Lauren RubensteinIn this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The New York Times Magazine: "Letter of Recommendation: Phyllis Rose's 'Parallel Lives'" Professor of English, Emerita Phyllis Rose's 1983 book Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages, is featured in the New York Times Magazine. The book, which the reviewer notes she has re-read every few months recently, is a "group biography of several notable Victorians and their marriages," through which the reader can gain deeper insight into intimate relationships and societal change. Middletown Press: "Middletown Musician Noah Baerman Wins Guilford Performing Arts Fest…
Cynthia RockwellIn this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The Washington Post: "Have Parents Made Their Kids Too Fragile for the Rough-and-Tumble Life?" President Michael Roth reviews The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. While the authors make some important points, Roth is skeptical of their argument, writing, "Are students today disempowered because they’ve been convinced they are fragile, or do they feel vulnerable because they are facing problems like climate change and massive, nasty inequality?"…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The Wall Street Journal: 'The Lost Education of Horace Tate' Review: Civil Rights for Schoolchildren President Michael S. Roth reviews Emory Professor Vanessa Siddle Walker's new book on a previously "unseen network of black educators" across the South, who fought heroically "over many decades for equality and justice." 2. Forbes: Top 25 Liberal Arts Colleges 2018 Wesleyan is featured among Forbes' annual list of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. 3. Hartford Courant: Connecticut Had Significant Role in Tumultuous 1968…
Wesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline, “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” In a new article, Elizabeth McAlister, professor of religion, writes about a lesser-known factor contributing to the abuse of children uncovered in the Catholic Church: In some strands of Catholic thought, priests who abuse children have succumbed to temptation by demons. McAlister is also chair and professor of African American studies, director of the Center for African American Studies, professor of American studies, professor of feminist, gender, and sexuality studies, professor of Latin American studies. For some…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The New York Times: Defending Conservatism, and Seeking Converts President Michael Roth '78 reviews Roger Scruton's new book on Conservatism, which he writes provides an "enlightening" background on a variety of important conservative thinkers, but stoops to scapegoating Muslims to "rally the troops." 2. Hartford Courant: First Group of Students Graduates from Wesleyan's Prison Education Program The first-ever Wesleyan Center for Prison Education Program graduation ceremonies, held in partnership with Middlesex Community College at York and Cheshire correctional institutions on…
Wesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline, “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” In a new article, Mike Robinson, assistant professor of psychology, writes that brain science explains how gambling games hook players, including casual ones. Robinson also is assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, assistant professor of integrative sciences. Designed to deceive: How gambling distorts reality and hooks your brain To call gambling a “game of chance” evokes fun, random luck, and a sense of collective engagement. These playful connotations may be part of why almost 80 percent of American…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The Forward: Jewish Student is Youngest Woman Ever to Finish 'American Ninja Warrior' Course Casey Rothschild '20 is interviewed about her path to become, at 20, the youngest woman ever to complete the course in the popular sports competition TV show. Rothschild is also a track star, pole vaulter, circus artist, and dedicated student. 2. TIME: The 25 Moments From American History That Matter Right Now In this compendium of important moments in American history, Courtney Fullilove, associate professor…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News NBC's American Ninja Warrior: Youngest Woman to Hit Buzzer: Casey Rothschild Rothschild '20 competed in the NBC television show's Philadelphia qualifiers, becoming the youngest woman to ever finish a course when she hit the buzzer at 4:57. Rothschild has been training for years and uses the moniker Circus Ninja because of her background in circus arts. Read Rothschild's interview with The Hartford Courant. 2. The Washington Post: This Is What It Feels Like to Be Separated at the Border Victoria Smolkin,…
Wesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline, “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” In a new article, Peter Rutland, the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, writes about the FIFA World Cup being hosted by Russia. Though Russia's team is not expected to perform very well, he writes, leader Vladimir Putin understands the power of sports to "foment feelings of national pride" and boost his own popularity among the Russian people. Rutland is also professor of government; professor of Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian studies; tutor…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The Washington Post: "Our Graduates Should Answer Cynicism and Insults with Inquiry and Reflection" In this op-ed, President Michael S. Roth '78 expresses his hope that this year's graduates will feel empowered, and their capacity for inquiry, compromise, and reflection will be enhanced by their college educations. 2. The New York Times: "Eleanor Roosevelt's Love Life, as Fodder for Fiction" "[Amy] Bloom’s [’75] lyrical novel, laced with her characteristic wit and wisdom, celebrates love in its fiery and…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News BBC: "How Economists Forgot Housework" Joyce Jacobsen, the Andrews Professor of Economics, is interviewed about how unpaid labor—such as childcare and housework—can be measured, and the potential impact on GDP. Jacobsen is also provost and vice president for academic affairs. 2. The Hill: "Postal Service Banking System Possible If Past Pitfalls Avoided" Masami Imai, professor and chair of economics, professor of East Asian studies, and Richard Grossman, professor of economics, are the authors of an op-ed in support of the proposed Postal…
Wesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline, “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” In a new article, Col. Robert Cassidy, Retired Officer Teaching Fellow at Wesleyan, writes about both the apparent stalemate in the war in Afghanistan, as well as why he harbors hope of an eventual resolution. Cassidy is a scholar of Afghanistan and strategy, as well as a soldier who served four tours in the country. No, the war in Afghanistan isn't a hopeless stalemate The war in Afghanistan has become so protracted that it warrants the epithet the…