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Olivia DrakeSeptember 15, 20172min
For more than a decade, Assistant Professor of Art Sasha Rudensky '01 has repeatedly returned to Russia and the post-Soviet territories to photograph a lost generation that has come of age during the Vladimir Putin era. On Sept. 13, Rudensky debuted a collection of these photographs at an exhibit titled "Acts and Illusions" at the Davison Art Center. The exhibition presents 24 photographs together with a video installation, revealing an unsettling view into contemporary life in the New East. Elijah Huge, associate professor of art, associate professor of environmental studies, collaborated with Rudensky on the video installation. Clare Rogan, curator of…

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Editorial StaffSeptember 15, 20172min
(By K Alshanetsky '17) Molly Jane Zuckerman ’16 is one of only 40 student ambassadors representing the United States at the World Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, which brings together key leaders from the global business community, high-ranking government officials, and cultural representatives in the first world fair to take place in Central Asia. The theme of this year’s international exposition is “Future Energy,” and the United States is one of more than 100 countries and international organizations to participate. As an intern for the USA Pavilion, Zuckerman conducts tours of the exhibit for both Kazakh and international visitors. "The…

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Lauren RubensteinSeptember 15, 20172min
Professor of English Typhanie Yanique writes in The New York Times on how the news media's coverage and the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Irma's devastation in the U.S. Virgin Islands reflects a bigger failure of America to fully embrace and grant rights to the citizens who reside on the islands. In an essay titled "Americans in a Battered Paradise," Yanique explains that 2017 marks 100 years since the transfer of the Virgin Islands from Danish to American rule. Yet this major anniversary has been scarcely noted in the continental United States. Virgin Islanders were granted American citizenship a decade after this transfer, yet…

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Laurie KenneySeptember 14, 20171min
Seeing a need and filling it—that’s the story behind the creation of Wespañol, a newly launched online program that uses original video to help people who want to review and supplement their previous knowledge of Spanish without taking an actual class. The program’s launch coincides with the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 through Oct. 15). (more…)

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Olivia DrakeSeptember 14, 20172min
The availability of sufficient dissolved oxygen in seawater is critical for marine life, and places where oxygen falls below a critical concentration — or "dead zones" — are often associated with mass die-offs of fish, shrimp and other creatures. With future global warming, the oceans are on course to see progressively less dissolved oxygen available. Scientists currently use often not well-tested computer models to predict the expansion of dead zones, but a team of researchers from Wesleyan, University California Riverside and Syracuse University are hoping to use oceanic sediment samples to better predict where die-offs may occur next. Their study,…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 14, 20172min
Ann duCille, professor of English, emerita, will deliver the third annual Richard Slotkin Lecture in American Studies titled "TV and the ‘Thug Default’: Why Racial Representation Still Matters." Her talk is open to the public and begins at 4:30 p.m., Oct. 26 in the Powell Theater. “TV and the “Thug Default”: Why Racial Representation Still Matters” revisits such constructs as the “superpredator” and such cases as the “Central Park Five” in tracing the meaning, use and blackening of the term “thug.” Arguing that image is ideology—that what we see on the TV screen colors how we see black boys on the street—the…

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Olivia DrakeSeptember 14, 20172min
A new collaborative research hub, supported by Wesleyan's Quantitative Analysis Center, provides faculty and students with the tools to prepare, analyze and disseminate information on movement, travel and communication in easily-accessible formats. The Traveler’s Lab, developed by faculty members Gary Shaw, Jesse Torgerson and Adam Franklin-Lyons at Marlboro College, connects the faculty with each others' projects, but also with students who are interested in an interdisciplinary approach to historical research. (more…)

Olivia DrakeSeptember 13, 20171min
Three scholars from the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department are co-authors of a study published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry in August 2017. The paper is titled "Linchpin DNA-binding residues serve as go/no-go controls in the replication factor C-catalyzed clamp loading mechanism." The co-authors, Manju Hingorani, chair and professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, professor of integrative sciences; Juan Liu, research associate; and Zayan Zhou, PhD '13, performed the study on Replication Factor C (RFC) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which are two essential proteins required for DNA replication and repair in all living organisms. The researchers found new…

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Olivia DrakeSeptember 12, 20172min
Inspired by Fete de la Musique (also known as World Music Day), the sixth annual The MASH festival on Sept. 9 highlighted Wesleyan's student music scene, with multiple stages on campus featuring everything from a cappella ensembles to student, faculty and alumni bands. Stages were set up at Foss Hill, outside Olin Library and North College. More than 20 groups and soloists performed at Wesleyan's The Mash including Bonanza, Good Morning CT, McCleary McCleary, MEG, Saint Something, Jal, The Basukes, Smokin' Lilies, Jess Best '14, Prometheus, New Group, Gabe & Brien, Savannah Jeffreys '18, Johnny Gilmore '18, Anna Savage '18, Quasimodal, Sloane Peterson, ethereal whoosing, The Purple Windsounds,…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 12, 20172min
Fred E. J. Linton, professor of mathematics, emeritus, died Sept. 2 at the age of 79. Linton was born in Italy to parents who were escaping to the United States from Hitler’s Germany. He studied mathematics at Yale and received his PhD from Columbia, then came directly to Wesleyan as an assistant professor in 1963. He became a full professor in 1972 and continued to teach mathematics here until his retirement in 2006, after a total of 43 years at Wesleyan. Linton supervised seven PhD students at Wesleyan, including one of the first Wesleyan doctoral students. Linton was a highly…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 12, 20171min
This fall, get a front seat to Wesleyan sporting events by downloading the Athletic Department’s mobile app. Wesleyan Front Row gives Cardinal fans the ability to enable notifications to access game schedules, score updates, statistics, game recaps and photo galleries. For some events, a live stream of the game is available through the app, giving unprecedented access to off-campus fans, including parents and alumni, who still want to cheer on their favorite athletes from afar. “The mobile app allows fans, parents, alumni, prospective students and current students to get information about their favorite teams instantly,” said Mike O’Brien, assistant athletic…