Government Department

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News 1. The Morning Call: "Allen Student Wins 'Hamilton' Scholarship, Congrats from Lin-Manuel Miranda" Anna Tjeltveit of Allentown, Penn., winner of the 2019 Wesleyan University Hamilton Prize for Creativity, is profiled. She shares how her winning submission, a one-act play titled, "Five Steps," came together at the last minute, and discusses her early career in theater as well as her plans for her time at Wesleyan. 2. WJLA: "Arlington Teen Wins ‘Hamilton’ Prize Gets a Shout Out from Lin-Manuel Miranda" Cole…

Every year at Commencement, Wesleyan recognizes three outstanding teachers with Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. These prizes, made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85, underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the University’s distinctive approach to liberal arts education. Recommendations are solicited from alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, as well as current juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Recipients are chosen by a selection committee of faculty and members of the Alumni Association Executive Committee. This year, during the 187th Commencement ceremony, Wesleyan honored the following…

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, Professor Emeritus of Government John Finn shares his research—as featured in his new book, Fracturing the Founding: How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution—showing how the alt-right and a wide variety of extremist organizations advance a comprehensive—if not entirely comprehensible—vision of the American Constitution. How the alt-right corrupts the Constitution About 10 years ago, I spent a sabbatical on the Maine coast writing a book about the Constitution. One afternoon, an eager reference librarian who knew…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The GlobePost: "Trump's Foreign Trade Policy and the Art of the Deal" In this op-ed, Giulio Gallarotti, professor of government, co-chair of the College of Social Studies, argues that Donald Trump's approach to U.S. trade policy is shaped by his career as a real estate mogul and businessman. 2. The Hartford Courant: "Don't Let the 'Green New Deal' Hijack the Climate's Future" This op-ed coauthored by Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies Gary Yohe expresses concern…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News Forbes: "Three Questions to Ask Yourself at the Beginning of Your Career" Sharon Belden Castonguay, director of the Gordon Career Center, offers career advice for young people just starting out. 2. The Times Literary Supplement: "Multiple Lives" Hirsh Sawhney, assistant professor of English, coordinator of South Asian studies, explores the "complicated existence" of Mahatma Gandhi. 3. The Washington Post: "The Delight of Being Inconspicuous in a World That's Always Watching Us" President Michael Roth reviews a new book, How to Disappear:…

John Finn, professor emeritus of government, is the author of Fracturing the Founding: How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2019. Finn is an internationally recognized expert on constitutional theory, the rule of law and political violence, and the First Amendment. His public lectures include testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, as well as lectures in Bolivia, Canada, Chile, England, France, Italy, and Spain. Many in the radical right, including the Tea Party, the militia movement, the alt-right, Christian nationalists, the Oath Keepers, neo-Nazis, and a host of others, brand themselves as constitutional patriots. In Fracturing…

For four Wesleyan students, creating a mobile platform–based business that helps people with financial literacy just made sense. Their business pitch for "MakingCent$: Creating [in]Dependence" landed them the grand prize the Entrepreneurship Foundation's Best Online Submission competition. The Entrepreneurship Foundation is a Connecticut-based organization that provides resources to help both educators and entrepreneurs. Eunes Harun '20, Sanya Bery '21, Joey Ellis '19, and Marcia Saetang '19 created the app during their GOVT 326: Political Consulting for International Business course last spring. "We found that financial illiteracy is, unsurprisingly, rampant in underdeveloped areas; however, what astounded us is that it's even common within developed communities as…

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 Government Erika Franklin Fowler and her codirectors on the Wesleyan Media Project, Michael Franz of Bowdoin College and Travis Ridout of Washington State University, write about the big takeaways of political advertising in the 2018 midterm elections. The Wesleyan Media Project tracks, analyzes, and reports on campaign advertising—both television and digital—in federal races in real time during elections. The big lessons of political advertising in 2018 The 2018 midterm…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The Washington Post: "Major Trump Administration Climate Report Says Damage is 'Intensifying Across the Country'" Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, was widely quoted in the media about the fourth National Climate Assessment, the first to be released under the Trump Administration. "The impacts we’ve seen the last 15 years have continued to get stronger, and that will only continue,” Yohe, who served on the National Academy of Sciences panel that…

Students in Assistant Professor of Government Logan Dancey’s GOVT 232 Campaigns and Elections course got a real-world lesson in the subject matter this Election Day. On Nov. 6, the students stood out in the rain to field an exit poll—a survey of voters as they’re leaving their polling locations—in Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District. The students conducted the surveys at nine different polling places spread out across six different towns in the district. In order to generate a diverse sample that reflected the demographics of the congressional district, the precincts were intentionally selected to provide a balance of more Republican-leaning, Democratic-leaning, and…

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. Inside Higher Ed: "Voting Is Good, but Higher Ed Must Do More" In this op-ed, President Michael S. Roth writes: "In a year when inducements to political violence have become normalized at the highest level, colleges and universities must do more than just encourage our students to vote." It is crucial that colleges actively work to protect free expression, free inquiry, and fact-based discussion, Roth argues. (more…)

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, Professor of Government Mary Alice Haddad writes that the recent election of many pro-environment mayors was a promising sign for our country's response to climate change. She describes the progress that cities in the U.S.—and around the world—have made in this area in recent years, at a time when the federal government is moving backwards. Haddad is also professor, environmental studies, and professor, East Asian studies. Americans elected mayors who care about climate change…

Wesleyan in the News

Fowler, Northrop, Siry Receive Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching

Finn in The Conversation: How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution

Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan in the News

In New Book, Finn Explains How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution

Students Win Entrepreneurship Foundation Business Pitch Competition

Wesleyan Media Project in The Conversation: The Big Lessons of Political Advertising in 2018

Wesleyan in the News

Campaigns and Elections Class Conducts Real-World Exit Poll Research

Wesleyan in the News

Haddad in The Conversation: Americans Elected Mayors Who Care About Climate Change