Feminist Gender and Sexuality Studies

Wesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline, “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” Amid a flood of accusations against public figures for sexual misconduct and other improprieties, Ashraf Rushdy, the Benjamin Waite Professor of the English Language, writes a piece exploring "the art of the public apology." Rushdy is also professor of English, professor of African American studies, and professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies. Read his bio in The Conversation. The art of the public apology Ashraf Rushdy, Wesleyan University Just prior to his sentencing, former USA…

Wesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline, "Academic rigor, journalistic flair." Lori Gruen, the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy, has written a piece explaining how philosophers determine what is the right, or ethical, thing to do. Gruen also is professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, professor of science in society, and coordinator of animal studies. Read her bio in The Conversation. How should we decide what to do? How many times do we wonder, "What’s the right thing to do?" Most of us are faced with ethical…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News 1. President Michael Roth publishes op-eds in The Washington Post titled, "We can't let cynics ruin college," and "What is college for? (Hint: It's not just about getting in.)." He also sat for an "On Leadership" interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2. The Conversation: "The dangerous belief that white people are under attack" Assistant Professor of Psychology Clara Wilkins writes about her research on perceptions of reverse discrimination in light of recent societal trends. 3. Marketplace: "Here comes the tax bill…

Professor of Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Victoria Pitts-Taylor, pictured at left, received the Robert K. Merton Award for her book, The Brain's Body: Neuroscience and Corporeal Politics (Duke University Press, 2016). The award was presented at a meeting of the Science, Knowledge, and Technology Section of the American Sociological Association in Montreal, Canada on Aug. 14. The Merton Award is given annually in recognition of an outstanding book on science, knowledge, and/or technology published during the preceding three years. The Brain's Body previously won the 2016 prize in Feminist Philosophy of Science given by the Women's Caucus of the Philosophy of Science Association.…

Professor of Religion Mary-Jane Rubenstein was a guest on WNYC's "Studio 360" recently, in a show titled, "The Theoretical Physicist Wore a Toga." She addressed existential "what if" questions and the idea of multiple universes—an idea, she explains, which "is about 2,500 years old." "For the ancient Atomist philosophers [in Ancient Greece], the most desirable thing about what we're now calling the multiverse was that it got rid of the need for a god. If it is the case that our world is the only world, then it's very difficult to explain. How is everything so perfect? How is it that sunsets so beautiful?" she said. "What…

This year, students in Associate Professor of History Jennifer Tucker’s class, Seeing a Bigger Picture: Integrating Visual Methods and Environmental History, had an opportunity to share what they learned in an unusual format. They produced an hour-long radio program, which debuted on WESU 88.1 FM on Memorial Day. It will air again on the station this summer, and can be heard on wesufm.org or on SoundCloud. The course introduces students to key landmarks in the visual history of environmentalism and environmental science, from the 18th century to the recent past. The class studies the power and the limits of visual…

Elizabeth McAlister, chair and professor of religion, is the co-author of an op-ed on CNN titled, "Haiti and the distortion of its Vodou religion." Together with her co-author, Millery Polyné, a Haitian-American professor of African-American and Caribbean history at the Gallatin School–NYU, she provides an introduction to the Vodou religion—the creation of African slaves who were brought to Haiti and converted by Roman Catholic missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. While Vodou shares much with Christianity, and its initiates must be Roman Catholic, it departs in its views of the cosmos. Vodou teaches that there is no heaven or hell, and…

The pseudoscientific myths about love and sexuality that abounded in the Victorian era, many of which seem "cruel and oppressive" by today's standards, could also offer women relief from the era's "rigid gender politics," according to Associate Professor of History Jennifer Tucker, who comments on the topic for a Broadly article. For much of the 19th century, the Western world was fascinated with a variety of pseudosciences, or theories that lack a basis in the scientific method. "Definitions of science were malleable and hotly contested in the 19th century," said Tucker, who is also associate professor of science in society, associate professor…

Christina Crosby, professor of English, professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, is the author of an essay on injury and grief in a special issue of Guernica magazine on "The Future of the Body." Titled, "My Lost Body," Crosby's essay explores the grief she has experienced since a bicycle accident 13 years ago, just after her 50th birthday, left her paralyzed. The accident was the topic of her memoir, A Body, Undone: Living On After Great Pain (NYU Press, March 2016). She writes, "Because of my transformation, I have worked hard to conceptualize how embodied memory works—like the muscle memory that allows you to ride…

Laura Grabel, the Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, professor of biology, warns in a new op-ed that the progress of embryonic stem cell research in this country, always subject to the ups and down of politics, is currently under threat. Co-authored with Diane Krause of Yale University, the op-ed in The Hartford Courant notes that Tom Price, President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, is on record opposing embryonic stem cell research. They write: As stem cell researchers, we fear that this appointment would endanger human embryonic stem cell research in the United States…

The Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) Women's Caucus awarded Professor Victoria Pitts-Taylor with the Women's Caucus Prize in Feminist Philosophy of Science for her recent book, The Brain's Body: Neuroscience and Corporeal Politics. This prize is awarded biennially for the best book, article, or chapter published in English in the area of feminist philosophy of science within the five years prior to each PSA meeting. The winner receives an award of $500, which is presented at the PSA meeting. The Brain's Body: Neuroscience and Corporeal Politics (2016, Duke University Press) draws on feminist philosophy, feminist science studies, queer theory, and…

Ashraf Rushdy in The Conversation: The Art of the Public Apology

Lori Gruen in The Conversation: How Should We Decide What to Do?

Wesleyan in the News

Pitts-Taylor Wins Merton Book Award for The Brain’s Body

Rubenstein Discusses Theories of the Multiverse on Studio 360

Environmental History Class Produces Radio Program

McAlister Writes Op-Ed on ‘Demystifying Vodou’

Tucker Comments on Victorian Pseudoscience, Romance

Crosby Authors Essay on Injury and Grief

Grabel Warns of Threat to Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Op-ed

Alumni Discuss Reproductive Rights with Students, Faculty

Pitts-Taylor Recipient of Feminist Philosophy Prize