Avery Kaplan '20Helen Poulos, adjunct assistant professor of environmental studies, is the coauthor of two papers published Oct. 22 in the journals Fire and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, respectively. Poulos lead-authored a paper on fire and plant evolutionary ecology titled, "Do Mixed Fire Regimes Shape Plant Flammability and Post-Fire Recovery Strategies?" Contrary to a new model assuming that plant species have evolved three divergent flammability strategies, Poulos and her fellow researchers present three case studies that indicate plant species have evolved "bet-hedging strategies" that mix a variety of flammability and post-fire recovery strategies. Poulos also co-authored a paper led by ecologist Christopher Johnson of…
Olivia DrakeAs an inaugural Onassis Foundation Teaching Fellow in Culture and Humanities, Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, the Jane A. Seney Professor of Greek, will have the opportunity to teach Greek history to incarcerated students through Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education (CPE). Starting during the spring 2019 semester, Szegedy-Maszak will teach an adapted version of his Wesleyan course CCIV 231: Greek History to men at the Cheshire Correctional Institution. "I was surprised and very honored when I heard that I was awarded the fellowship," said Szegedy-Maszak. "This class will be a survey of ancient Greek civilization over about 1,000 years, from the Bronze Age to the…
Children from Wesleyan's Neighborhood Preschool (NPS) trick-or-treated on Wesleyan's campus Oct. 31. The children, accompanied by their families and teachers, stopped at Exley Science Center, Olin Library, South College, and North College to trick-or-treat, sing songs, and show off their Halloween costumes. Many trick-or-treaters are the children of Wesleyan faculty and staff. Wesleyan President Michael Roth and staff from University Communications offered candy to the children during the campus parade. Photos of the NPS parade are below: (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)
Lauren RubensteinOn Oct. 22, President Michael Roth held a public discussion in Mumbai, India, with leading education and career counselor Viral Doshi on the value of pursuing a liberal arts education. Nearly 90 people, including many alumni, parents, prospective students, and high school counselors, were in attendance. Over the past decade, an increasing number of students from India are choosing to pursue higher education in the United States. Wesleyan has seen applications from India increase by 70 percent over the past 5 years. At the event, Roth spoke about the educational experience offered by Wesleyan, while Doshi shared his perspective on and…
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On Sept. 22, several members of the Wesleyan community traveled to New York City to attend the Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF) inaugural Student Veteran Film Screening. AITAF is a nonprofit organization that brings the best of contemporary theater and film screenings to veterans across the world free of charge. Thirty people from Wesleyan attended, including 17 Wesleyan Student Veteran Organization (WESVO) members; 10 family and friends, 2 nonveteran students; and 1 faculty member. While in New York, the group watched a screening of The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974), a film about a New York City subway train…
Assistant Professor of Psychology Mike Robinson, Samantha Hellberg '16, and Trinity Russell '17 are coauthors of a study published in the Journal of Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, October 2018. In the paper titled "Cued for risk: Evidence for an incentive sensitization framework to explain the interplay between stress and anxiety, substance abuse, and reward uncertainty in disordered gambling behavior," the coauthors propose a theoretical framework about how cross-sensitization of reward systems in the brain, in part due to uncertainty, leads to high levels of comorbidity between gambling, substance use, and anxiety disorder. In particular, the coauthors review the literature on how cue…
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In this Q&A, we speak to artist Melissa Stern '80, whose latest exhibition, Strange Girls, is open at the Garvey Simon Gallery in New York City Oct. 11–Nov. 11. Stern double-majored in anthropology and studio art at Wesleyan, and earned her MFA in ceramics from SUNY New Paltz. In Strange Girls, Stern uses media such as assemblage, ceramics, painting, drawings, and collage to explore girlhood as a state of being and state of mind. Q: You have been exhibiting your art since the ’80s, and Strange Girls is your ninth solo show in New York. How is this exhibition a continuation of…
Lori Gruen, William Griffin Professor of Philosophy, is the editor of the book Critical Terms for Animal Studies, published by the University of Chicago Press in October 2018. Gruen also wrote the book's introduction and a chapter on empathy. In addition, she invited Kari Weil, University Professor of Letters, to write a chapter on difference. Animal studies is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field devoted to examining, understanding, and critically evaluating the complex relationships between humans and other animals. Scholarship in animal studies draws on a variety of methodologies to explore these multifaceted relationships in order to help us understand the ways…
In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News Inside Higher Ed: "Career Path Intervention--Via a MOOC" An open online course by Gordon Career Center Director Sharon Belden Castonguay, which helps young people explore their interests and career options, is featured. 2. NPR: "Midterm Election Could Reshape Health Policy" (more…)
Dan Bobkoff ’05 believes that, for better or worse, much of American life is lived through brands. “Whether you like iPhones or Androids is almost like a religious affiliation,” he says. “Or you might have had a poignant family moment at McDonald’s.” This is the lens through which Bobkoff explores brands in his new podcast, Household Name, from Business Insider. Bobkoff launched the podcast in July, and will produce and host 36 episodes over the course of the year. Its tagline—“Brands you know, stories you don’t”—captures the cultural history and surprising stories of unintended consequences that are featured in each…