Olivia DrakeIf you want to study the life and work of Elia Kazan, "you come to Wesleyan." That's what Jeanine Basinger, chair and the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Cinema Archives, suggests to students or film fanatics in the community. For more than two decades, screenwriter/director Kazan (1909-2003) had ties with Wesleyan, and donated photographs, scripts, personal letters, and other life documents to the university. To celebrate and honor Kazan on what would be his 100th birthday, the Film Studies Department is hosting the Elia Kazan Centennial. The semester-long retrospective includes 11 Kazan film screenings with introductions, a…
Wesleyan Writing Programs begin Sept. 23 with a faculty readings and multiple guest speakers. Lisa Cohen, assistant professor of English; Deb Olin Unferth, assistant professor of English and Elizabeth Willis, the Shapiro-Silverberg Associate Professor of Creative Writing, will read from their work at 8 p.m. Sept. 23 in the Russell House. Cohen's poetry and nonfiction have appeared in numerous journals, including Ploughshares, Lit, Barrow Street, GLQ, Fashion Theory, Bookforum, The Boston Review, and Voice Literary Supplement. She is currently completing a group biography of three early 20th century figures—the fashion professional Madge Garland, the fan and collector Mercedes de Acosta, and…
Matthew Weiner ’87, the creator of the TV series "Mad Men" won two Emmy awards at The Emmy Awards ceremony Sept. 20. Weiner won for best drama and writing. According to a Sept. 21 New York Times article, Weiner attributed the success of his show to the lack of interference from the businessmen who finance it. (AMC, a cable channel, only recently began scheduling original series.) “I may be the only person in this room who has complete creative freedom,” he said in accepting the award.
David LowFranklin Sirmans ’91 has been appointed department head and curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He is currently curator of modern and contemporary art at the Menil Collection in Houston and will move on to his new position in January. AT LACMA, he will oversee a department that focuses on works created since 1968 and will work on strengthening the museum’s publication program. Besides being a curator, Sirmans is a critic, editor and writer. His curatorial credits include organizing NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith, an examination of spirituality in contemporary art that traveled…
Bill HolderDavid Montero ’98 has been nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a News Magazine." The nomination recognizes his Frontline documentary titled "Pakistan: State of Emergency," which explores the volatile Swat Valley. At the foot of the Himalayas in the border area with Afghanistan, the Swat Valley is an impoverished area that has provided a fertile ground for conflict between Taliban forces and Pakistani troops. In a Frontline interview, Montero said, “I first went to Swat in May 2007. Maulana Fazlullah, a radical cleric in the valley, had begun to become a problem for…
During the summer recess, amateur gardeners Sierra Bintliff ’12 and Nat Lichten ’09 seeded rows, weeded, irrigated, and tended fruits, vegetables and livestock at a small organic farm near St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine. A bulk of the bounty was harvested for St. Joseph's dining services, managed by Bon Appétit Management Company, the same business that oversees Wesleyan dining. "I was thrilled at the opportunity to work for a company whose mission statement embodies the ideal combination of my two passions: sustainability and food," says Bintliff, who works as a Bon Appétit catering employee at Wesleyan. "While working on…
Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02 was featured prominently on the two-hour season premiere of the highly popular medical series House, which aired on September 21, 2009 on Fox. On this episode, Dr. Gregory House, played by Hugh Laurie, checks himself into the Mayfield Psychiatric Institute, to recover from a Vicodin addiction and other bad behavior. The well-written premiere introduces several intriguing new characters who viewers are likely to see again this television season. Miranda plays Laurie’s roommate, Alvie, and becomes his co-conspirator at the hospital. Near the end of the show, Alvie and House perform a rap number together. Miranda is scheduled…
David PesciSuzanne O'Connell, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, director, service learning center, has an opinion piece in The Hartford Courant that tells residents and law-makers about a proven, environmentally-friendly method for reducing carbon emissions and raising revenue that's also incredibly cheap to implement.
Matthew Weiner '87, the creator of the popular TV series 'Mad Men' won two Emmy awards for the show at the most recent Emmy awards ceremony. Weiner won for both best drama, and for writing.
Brian Stewart, associate professor of physics and director of Wesleyan's Molecular Collisions Laboratory, settles once and for all exactly what the Heisenberg Principle means on NPR's "The Colin McEnroe Show."