humanities

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…

Andrew Curran, the William Armstrong Professor of the Humanities, is the author of Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, published by Other Press on Jan. 15. According to the publisher: "Denis Diderot is often associated with the decades-long battle to bring the world’s first comprehensive Encyclopédie into existence. But his most daring writing took place in the shadows. Thrown into prison for his atheism in 1749, Diderot decided to reserve his best books for posterity—for us, in fact. In the astonishing cache of unpublished writings left behind after his death, Diderot challenged virtually all of his century’s accepted truths,…

(By Lily Baggot '15) Later this month, scholars from across the country will gather on campus for the Queer/Art/Poetics Conference. The conference, which will run from April 23-24, is sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and will address questions such as “What does theory do when it takes queer art seriously?” and “How does queer theory remain artful while unpacking the objects, strategies and politics of queer aesthetics?” (more…)

On March 5, the Certificate in Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory supported a discussion on "Tragedy and Revolution." Matthew Garrett, assistant professor of English, assistant professor American studies and director of the Certificate, moderated the discussion. Assistant Professor Matthew Garrett, visiting distinguished guest David Scott and Assistant Professor Lily Saint led a discussion on "Tragedy and Revolution" March 5 in the Russell House. David Scott, professor of anthropology at Columbia University and editor of the journal Small Axe, spoke about his recent book, Omens of Adversity: Tragedy, Time, Memory, Justice (Duke University Press, 2014). Lily Saint, assistant professor of English, provided a response to Professor Scott's…

Every spring semester, more than 80 students attend lectures on Hemingway's writing, music and social movements, romantic poetry, Greek tragedies and French essays at Wesleyan. But these students aren't working on a college degree - yet. They're still in high school. As part of the Community and University Services for Education's High School Humanities Program, high school students from six area schools spend six Fridays on the Wesleyan campus, taking classes from Wesleyan faculty. On May 4, Wesleyan hosted a celebration of the program, which is more than 40 years old. "We're essentially offering high school students college courses in…

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In the 1970s, veterans, activists and psychiatrists were hard at work getting the disorder that came to be called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) included in the upcoming edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III. During the same period, feminists were building a successful anti-rape movement that crucially insisted that rape is a form of violence. On Feb. 15, Sally Bachner, assistant professor of English, spoke on “Rape Trauma, Combat Trauma, and the Making of PTSD: Feminist Fiction in the 1970s" during the Center for the John E. Sawyer Spring Lecture Series on War. Bachner proposed that…

(Photos by Stefan Weinberger '10) For more information on the Center for the Humanties go to: http://www.wesleyan.edu/chum/

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

Curran’s Diderot Biography Touches on Affairs, Tormented Relationships, Social Beliefs

Humanities Hosts Queer Art Poetics Conference April 23-25

Faculty, Distinguished Guest Discuss Tragedy and Revolution

High School Humanities Program Celebrates 40 Years

Stanley Fish: What Are the Humanities Worth?

‘War’ Topic of Ongoing Humanities’ Lecture Series

Critical Theory Addressed at Humanities Symposium

Center for the Humanities Celebrates 50th Anniversary