Wesleyan, City Officials Sign Memorandum of Understanding

On Oct. 15, Wesleyan and City of Middletown officials met at City Hall in downtown Middletown to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on dealing with sexual assault. The document details the responsibilities and procedures of the university, the city, and state law enforcement in handling assault cases. This document officially codifies long-standing campus and community cooperation around the issue of crime, sharing of training resources, and enhanced communication designed to support survivors of sexual assault. "This memorandum is an important step toward even greater cooperation between Wesleyan, the State’s Attorney’s office and the City of Middletown," said President Michael Roth."On…

Laura Ann Twagira, assistant professor of history, is the author of an article titled, "‘Robot Farmers’ and Cosmopolitan Workers: Technological Masculinity and Agricultural Development in the French Soudan (Mali), 1945–68," published in the November issue of Gender & History, Volume 26, Issue 3, pages 459-477. In 1956, Administrator Ancian, a French government official, suggested in a confidential report that one of the most ambitious agricultural schemes in French West Africa, the Office du Niger, had been misguided in its planning to produce only a ‘robot farmer’. The robot metaphor was drawn from the intense association between the project and technology. However, it was…

On Oct. 24, the Dance Department and Center for the Arts present "To Not Forget Crimea: Uncertain Quiet of Indigenous Crimean Tatars," a panel discussion and the Fall Faculty Dance Concert by Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio. While international media and political leaders are ignoring the situation in Crimea, this event draws public attention to the widespread violation of the Tatars' human rights and the degree to which the Russian Occupation has forced them out of their ancestral homeland. The evening will begin with a free panel discussion, "Indigenous Ukrainian Perspectives of Crimea Post Russian-Invasion," from 6 to…

Gina Athena Ulysse, associate professor of anthropology, participated in "Imagining and Imaging the Caribbean,” the inaugural conference of Columbia’s Greater Caribbean Studies Center, on Oct. 18. Ulysse discussed "Writing in the Caribbean Diaspora" with fellow panelists Cuban writer and artist Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo (Brown University) and Kittian-Brittish novelist Caryl Phillips (Yale University). Other topics included "The Greater Caribbean as a Geo-Historical and Cultural Region," "Writing about the Caribbean from National Perspectives" and "Photographing the City in the Greater Caribbean." The event concluded with a Caribbean concert.

Vera Schwarcz, the Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies, professor of history, is the author of a new book titled Colors of Veracity: A Quest for Truth in China, and Beyond, published by the University of Hawai'i Press in November 2014. In Colors of Veracity, Schwarcz condenses four decades of teaching and scholarship about China to raise fundamental questions about the nature of truth and history. In vivid prose, she addresses contemporary moral dilemmas with a highly personal sense of ethics and aesthetics. Drawing on classical sources in Hebrew and Chinese (as well as several Greek and Japanese texts), Schwarcz…

On Oct. 7, students enrolled in the course HIST 269: Notes from a Small Island — Modern British History, 1700 - Present, visited the Yale Center for British Art. The class, taught by Alice Kelly, visiting assistant professor of history, toured the center's two current exhibitions, "Sculpture Victorious: Art in an Age of Invention, 1837–1901" and "Figures of Empire: Slavery and Portraiture in 18 Century Atlantic Britain." "Seeing history through a different lens — art and sculpture — really aided their understanding of some of the class readings, and we were able to find a number of similarities, particularly in the…

(more…)

Three more graduate students will tentatively speak as part of the series this fall and next spring including Duminda Ranasinghe, a chemistry Ph.D. candidate; Katie Kaus, a molecular biology and biochemistry Ph.D. candidate and Peter Blasser, a graduate student in music. For more information, visit the Graduate Studies website.

Wesleyan students at Long Lane Organic Farm are preparing for the annual Pumpkin Fest, hosted by the College of the Environment on Oct. 25. The event celebrates the annual fall harvest at the farm. This month, students are harvesting pumpkins, eggplant, tomatoes, lettuce, turnips, potatoes, squash, herbs and many more vegetables. (more…)

Q: Angela, where are you from and why did you choose Wesleyan to further your education? A: I am from Nanuet, New York but I went to a boarding school called Phillips Exeter Academy. I chose Wesleyan because I was intrigued by how people were given the freedom to pursue their interests, no matter how different these interests might be. I was also attracted by the collaborative atmosphere and how people seemed to encourage and support their peers. Q: What are you majoring in? A: I'm double majoring in chemistry and English, and I hope to write a thesis on…

Cathy-Lee Rizza, assistant director of student accounts for Auxiliary Operations and Campus Services, received a Cardinal Achievement Award in September. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. On March 20, Wesleyan’s Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) hosted a public health disaster response exercise for the Middletown community at the Freeman Athletic Center. Rizza was asked to create security access and a special C-CERT identification cards for almost 50 participants. Without hesitation, she designed a logo, established security access and produced the necessary ID cards enabling the event to proceed without issue. Award recipients are nominated…

(more…)

Wesleyan, City Officials Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Twagira’s Paper on Cosmopolitan Workers Published in Gender & History

Crimea, Tatar Rights Explored at Panel Discussion, Multimedia Performance

Ulysse Panelist at Columbia’s Caribbean Conference

Schwarcz Addresses Moral Dilemma, Ethics in China in Colors of Veracity

British History Class Takes Field Trip to Yale’s British Art Center

WesSukkah Houses 5th Year of Sukkot Festivities at Wesleyan

Math Ph.D. Candidate Smith Delivers First Graduate Speaker Series Talk

Students Prepare for Fall Harvest at Long Lane Farm

Chemistry, English Major Yoo ’15 Coordinates WesReads/WesMath Program, Korean Dance Group

Rizza Honored with Cardinal Achievement Award

Fall Foliage, Leaf Peepers on Campus