Lauren RubensteinWesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” In this article, professor emeritus of government John Finn, a constitutional scholar, examines how anti-abortion and pro-gun "sanctuary" towns popping up across the country are challenging how we understand the power of federal law and its role in the states and the lives of Americans. Finn was also recently interviewed on KJZZ about sanctuary cities (he comes in around 5 minutes). Sanctuaries protecting gun rights and the unborn challenge the legitimacy and role of federal law In June…
Olivia DrakeWesleyan's 43rd Navaratri Festival, held Oct. 10-14, celebrated traditional Indian music and dance. 2019 Navaratri Festival events included: A colloquium focusing on "Re-sounding Islam—Marking Religious and Aesthetic Pluralism in the Historiography of South Indian Music." The Saraswati Puja (Hindu ceremony), where audience members bring instruments, manuscripts, and other items for blessing. "The Sarod Trilogy" by Amjad Ali Khan. The Bhojanam (feast) featuring vegetarian Indian delicacies. "The Courtesan Dance" from South India by guest performer Yashoda Thakore. "Vocal Music of South India" by vocalist and Adjunct Associate Professor of Music B. Balasubrahmaniyan and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music David Nelson on…
Russia has returned to the world stage in dramatic fashion in recent years with military interventions and interference in elections. What is driving this aggressive behavior? Will the current political system survive the scheduled departure of its architect, Vladimir Putin, in 2024? How should the United States deal with Russia? On Oct. 11–12, Wesleyan alumni and faculty panelists tackled these questions and more during the 2019 Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns. This year's theme was "Understanding Russia: A Dramatic Return to the World Stage," with Peter Rutland, the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, serving…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News 1. The Nation: "Edward Snowden Deserves to Be Tried by a Jury of His Peers, Just Like Everyone Else" In this op-ed, Associate Professor of Government Sonali Chakravarti argues against the Justice Department's decision to deny Edward Snowden's request for a jury trial. She contends that in Snowden's case, in which he is accused of leaking classified information from the National Security Administration in 2013, a jury trial "is not only a viable alternative to a hearing…
On Oct. 8, Edwin Hill '93 presented an author's talk and reading at the Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore. Hill is the author of the crime novel The Missing Ones, a follow up to his critically-acclaimed book Little Comfort. He presented his reading with Vanessa Lillie, author of Little Voices. Hill, of Roslindale, Mass., served as the vice president and editorial director for Bedford/St. Martin's, a division of Macmillan for many years before turning to writing full time. He has written for Publishers Weekly, the L.A. Review of Books, and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, among other publications. Photos of his talk…
The Gordon Career Center invites alumni and parents to participate in WEShadow, the winter externship program. In today’s highly competitive employment environment, undergraduates start career planning early and you can make this happen. The WEShadow Program provides undergraduates with the opportunity to explore careers by “shadowing” a Wes alumna/us or parent during Winter Break. These job shadow opportunities range from observing a professional in a work environment to participating in a specific project within an organization or business. Last year, students benefited from shadow opportunities in various industries, including banking, theater, music, and medicine. This academic year, WEShadow opportunities will…
Throughout 2019, WESU 88.1 FM has been celebrating 80 years of community service on air and in the community. Established in 1939, WESU began as one of the first student-owned and -operated radio stations in the country. That fall, Wesleyan freshman Arch Doty Jr. began broadcasting his homemade 1-watt AM transmitter from his Clark Hall dorm room. Eighty years later, WESU is among the largest student groups on Wesleyan’s campus, uniting nearly 150 student and community volunteer broadcasters. "WESU’s mission is to provide a unique mix of public affairs and free-form community programming to listeners throughout the Connecticut River Valley…
The exhibit titled Into the Image is on display at the Davison Art Center (DAC) through Nov. 24. This exhibition of miniature artworks—drawn entirely from the Davison Art Center collection—features objects made across several centuries and includes examples by Rembrandt van Rijn and Henri Matisse. On Oct. 10, Miya Tokumitsu, DAC curator, and Andy Szegedy-Maszak, Jane A. Seney Professor of Greek and Professor of Classical Studies, led a gallery talk during the opening reception. Into the Image will be the final exhibition in the Davison Art Center’s current gallery at 301 High Street. A new gallery will be constructed between…
Avery Kaplan '20The second publication by students in Genomics Analysis (BIOL 310) has been accepted by the well-known journal G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. This adds 26 Wesleyan students to the ranks of more than 40 students who have become published authors through the course's research on Drosophila sechellia, a type of fruit fly evolved to eat a plant that is toxic to most insects. The recent paper, "Genomics Analysis of L-DOPA Exposure in Drosophila sechellia,” is coauthored by all 20 students in Assistant Professor of Biology Joseph Coolon's class, and six students in his lab. "I created my Genomics Analysis course as a…
Haiti’s “Roots” band RAM came to campus for a one-day artists’ residency and led drumming and dance workshops for Wesleyan students. They met with students in two classes on Oct. 8. The group, led by Richard Morse, has produced music for more than 25 years. They recently released their seventh album, August 1791. In the morning, RAM led a dance workshop for two combined classes: Afro-Brazilian Dance taught by Joya Powell, visiting assistant professor of dance, and Contemporary Dance Technique II/III taught by Katja Kolcio, chair and associate professor of dance. And in the afternoon, they led a workshop for…
Melanie Khamis, associate professor of economics, recently presented two talks. On Sept. 2, Khamis discussed “Migration and the Labor Market: New Evidence from Mexico" at the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies at Yale University's MacMillan Center. On Sept. 20, she presented a paper titled “Personality, Gender, and the Labor Market” at the European Association of Labor Economists in Uppsala, Sweden. The paper addresses the topic of the effects of personality traits, both controlling for gender and interacting with gender, on labor market-related choices and outcomes. Coauthors of the paper include Giovanni Hutchinson '19 and Joyce Jacobsen, former Wesleyan…
The Physics Department's Wave-Transport Lab recently received awards totaling $709,000 to support its ongoing aim to understand and manipulate the movement of waves—sound, mechanical, or electromagnetic—through natural or human-made materials. The lab received a $340,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation program titled "Engineering Dynamical Symmetries for Extreme Wave-Matter Interactions in Elastodynamics," and a $369,000 grant from the Department of Defense's Office of Naval Research (ONR) titled "Waveform Shaping Techniques for Targeted Electromagnetic Attacks." The Wave-Transport Lab was established in 2016 when Fred Ellis, chair and professor of physics, and Tsampikos Kottos, the…