Wesleyan’s Government Department gathered students to take in the results of the Nov. 5 election together, with games, snacks, and multiple news feeds. “I feel like today, and this time in particular, is very anxiety inducing,” said Adriana Begolli ’25, co-chair of the Government Majors Committee. “Everyone can't focus on their work because they're really nervous. So, we really just wanted to come up with a space that people can learn more about what's going on, but it doesn’t feel super anxious.” Professor of Government Mary Alice Haddad said she helped to create the event because this election night…

For many, the ideal of democracy lies in the concepts of government by the people and the rule of the majority. While this is a significant part of what makes a democracy work, or fail, the discourse surrounding elections plays a key role, too, said Xander Starobin ’27. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Starobin and dozens of other Wesleyan students have taken action to strengthen democracy, canvassing in states that could define this year’s election, and the country, going forward. “To be able to go canvass—which is directly talking to people about what people are concerned about,…

By: Phuc Ngo ’27 As Election Day neared, the Wesleyan Media Project’s reports on political advertising and their expert commentary were frequently cited in national media. Erika Franklin Fowler, professor of government and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, spoke with CBS Morning News about the impact of television ads. “Negative ads tend to be more policy-based, more issue-focused,” said Fowler, “and those details actually are very important for citizens who don't otherwise pay a lot of attention to politics.” A Washington Post piece on the presidential race in Virginia cited Wesleyan Media Project data on the relatively low number…

From across the country, thousands of Wesleyan alumni and family members came together for a weekend of community, connection, and conversation during Homecoming and Family Weekend (HCFW) from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3. HCFW activities kicked off on Friday with numerous opportunities for alumni, families, and students to attend classes, open houses, exhibits, and WESeminars—presentations that allow Cardinals to revisit the classroom and experience the pragmatic liberal arts that is the essence of Wesleyan. For many, it was first and foremost an opportunity to reconnect. Sueann M. Papertsian P’28, from New York, was looking forward to reuniting with her son,…

To hear Nicholas Whittaker tell it, horror movies are greater than the sum of their terrifying, putrid parts. “[Horror] allows us to sit in that feeling that the world is something you could never fully understand—and that’s also the place where philosophy is born,” says Whittaker, assistant professor of philosophy. “Philosophy happens when you recognize that your ways of making sense of the world—whether with science, with history, with psychology—aren’t cutting it anymore. When it feels like there’s an excess of unintelligibility in the world, that’s [also] where horror thrives.” This semester, Whittaker is digging beneath the gore and the…

Images of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 are still shocking. What had historically been a ceremonial procedure turned riotous and deadly. The peaceful transfer of power between administrations was a point of national pride taught in history books, but today it is mired in uncertainty. Robert Cassidy, assistant professor of the practice in government, gathered four scholars with different perspectives on what may happen this election cycle at a panel on Oct. 17. Logan Dancey, associate professor of government, offered insight into political developments and election reforms passed since the 2020 election. David Aaron ’95, visiting professor of…

What do Christian, Jewish, and Hindu Americans have in common? They all have someone representing their faith on the national political stage in the 2024 presidential campaign. That intersection of religion and politics was the focus of a talk, “The Fluidity of American Faith: Real Talk about Religion and the 2024 Presidential Race,” by investigative journalist and author Sarah Posner ’86 on Oct. 17 at the Frank Center for Public Affairs. In introducing Posner, Department of Religion Chair Andrew Quintman said, “religion informs our understanding of so many aspects of our human life and that's especially true of our current…

“What is Political About Art?” was the question posed at the Theater Department’s fall Talk It Out and Long Table conversation on October 10. The event was organized by Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl, Associate Professor of Theater and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Katie Brewer Ball, and included the student cast of Of Government in the Theater Studios. Pearl will be directing four performances of Agnes Borinsky’s play Of Government in the CFA Theater Nov. 7 to Nov. 9. The work deals with the connected processes of making theater and making society. “Every time we do a play, we…

The long-standing Science in Society Program (SiSP) has a brand-new name: the College of Science and Technology Studies (STS). After existing as a program since 1980 with jointly appointed faculty, the newly renamed college appoints its own faculty and draws affiliated faculty from across the humanities and social sciences. The College of STS is comprised of transdisciplinary faculty with scholarly expertise in historical, philosophical, and social scientific approaches that contextualize the many forms, practices, and institutions that constitute science and technology today. While still beloved by its over 500 alumni, the program’s unique name for its major “Science in Society”…

Guns are a pervasive, complex feature of modern life. All too often, however, the debate over firearms is reduced to simple, adversarial shouting matches. “If we just think of [the subject of guns] as a tug of war between two groups, that reinforces artificial binarism and both-sides-ism,” says Jennifer Tucker, professor of History and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Guns and Society. On Oct. 18 and 19, Wesleyan’s Center for the Study of Guns and Society (CSGS) will foster a broad, nuanced, and multidisciplinary discussion — encompassing both historical and contemporary perspectives on guns and…

There are only three places in the United States where incarcerated individuals never lose their right to vote: the District of Columbia, Maine, and Vermont. Connecticut is one of 23 states where incarcerated people lose their right to vote, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2021, the state passed a bill restoring the right to vote for most people on parole and probation. Two advocates for this bill’s passage—State Senator Gary Winfield and organizer James Jeter—joined reentry expert Tracie Bernardi Guzman in conversation about barriers to voting in Connecticut at Wesleyan’s Allbritton Center for the Study of…

On October 2, Saidiya Hartman ’83, Hon. ’19 joined Kaneza Schaal ’06 in a conversation about their collaborative process of creating the new performance work Litany for Grieving Sisters. Moderated by Kiara Benn ’20, the event was hosted by Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts and convened in the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing and Criticism. Based on Hartman’s essay of the same name, which was originally published in the journal Representations in 2022, the work explores themes of collective grief, love, and resilience. The three Wesleyan alumnae discussed the evolution of the project as they collaborate in a democratic process…

Gallery: Election Night Watch Party

Wesleyan Students Canvass Voters in Key Swing State

Wesleyan in the News: November 2024

Celebrating Community at Homecoming and Family Weekend 2024

The Gory Details: Nicholas Whittaker on Philosophy and Black Horror Cinema

Peaceful Transfer of Power? Scholars Discuss the Possibilities

Alumni Author Talk on Religion and the Presidential Race

Students, Faculty Explore Intersection of Art and Politics

Renamed College of Science and Technology Studies Aligns with Growth in the Field

Center for the Study of Guns and Society to Host Annual Fall Conference

Breaking Down ‘Barriers to the Ballot’

Democracy in Action: Three Alumnae Discuss Collaboration on New Performance Work