Lauren RubensteinAssistant Professor of Government Erika Franklin Fowler and her collaborators on the Wesleyan Media Project are the authors of a new book, Political Advertising in the United States, published in February by Westview Press. The book is edited by Ada Fung '06. Fowler's co-authors are Michael Franz of Bowdoin College and Travis Ridout of Washington State University. Political Advertising in the United States is a comprehensive survey of the political advertising landscape and its influence on voters. The authors draw from the latest data to analyze how campaign finance laws have affected the sponsorship and content of political advertising, how "big data" has…
Olivia DrakeBarbara Fields, professor of history at Columbia University, will deliver the third annual Richard Slotkin American Studies Lecture Series from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Feb. 17 in Russell House. Fields' lecture will draw on the intellectually transformative book she published with her sister, Karen Elise Fields, titled Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life (Verso, 2012). "Her lecture—her thinking about how the forms of racecraft and how racecraft is pulled off—could not be more timely and urgent," said Joel Pfister, the Olin Professor of American Studies and English, chair of the American Studies Department. “Her work on the category of ‘race’ offers…
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Frederic Wills '19Chabad at Wesleyan, an organization dedicated to allowing students to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of their Jewish heritage, hosted a Challah braiding event on Feb. 6 in Usdan University Center. Students from all religious and spiritual beliefs were welcome. While there are a few explanations to the importance of braiding Challah, the three braids are thought to be in accordance with the commands that appear in the Ten Commandments: one for “Zachor,” remember; another for “Shamor,” guard; and the third, “b’Dibbur Echad,” which represents the words “guard” and “remember” together as one unit. Rabbi Levi Schectman coordinated the event and leads…
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Laura Paul became the Interim Director of the Center for the Arts on Feb. 1. She will work alongside the current director Pamela Tatge until April 1. Paul comes to Wesleyan with three decades of experience in nonprofit arts management. Most recently she was Chief Operating Officer of the Boston-based New England Foundation for the Arts, where she was a member of the senior leadership team from 2001-2015. Previously she served as managing director of the Colorado Dance Festival and Concert Dance Company of Boston. She holds an AB from Vassar College and an MBA from the School of Management…
Wesleyan will present the first-ever creative writing specialization on the Coursera platform, beginning Feb. 9. Taught by four award-winning authors, the specialization is open to anyone with a love of reading or a drive to invent a story or tell their own.
Titled “Creative Writing: The Craft of Story,” the specialization will include four courses, plus a capstone.
An exhibition titled "Passion and Power: German Prints in the Age of Dürer" is on display in the Davison Art Center through March 3. The show opened Feb. 4. (more…)
Professor Francis Starr, graduate student Hamad Emamy and collaborators from the Brookhaven National Lab have co-authored a paper titled "Diamond Family of Nanoparticle Superlattices" published in the prestigious journal Science on Feb. 5. Starr is professor of physics and director of the College of Integrative Sciences. Their work proposed a solution to a decades-long challenge to self-assemble a diamond-structured lattice at will from nanoscale particles. "Such a diamond-lattice structure has long been sought after due to its potential applications as a light controlling device, including optical transistors, color-changing materials, and optical — as opposed to electronic — computing," Starr said. To solve this challenge,…
During Winter Storm Lexi on Feb. 5, campus received more than 6 inches of snow. In blizzard-like conditions, students still enjoyed the winter weather and attended classes. Photos of the storm are below and in this Wesleyan Facebook gallery. (more…)
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On Feb. 2, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Joyce Jacobsen announced that Wesleyan has hired eight new tenure-track faculty in fields including African American studies, sociology and physics, among others. Wesleyan also made a senior hire, which will be announced later this semester after a successful tenure review, Jacobsen said. Nine other faculty searches are ongoing and will hopefully be completed this spring. “With 18 searches going on, we will likely have a larger than usual group of new faculty coming to campus next fall,” said Jacobsen. “We’re excited to welcome this accomplished and diverse group of scholar-teachers.” Brief…