, Gruen: Stem Cell Ruling is Wrong

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In an opinion piece for The Hartford Courant, Laura Grabel, professor of biology and Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, and Lori Gruen, chair and associate professor of philosophy, associate professor of environmental studies, associate professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, denounce the recent ruling by a federal judge prohibiting federally-funded human embryonic stem cell research.

Dupuy on Wyclef Jean’s Haitian Presidency Bid

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In AOL News, Alex Dupuy, Class of 1958 Distinguished Professor of Sociology, discusses the proposed candidacy of singer Wyclef Jean for the presidency of Haiti. Dupuy talks about some of the challenges Jean will face, not the least of which is the lack of time he has spent in Haiti.

Lim: Obama’s Current Communication Style Inevitable

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A story for NPR explores an interesting, and very noticeable change in Barack Obama: as a candidate, his communication style was bold, inspiring and at times even poetic; but, now, nearly two years later as the country’s chief executive, “President Obama does not hold a candle, oratorically speaking, to Candidate Obama.” Why? Elvin Lim, assistant professor of government, discusses the changes in Obama oratorical style, explaining that, the president’s current approach is an inevitable function of leading in a polarized political environment. Lim adds that the functions of campaigning and governing are completely different: “And poetry is of much less use to him as president.”

Potter on the Tenure and Retirement Question

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Writing for The New York Times, Claire Potter, professor of History, professor of American Studies, announces that she will retire from the classroom…in 2025. Potter goes on to say why she believes that, as a tenured professor, planned retirement allows her to leave academia before her skills begin to diminish while simultaneously creating a process that allows the continued infusion of new, younger teacher-scholars.

Grossman: Dodd-Frank Bill Hits Key Finance Issues

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Richard Grossman, professor of economics, discusses the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in an op-ed published in the Aug. 1 Hartford Courant. Grossman says the act, which President Obama signed into law July 21, is the “most sweeping financial reform in 75 years.”

The 848-page law tackles a host of issues brought to light by the recent financial meltdown.

“Next to the reforms adopted in the wake of the Great Depression — which kept our country crisis-free for nearly four decades — Dodd-Frank is modest in scale and scope,” Grossman writes. “Our best hope of avoiding a recurrence of the financial turbulence of the last few years is an improved regulatory structure, which the Dodd-Frank legislation will deliver if the new regulators adopt sensible rules, combined with effective and sustainable macroeconomic policies.”

The op-ed also is posted on Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd’s web site.

Yohe: Is Geoengineering a Climate Change Cure?

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In a recent article in Scientific American, Gary Yohe, Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics, professor of environmental studies, discusses recent suggestions that geoengineering may curtail the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. In geoengineering, scientists deliberately manipulate Earth’s climate to counteract the effects of global warming.

“It’s something to have on the shelf in case you look up and say ‘We’re really going over a cliff here,” Yohe says in the article. “We have to do something.'”

Student-Created ‘Split Frame’ Wins AIA National Award

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Wesleyan’s architecture design class and its Research-Design-Build Studio have been recognized by the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) 2010 Small Projects Practitioners Awards. They were recognized for the observation platform “Split Frame” they created for the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn., in 2008. The studio and class are overseen by Elijah Huge, assistant professor of art, assistant professor of environmental studies.

Last year the class and studio created the Sukkah on campus as one of their projects.