Olivia DrakeJ. Kehaulani Kauanui, associate professor American studies, associate professor of anthropology, participated in two recent conferences. During the Transnational American Studies Conference, held at the Center for American Studies and Research, American University of Beirut, Jan. 6-9, Kauanui co-organized a roundtable on “Pinkwashing and Transnational Alliance: Challenging Settler Colonialism in Palestine/Israel, the United States, and Canada." She also organized a panel on “Redwashing: Israeli Claims to Indigeneity and the Political Role of Native Americans," and presented a paper on “The Politics of Recognition: Indigeneity, Sovereignty, and Redwashing." During the American Studies Association annual meeting held in Washington, D.C., Nov. 21-14,…
Elizabeth Willis, the Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing, professor of English, recently presented several poetry readings and talks. She read poetry at Hobart & William Smith College on Feb. 28; Ithaca College, Feb. 25; Maison de la Poesie, Paris, Jan. 22; the University of Toulouse, Jan. 16; at "Oh Sandy!: A Remembrance," Industry City in Brooklyn, N.Y on Nov. 10, 2013; and at Naropa University, July 9, 2013. Willis spoke on "Everybody's Autodidacticism: American Poetry and the Democratic Ideal" at the Conference on "Modernist Revolutions: Paradigns of the New and Circulations of the Word in American Poetry" at the University of Toulouse Jan. 16-17; and on "Notes on…
Lauren Caldwell, assistant professor of classical studies, presented a paper on rhetoric and paternal authority in the Roman Empire at the conference "Lire la déclamation latine," Feb. 14 at Université Paris IV - Sorbonne. She also gave a lecture on Roman ideas about justice and natural growth at "Ancient Law, Ancient Society: A Conference in Honor of Bruce W. Frier," Oct. 26, 2013 at the University of Michigan.
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Bill FisherNataly Kogan '98 is the co-founder and "chief happiness officer" of Happier.com, a Boston-based happiness company. Kogan immigrated to the United States with her parents from the former Soviet Union when she was thirteen and spent two decades "chasing the big happy," as she calls it. But when even her achievements failed to make her truly happy, Nataly turned to science and became inspired to stop saying "I'll be happy when..." and start thinking "I'm happier now because..." Kogan was a student in the College of Social Studies and met her husband, Avi Grossman Spivack '99, while they were working…
David LowThe ever-busy Jeffrey Richards ’69 is the co-producer of a new musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on the hugely popular novel by Robert James Waller, which opened at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway on February 20. The musical stars acclaimed actors Kelli O’Hara (Nice Work If You Can Get It, South Pacific) and Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me) with a score by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade), a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden, ‘Night, Mother), and direction by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, The Light…
Brian KattenTalia Bernstein '11 made a walk-on in a scene set at Wesleyan during the episode of How I Met Your Mother titled "Rally" which aired Monday, Feb. 24. Bernstein is the all-time leading hitter in Wesleyan softball history with 192 career hits and the career RBI leader with 114. She works on the production staff of the show and was picked to walk across the scene in her Wesleyan softball sweatshirt while characters Marshall and Lily Eriksen were dropping their son off at Wesleyan in the year 2030. How I Met Your Mother is in its ninth and final season…
Mike SembosDan Poliner ’97 released his debut feature-length film “Jack, Jules, Esther & Me” in October 2013 at the Austin Film Festival. It’s about four friends living in NYC — two rich and two poor — during their final week of summer before leaving for college. It’s a wacky comedy, a romantic comedy and an examination of the differing paths presented to those who have money, and those who don’t. Much of the music in the film was provided by the band Peace Museum, which Casey Feldman ’12 formed on campus. “I believe all the music was recorded while they were…
The Class of 2014 attended a SWAG (Seniors of Wesleyan Annual Gift) event Feb. 27 in Daniel Family Commons. During SWAG, students and guest speakers encourage seniors to give to the Senior Class Gift, a tradition that dates back about 20 years. In 2013, members of the senior class were among the more than 11,000 Wesleyan alumni, parents, and friends gave $10.4 M to the Wesleyan Fund. This year the Class of 2014 has a goal of $10,000 and 60 percent participation.For more information on SWAG see this link. Photos of the recent SWAG event are below: (Photos by Ryan Heffernan '16) (more…)
In Brick By Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Toy Industry, David C. Robertson ‘81 (with Bill Breen) traces how the company grew from a small woodworking shop in a tiny Danish town to become one of the most beloved global brands of all time. In 2003, LEGO was heading toward bankruptcy but a new management was able to steer things in the right direction, transforming the business into one of the world’s most profitable, fastest-growing companies. From 2002 through 2010, Roberston was a professor of innovation and technology management at the Institute of Management…
Avital Norman Nathman MALS ’07 has edited a new collection of 35 essays, The Good Mother Myth: Redefining Motherhood to Fit Reality (Seal Press) unravels the social media-fed notion of what it means to be a “good mother” in an era of mommy blogs, Pinterest, and Facebook. This volume takes a realistic look at motherhood and provides a platform for a diversity of voices, sharing revealing, candid, and sometimes raw stories to expand the narrative of motherhood we don’t tend to see in the headlines or on the news. The essay writers come from all walks of life, from professors…