Olivia DrakeKari Weil, University Professor of Letters, is the author of the book, Thinking Animals: Why Animal Studies Now?, published by Columbia University Press in April 2012. In Thinking Animals, Weil provides a critical introduction to the field of animal studies as well as an appreciation of its thrilling acts of destabilization. Examining real and imagined confrontations between human and nonhuman animals, she charts the presumed lines of difference between human beings and other species and the personal, ethical, and political implications of those boundaries. Weil's considerations recast the work of such authors as Kafka, Mann, Woolf, and Coetzee, and such…
A new book by Lisa Cohen, assistant professor of English, was given an enthusiastic early review in The New Yorker’s book blog on March 12. Her book, All We Know, will be published in July 2012. "Cohen’s remarkable, sui generis study about three modernist figures—Esther Murphy, Mercedes de Acosta, and Madge Garland, for many years a fashion editor at British Vogue—is, in part, about dread, which is to say failure and fear of self-exposure, and how we accommodate our lives to suit the various shadows splashed by the sun of occasional triumph... By servicing Murphy and, in the book’s shattering final section about Madge Garland,…
Cara Tratner ’12 grew up in the dorms of Stanford University where her dad taught English. Immersed in academia from the start, she did not begin to question her educational privilege until her freshman year at Wesleyan. “As I became aware of the unequal patterns of access to education in the U.S.,” Tratner comments, “I looked back at my own schooling in a different light, starting to think critically about the level of segregation even in my own ‘good’ high school, and the way in which my success as a student was to a certain extent dependent on the failure…
The Wesleyan community is invited to the 10th annual Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns on April 19-20. This year, experts will explore the topic, "The Political Economy of Oil." "Energy policy is always in the news. But with gas prices above $4 a gallon, shale gas revolutionizing the gas industry, and intense debates over the construction of the Keystone pipeline, it has never been more topical," says Peter Rutland, Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, Professor of Government, Professor of Russian and Eastern European Studies At 8 p.m. April 19, Daniel Esty, commissioner of the…
A play written by Quiara Alegria Hudes, visiting writer in theater, has won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play, Water by the Spoonful, is about the search for meaning by a returning Iraq War veteran working in a sandwich shop in his hometown of Philadelphia. The soldier struggles to put aside the demons that haunt him while his mother, a recovering addict, battles her own demons. The drama premiered at the Hartford State Company in 2011. Hudes, 34, wrote the book for the Broadway musical In the Heights, which was created by and stars Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, is directed by…
A Wesleyan sophomore is the recipient of a prestigious award from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Andras Sagi '14, a chemistry and molecular biology double major, is one of 282 college students from around the country who received a Goldwater Scholarship. Goldwater Scholars are selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,123 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The $15,000 scholarship will be applied to Sagi's tuition, fees, books, and room and board over two years. At Wesleyan, Sagi works with…
Education reform, conflict resolution and confronting racial segregation are among the topics to be discussed at the fourth annual Social Justice Leadership Conference (SJLC) on April 21. SJLC is a collaborative effort which provides a space for students, student groups, community members, alumni, faculty, and staff to discuss social justice and to learn and refine leadership skills. SJLC seeks to empower its participants to create change by applying the skills and knowledge acquired during the conference. Students, student groups, alumni, community members, faculty and staff facilitate sessions in their area of interest or expertise. Sessions focus on leadership skills that…
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Friends of the Davison Art Center present "The Big Draw: Middletown," a community celebration of drawing with workshops for people of all skill levels, from beginners to accomplished artists. The event is free and open to the public: adults, students, and children ages 5 and up. The Big Draw's activities break down the "I can't draw" syndrome and celebrate the visual arts. The event takes place from 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday April 22 on campus. "The Big Draw: Middletown" will feature 10 to 12 drawing workshops throughout the Wesleyan University campus. Wesleyan…
Six Wesleyan staff members received a Cardinal Achievement Award for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks or events in their departments. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The March recipients are: Caryn Canalia, administrative assistant for the Mathematics and Computer Science Department; Gina Driscoll, associate director of development events for University Relations; Claudia Foerstel, financial coordinator/registrar for the Green Street Arts Center; Marcy Herlihy, director of stewardship for University Relations; Susan Passman, slide librarian for the Art and Art History Department; And Edgardo Quinones,…
Q&As with outstanding students is an occasional feature of The Wesleyan Connection. This issue we speak with Corey Guilmette from the Class of 2013. Q: Corey, you're the 2012 recipient of the Peter Morgenstern-Clarren Social Justice Award for being chair of the Wesleyan Committee for Investor Responsibility. Tell us about that committee. A: It has become increasingly evident in the wake of the financial crisis that the current investment system favors blind short-term gains and not long-term results that more often help people and the planet. The Committee for Investor Responsibility seeks to encourage investments that benefit society as opposed to…
Research on PT-symmetric optics by Tsampikos Kottos, associate professor of physics, was mentioned at the 2012 Spring Review of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. In this meeting, program directors from AFOSR Scientific Directorates presented briefings that highlighted basic research programs beneficial to the U.S. Air Force. The review took place March 5-9. Kottos's work appears on page 26 of this presentation.
Jennifer Tucker gave a talk on "An electric shock upon society: The British Association and electro-metallurgy," during the Scholars’ Day Workshop on Victorian Electrotypes March 26 at the at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tucker is associate professor of history, associate professor in the Science in Society Program, and associate professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies. The workshop was held in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's display of electrotypes, the metalwork reproductions that were among the first European decorative arts purchased by the Museum in the 1870s and 1880s. These highly sculptural and often monumental pieces were…