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Mike MavredakisDecember 20, 202318min
Wesleyan’s faculty has been hard-at-work in 2023 sharing their scholarship with the world. Here are some of the books written by Wesleyan’s faculty over the past year.  Homesick Blues: Politics, Protest, and Musical Storytelling in Modern Japan by Scott Aalgaard  Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies Scott Aalgaard explores how people in Japan have used “musical storytelling” as a means of expressing themselves in their everyday life and as a political practice from the late 1940s to 2018. Within the book, he challenges assertions that political upheavals in the 1960s and 70s in Japan were the climax and end of…

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Mike MavredakisSeptember 27, 20236min
Margot Weiss, associate professor of anthropology and American studies, affiliated faculty in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and coordinator of queer studies, saw a gap in the world of queer anthropology—there was no central text compiling the leading theories and ideas of the field. So, she made one—well, two. Weiss recently published Queer Then and Now, a collection of lectures given by the winners of the CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Studies' annual David R. Kessler Award. CLAGS, which is housed at the City University of New York, gives the Kessler Award for lifetime achievement in queer and trans studies. The…

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Steve ScarpaMay 10, 20237min
With access to knowledge under assault across the country, the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department and the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing and Criticism struck a blow for the freedom to read whatever you like. Last week, the departments hosted two banned book giveaways as part of the Freedom to Learn National Day of Action. On May 3, 2023, FGSS and Shapiro Center gave away almost 100 banned books to students, staff, and faculty.  “These actions by FGSS and the Shapiro Center engage the university in a nationwide day of resistance against the banning of books that tell truths about gender,…

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Steve ScarpaApril 4, 20237min
Taking one’s doctoral dissertation and transforming it into a graphic narrative was certainly not an ordinary choice, but it was exactly what author and independent scholar Rebecca Hall did. The resulting work, “Wake: The Hidden History of Women Led Slave Revolts,” won multiple awards and was a finalist for the N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards and the Pen America Open Book Award. Wake was listed as a Best Book of 2021 by NPR and The Washington Post, Forbes, and Ms. Magazine. “As far back as I can remember, I've been searching for women warriors,” Hall reflects in the opening pages of her book. “Pickings were slim.” She melds…

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Editorial StaffFebruary 14, 202310min
(Updated March 1, 2023) Philosopher Kohei Saito ’09 spoke with The Guardian on his work in Marx in the Anthropocene which builds on Karl Marx’s writings on the economic and ecological crises to propose degrowth communism as a “new way of living.” Erika Franklin Fowler, Co-Director of the Wesleyan Media Project, spoke with Campaigns and Elections on the digital advertising spending of candidates in major state and federal races. Gary Yohe, Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Emeritus, was quoted in a story by The Poynter Institute's PolitiFact on an advertising campaign promoting natural gas’ role in transitioning…

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Steve ScarpaNovember 22, 20227min
Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Victoria Pitts-Taylor’s 2016 book The Brain’s Body: Neuroscience and Corporeal Politics has inspired a group of painters to offer their own artistic impressions of her complex ideas in a new gallery exhibit. The exhibit, called “Somatic Markings,” is on display through December 23 at the Kasmin Gallery, located at 297 Tenth Avenue in New York City. The exhibit features seven international artists employing the nude figure to grapple with issues of contemporary corporeal politics, according to the gallery’s press release. “A lot of the motivation behind the show was to push beyond a…

Steve ScarpaOctober 25, 20224min
One-hundred-and-eighteen days after the Supreme Court repealed Roe vs. Wade, a group of Wesleyan faculty and students assembled in Judd Hall for a teach-in focusing on protecting reproductive freedom across the country. The October 20 event, co-sponsored by Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Wesleyan Reproductive Advocacy and Legislation (WRAL), gave students the opportunity to learn more about abortion access, coalition work around reproductive freedom, and other related issues. Historically speaking, Connecticut has played an important role in the abortion debate. A 1965 Supreme Court decision, Griswold v. Connecticut, set the legal groundwork for the Roe v. Wade decision. And…

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Editorial StaffJune 29, 20229min
By Victoria Pitts-Taylor, professor and chair of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies In May this year I attended a reproductive freedom protest organized by Wesleyan University students. We were taking part in a nationwide campus walkout after the draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked. Using the inclusive, intersectional language of reproductive justice, speakers at the rally advised the crowd how to get abortion access through medication by mail, how to help others attain abortions across state lines, and how to fight for legal protections at the state and national level if Roe was overturned. They were…

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Editorial StaffApril 4, 20225min
By Maia Dawson '24 On March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility, the Resource Center hosted Kat Blaque, a transgender rights activist, for an open dialogue with students. Demetrius Colvin, the Director of the Resource Center, described the event as “dedicated to raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide as well as celebrating their contributions to society.” It’s important, too, to “make sure that we’re not just highlighting the challenges and the struggles and the violence which is very real, but also… people are thriving, people are pushing things changing things, allowing more people to be free,” Colvin…

Lauren RubensteinDecember 20, 20182min
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, Associate Professor of History Jennifer Tucker explores our ongoing romance with the gas lamp in connection with the new Mary Poppins film. Tucker is also associate professor and chair, feminist, gender, and sexuality studies; associate professor, science in society; and associate professor, environmental studies. In 'Mary Poppins Returns,' an ode to the gas lamp “Mary Poppins Returns” transports audiences back to 1930s London. The beloved nanny at the center of the original 1964…

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Lauren RubensteinDecember 3, 20182min
Professor of Anthropology Gina Athena Ulysse was recently honored with the Anthropology in Media Award (AIME) from the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Established in 1987, the annual award recognizes the successful communication of anthropology to the general public through the media. Ulysse was presented with the award at the association’s 2018 Annual Meeting in San Jose, Calif. on Nov. 14–18. According to AAA, Ulysse was honored for “her powerful and effective work communicating anthropological insights to the broad general public. Through her anthropological writings, blogs, talks, and her widely shared performance pieces, Ulysse has worked to expand her reach, presence,…

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Lauren RubensteinOctober 29, 20181min
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…)