Lauren RubensteinThe Hartford Courant on Dec. 7 published an op-ed by Assistant Professor of Sociology Daniel Long about a new pilot program in Connecticut and four other states to increase time that children spend in school. Long responded skeptically to the program, writing that past experiments with increased learning time have shown mixed results, and are an expensive, unproven way to improve student learning. At a time when Connecticut school districts face increasingly tight budgets, the state should focus on reform efforts backed by research, Long writes. On Dec. 20, Long also participated in a discussion on the impact of increased class time…
Olivia DrakeThe American Mathematical Society (AMS) named Carol Wood and Wis Comfort to its inaugural class of AMS Fellows. Wood is the Edward Burr Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics. She is an expert in mathematical logic and applications of model theory to algebra. Comfort is the Edward Burr Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus. He's an expert on point-set topology, ultrafilters, set theory and topological groups. The Fellows of the American Mathematical Society program recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and utilization of mathematics.
Professor of Psychology John Seamon has been appointed to a three-year term as associate editor of Memory, an international journal published by Taylor and Francis and focusing on empirical research on all aspects of human memory. As associate editor, Seamon will be responsible for handling approximately a dozen submitted manuscripts each year, soliciting outside reviews and making recommendations regarding publication in the journal. According to the journal's website, Memory publishes academic papers in all areas of memory research, including experimental studies of memory, as well as developmental, educational, neuropsychological, clinical and social research on memory.
John Bonin, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science, participated in the annual American Economic Association meetings in San Diego, Calif. from Jan. 3-6. He chaired two panel sessions and was a discussant for papers in two different sessions. Three generations of Wesleyan economists were present in the first morning session of the meetings: Bonin was the chair and Assistant Professor of Economics Melanie Khamis presented a joint paper with her student Romaine Campbell '13 on informal employment in Jamaican firms. Campbell has completed his course work and is finishing his honors thesis to fulfill the requirements…
Two book reviews by President Michael Roth recently were published in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. For the Post on Dec. 28, Roth reviewed Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks, a "graceful and informative" study of hallucinations caused by "neurological misfirings that can be traced to disease, drugs or various changes in neurochemistry." Drawing upon descriptions of hallucinations experienced with Parkinsonian disorders, epilepsy, migraines, and narcolepsy, "Sacks explores the surprising ways in which our brains call up simulated realities that are almost indistinguishable from normal perceptions," Roth writes. He adds: "As is usually the case with the good doctor Sacks, we are prescribed no overarching theory or even a…
In an op-ed published Jan. 15 in The New York Times/ International Herald Tribune, Peter Rutland, Colin and Nancy Cambell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, professor of government and professor of Russian and Eastern European studies, contradicts the popular narrative that the current conflict in Mali is caused by militant Islam. Rather, he writes, “the core of the conflict is the nationalist secession movement of the Tuareg people — one that in recent months has been hijacked by Islamist radicals.” Rutland reminds readers: “In the Cold War, the West had a hard time separating out communism from nationalism. That failure…
Assistant Professor of Art Sasha Rudensky recently was a guest on WNPR’s “Faith Middleton Show,” where she discussed the work of the late photographer Diane Arbus. Though Arbus is remembered for choosing “freaks” as her subjects, Rudensky says of that term: ”I certainly don’t think it does justice to the great variety of subjects that she was interested in. I think, more than anything, she was deeply interested in people, and they happen to be very different kinds of people… Undoubtedly, she was more focused on those people that were largely unseen in society. But at the same time, I think she was as…
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman had an op-ed in The Hartford Courant on Jan. 5 about negotiations over the "fiscal cliff" in Washington. He writes that though reasonable people may disagree over what top marginal tax rate is ideal for the economy, the stubborn resistance of Congressional Republicans to any tax increases is the product of ideology, not reason. Looking back over history, he writes, the "abdication of sound economic reasoning in favor of ideology" has resulted in numerous policy mistakes with long-lasting economic impacts. As an historical example, Grossman cites Britain's decision to return to the gold standard following…
NPR Jazz named Connecticut vibraphonist and composer Jay Hoggard's album Christmas Vibes All Thru The Year on its top "5 Jazz Christmas Albums for 2012" list. Hoggard, adjunct professor of music, has recorded more than 20 albums. For his latest, he draws upon the Christian tradition in which he was raised — his father was a clergyman — for a universal message surrounding all the good things of the season. Joining Hoggard are fellow respected veterans James Weidman on organ and Bruce Cox on drums.
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David LowIn her illuminating new book, Doctoring Freedom (University of North Carolina Press), Gretchen Long ’89 shares the stories of African Americans who fought for access to both medical care and medical education, as she reveals the important relationship between medical practice and political identity. Even before emancipation, African Americans recognized that control of their bodies was an essential battleground in their struggle for autonomy, and they devised strategies to retain some of that control. During her research, Long, an associate professor of history at Williams College, closely studied antebellum medical journals, planters' diaries, agricultural publications, letters from wounded African American…
Five alumni have contributed to exceptional documentaries that were shown this January at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Marc Shmuger ’80 is one of the producers of We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, which had its premiere at Sundance. Directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, the film is an in-depth study of all things related to WikiLeaks and the larger global debate over access to information. It tells a compelling story of what happens when a small group of people decide to break open the intelligence vaults of the world’s most powerful nation. The…