Lauren RubensteinOn June 23, Professor of Economics Richard Grossman presented a paper at an economic history symposium jointly sponsored by the Bank of England and the the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Titled, "Beresford's Revenge: British equity holdings in Latin America, 1869-1929," the paper looks at stock market returns of Latin American firms traded on the London Stock Exchange. The program for the conference can be seen here.
Professor of Religion Mary-Jane Rubenstein was a guest on WNYC's "Studio 360" recently, in a show titled, "The Theoretical Physicist Wore a Toga." She addressed existential "what if" questions and the idea of multiple universes—an idea, she explains, which "is about 2,500 years old." "For the ancient Atomist philosophers [in Ancient Greece], the most desirable thing about what we're now calling the multiverse was that it got rid of the need for a god. If it is the case that our world is the only world, then it's very difficult to explain. How is everything so perfect? How is it that sunsets so beautiful?" she said. "What…
Cynthia RockwellGraduate Liberal Studies visiting professor Marion Belanger P’02, is the author of Rift/Fault, a photographic study of the land-based edges of the North American Continental Plate. A Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002 supported a project in the Everglades, where Belanger turned her lens on both the landscape within the national park as well as the suburban development of the swamplands outside the protected area. Now, Rift/Fault continues her interest in natural land formations and boundaries—this one along the San Andreas Fault in California and the Mid-Atlantic Rift in Iceland—and the influence of human society on the earth Published by Radius Books, and…
Olivia DrakeIn recognition of their career achievements, the following faculty members are being appointed to endowed professorships, effective July 1: Joe Knee, professor of chemistry and dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division, is receiving the Beach Professorship of Chemistry, established in 1880. Janice Naegele, professor of biology, is receiving the Alan M. Dachs Professorship of Science, established in 2011. Stewart Novick, professor of chemistry, is receiving the Joshua Boger University Professorship of the Sciences and Mathematics, established in 2010. Christopher Parslow, professor of classical studies, is receiving the Robert Rich Professorship of Latin, established in 1863. Irina Russu, professor…
Laurie KenneyAn 18-piece all-star band, including five members of the Wesleyan community, will perform the Beatles’ Abbey Road album in its entirety during a benefit concert at Middlesex Community College (MCC) on Saturday, June 24, at 6 p.m. The concert is the third annual event held in memory of former Wesleyan Center for the Arts (CFA) intern Stephanie Nelson, of Middletown, who passed away in early 2015 at the age of 25. The first two benefit concerts, held in 2015 and 2016, raised more than $6,400 to establish and fund the Stephanie Nelson Scholarship at MCC, Nelson’s alma mater. Each May,…
This year, students in Associate Professor of History Jennifer Tucker’s class, Seeing a Bigger Picture: Integrating Visual Methods and Environmental History, had an opportunity to share what they learned in an unusual format. They produced an hour-long radio program, which debuted on WESU 88.1 FM on Memorial Day. It will air again on the station this summer, and can be heard on wesufm.org or on SoundCloud. The course introduces students to key landmarks in the visual history of environmentalism and environmental science, from the 18th century to the recent past. The class studies the power and the limits of visual…
In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure to Anthony Ryan Hatch, associate professor of science in society; Basak Kus, associate professor of sociology; and Courtney Weiss Smith, associate professor of English. Their appointments begin on July 1. Hatch, Kus and Weiss Smith join faculty Courtney Fullilove, Tushar Irani, Tiphanie Yanique, Jay Hoggard, Ron Kuivila and Sumarsam in the 2017 tenured cohort. In addition, seven faculty members are being promoted: Abderrahman Aissa, adjunct assistant professor of Arabic; Balraj Balasubrahmaniyan, adjunct associate professor of music; Daniel DiCenzo, adjunct professor of physical education; Michael Fried, adjunct professor of physical education; Ruth…
Professor Norman Shapiro's translation of the poem "Clair de lune (Moonlight)," will appear in the audio guide to accompany the Guggenheim Museum's exhibition Mystical Symbolism: The Salon de la Rose+Croix in Paris, 1892–1897, opening June 30. "Clair de lune," appears in Shapiro's One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine (University of Chicago Press, 1999). Shapiro, professor of French studies and the distinguished Professor of Literary Translation and Poet-in-Residence at Wesleyan, received the Modern Language Association's Scaglione Prize for translating Verlaine's poetry collection.
Assistant Professor of Psychology Royette Tavernier Dubar has published a new paper examining the effects of technology use and face-to-face interactions with friends and family on adolescents’ sleep. Tavernier is the lead author on “Adolescents’ technology and face-to-face time use predict objective sleep outcomes,” now in press in Sleep Health, the Journal of the National Sleep Foundation. About 70 racially diverse high school students (11 – 18 years old) were recruited from three different high schools in a large city in the Midwest to participate in the study. Their sleep-wake habits were recorded for three consecutive nights using sleep monitoring…
Eleven faculty retired in 2016-17. In 2017: David Beveridge, the Joshua Boger University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics, professor of chemistry; John Finn, professor of government; Albert Fry, the E.B. Nye Professor of Chemistry; Peter Patton, the Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Rex Pratt, the Beach Professor of Chemistry; Michael Roberts, the Robert Rich Professor of Latin and Professor of Classical Studies; Ruth Streigel Weissman, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences. In 2016: Abraham Adzenyah, adjunct professor of music; Philip Bolton, professor of chemistry; Alex Dupuy, professor…
Khalil Johnson, assistant professor of African American studies, is the recipient of a National Association of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship for the 2017-18 academic year. The National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program supports up to 30 early career scholars working in critical areas of education research. These $70,000 fellowships support non-residential postdoctoral proposals that make significant scholarly contributions to the field of education. Johnson, who will be on scholarly leave for the 2017-2018 academic year, will work on a manuscript for his book project, which examines the intersections between education and settler-colonialism in the United States. He also plans to…
Assistant Professor of Government Ioana Emy Matesan discussed the recent terror attack in Manchester, England on CBS Connecticut. Matesan said the big question on her mind is the nature of the perpetrator's connection to ISIS. At this time, not much is known about the perpetrator's background. We know from terrorism studies that there is no single profile to explain "why an individual would join a terrorist group or why they would undertake a terrorist attack, so there are so many possible paths to radicalization. That story we do not know yet," she said. "The other interesting question that we're not exactly sure…