Lauren RubensteinAn article by Steven Stemler, assistant professor of psychology, is published in Vol. 47, Issue 1 of Educational Psychologist. In the article, “What Should University Admissions Tests Predict?" Stemler argues that because colleges and universities emphasize the development of a broad range of capabilities in their students—beyond just mastery of specific academic content—admissions tests should also capture a range of essential student qualities. The article includes a review of these common capabilities, such as cultural competence and ethical reasoning, which colleges and universities purport to seek and develop in their students. It then presents a conceptual model outlining what outcomes admissions tests…
Olivia DrakeCourtney Fullilove, assistant professor of history, wrote an article titled "Dead Letters—By a Resurrectionist: Liberty and Surveillance in the Tombs of the U.S. Post Office," published in the January 2012 issue of Common-Place.org. In the article, Fullilove describes a history of the 19th century Division of Dead Letters. Until World War I, all undeliverable letters were processed through the central office in Washington. By law, unclaimed letters were burned, pulped, or otherwise destroyed. But Fullilove discovered this wasn't the case. "Here was a riddle," she writes. "In a non-existent box were four letters that should have been destroyed. Their presence was evidence…
A translation titled "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats," written by Kevin Wiliarty, academic computing manager, was published Jan. 31 by The Other Press. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is a translation of Jan-Philipp Sendker's Das Herzenhören, originally published in 2004. A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never…
David LowNadja Aksamija, assistant professor of art history, is the co-author of the book, La Sala Bologna nei Palazzi Vaticani: Architettura, cartografia e potere nell’età di Gregorio XIIIpublished by Marsilio Editori, 2011. The Sala Bologna is one of the most inaccessible and fascinating spaces in the Vatican Palace, located between the Pope’s private apartments and the Secretariat of the Vatican State. Originally used for ceremonial purposes, it was built and decorated for the Jubilee of 1575 for the Bolognese pope Gregory XIII, Ugo Boncompagni, and precedes by five years the more famous Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Belvedere. It was conceived…
The Center for Faculty and Career Development announce the Spring 2012 Academic (Technology) Roundtable lunch series. A(T)R lunches are designed to promote conversation, cooperation and the sharing of information, ideas and resources among faculty members, librarians, graduate students and staff. Meetings take place at noon in Olin Library's Develin Room (unless specified otherwise) and include a buffet lunch. The Spring A(T)R Schedule is below: Feb. 20 "Using Digital Media in Place of the Traditional Academic Paper," a videoconference with Hisa Kuriyama of the Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History, Harvard University. Feb. 27 "Writing History in the Digital Age," with…
F.D. Reeve, professor of letters, emeritus, is the author of Nathaniel Purple, published by Voyage in 2012. A feud, a fire, an affair. Cows in the pasture, men at the lunch counter, violets in an old cream bottle. This is Vermont—passionate, pastoral, pungent, which forms a rich, vivid canvas for an intimate portrayal of village life. But human nature is a bit out of joint. Years of living on the “bony” land has led the village people to jealousies and forbidden couplings. Reeve draws us into his world through the sharp eyes of Nathaniel Purple, who, as the town’s librarian,…
Patricia Rodriguez Mosquera, assistant professor of psychology, is the co-author of "Honor and Emotion," published in the February issue of The Inquisitive Mind: Social Psychology for You (InMind). InMind is a peer-reviewed quarterly publication on social psychology geared toward a lay audience. The article, co-authored with alumnae Martha Liskow ’11 and Katie DiBona ’11, answers the question, “What is honor?” It describes several different types of honor, including morality-based honor, family-based honor, and gender-related honor. The writers then explore the ways in which honor influences emotional experience and expressions. Findings described in the paper come from research into honor and emotion in…
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask 5 Questions of Catherine Poisson, associate professor of romance languages and literatures. Q: Professor Poisson, you were recently named a Chevalier L'Ordre des Palmes Académiques (a Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the Minister of Education for your contribution to the promotion of French language and culture. What was your reaction to receiving this award, and why do you think you were nominated for the honor? A: I was puzzled and somewhat apprehensive on receiving the notice of Certified Mail, so when I opened the envelope at the post…
Benjamin TraversCarter Bays '97 and Craig Thomas '97, co-creators of the television comedy, "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS), sat down with President Michael Roth '78 and nearly 200 Wesleyan alumni at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, Calif. on Jan. 12. What followed was all Wes! In addition to the video below, you can view photos taken during the event in this online Wesleyan Flickr gallery. [youtube width="640" height="420"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ex0APhXYKo[/youtube] View 11 other videos featuring Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are in the links below: Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl504Uh8HFc Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdT0tXGBm-c Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV4cP6l8JW0 Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7lRQdgQpaw Part 5…
Wesleyan University Press received a $5,000 grant from the Figure Foundation on Jan. 5. The award will support the publication of the book The Time Ship: A Chrononautical Journey by Enrique Gaspar; Yolanda Molina-Gavilán, trans.; Andrea L. Bell, trans. Wesleyan University Press will publish the 240 page science fiction book in 2012. More information on the book is online here.
Last summer, Wesleyan students journeyed to the Louisiana Gulf Coast as part of their College of the Environment class, ENVS 380, a scientific and artistic inquiry into the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The class was led by Barry Chernoff, the Robert Schumann Professor of Environmental Studies and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program. [youtube width="640" height="418"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Uv1x5d7Qw[/youtube]
David PesciThe President's six-day, 5,000 ad blitz in swing states was highly unusual this early in process