lecture

By Rose Chen '26 On Thursday, Nov. 16, students gathered at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies for a conversation between film director Daniel Kwan and Professor of Religion, Philosophy, Science in Society, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Dean of the Social Sciences Mary-Jane Rubenstein. Kwan, having previously directed music video “Turn Down for What” and Swiss Army Man (2016), is most renowned for Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), which won seven Oscar awards out of eleven nominations and is estimated to be one of the most awarded films of all time. The event was organized…

On August 6, 1945, Toshiko Tanaka was a six-year-old on her way to school in Hiroshima, Japan, when, at 8:15 a.m., she looked up and watched the sky overhead turn blinding white. Tanaka didn’t talk about what happened next for more than 60 years: the burns that rendered her unrecognizable to her own mother, the corpses on the city’s riverbanks, the illnesses that struck down seemingly uninjured survivors, and the once-unimaginable devastation made real after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima—the first of two times nuclear weapons have been used in conflict—near the close of World War II.…

David Rabban ’71, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, delivered a wide-ranging exploration of academic freedom and freedom of speech at the annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression. The lecture was presented by The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life and took place March 30 in the Daniel Family Commons. “One of the things I loved about Wesleyan when I was here was the commitment of the faculty and administration to free speech and academic freedom,” Rabban said. His talk cited a wide array of case law to show…

Translation can be both a weapon for imperial conquest and a way to explode language in new and innovative ways, according to a New York Times bestselling writer. Author Rebecca F. Kuang and Stephen Angle, Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies and director of the Fries Center for Global Studies, engaged in a wide-ranging discussion February 20 about the relationship between languages, translation, and colonialism, a theme in her bestselling novel “Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution.” Kuang spoke as part of Power of Language Week, sponsored by the Fries Center.…

On the first night that Jonathan Holloway lived in the president’s residence at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, he decided to take his dogs for a walk. He gathered the usual gear – a collar, leash, and bags. After a moment of reflection Holloway grabbed his ID as well. Even though Holloway had just been appointed president of an institution encompassing over 100,000 people, as an African American man he wasn’t certain he could get back into his home safely if confronted by security. He had not, and would not, have a problem with anyone at Rutgers, but…

Russia has returned to the world stage in dramatic fashion in recent years with military interventions and interference in elections. What is driving this aggressive behavior? Will the current political system survive the scheduled departure of its architect, Vladimir Putin, in 2024? How should the United States deal with Russia? On Oct. 11–12, Wesleyan alumni and faculty panelists tackled these questions and more during the 2019 Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns. This year's theme was "Understanding Russia: A Dramatic Return to the World Stage," with Peter Rutland, the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, serving…

On April 4, the campus community gathered in Memorial Chapel for the 28th Annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression. This year's speaker was Jelani Cobb, the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism at Columbia University, winner of the 2015 Sidney Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and a staff writer for The New Yorker. Cobb spoke on “The Half-Life of Freedom: Race and Justice in America Today." Born and raised in Queens, New York, Cobb is a graduate of Howard University and Rutgers University, where he received his doctorate in American history. Cobb frequently writes about…

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On March 1, Wesleyan will host the Veritas Forum featuring a discussion between Michael Wear, previously Faith Outreach Director of the Obama Administration, and President Michael Roth. Professor of Government Mary Alice Haddad will moderate. The event, titled, "The Trouble with Freedom: A Dialogue on Freedom in 21st Century America from a Religious and Secular Perspective," will take place at 7–8:30 p.m. in Daniel Family Commons, Usdan University Center. It is free and open to the public. The forum will explore the political, social, cultural, and religious implications of religious liberty. The presenters will share their past experiences and worldviews on religious…

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‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ Director Speaks about Creativity and the Multiverse

Hiroshima Bombing Survivor Toshiko Tanaka Shares Her Story of Tragedy and Resilience

Annual Hugo Black Lecture Explores Academic Freedom

Bestselling Author R.F. Kuang Speaks on Power of Translation

Holloway Lecture Launches Equity and Inclusion Week 2023

Alumni, Faculty Discuss Russia’s Return to the World Stage at Shasha Seminar

Race and Justice in America Today Topic of Hugo Black Lecture

Wesleyan Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at 12th Annual Commemoration

Author André Aciman Delivers Annual Sonnenblick Lecture

Veritas Forum Focuses on Freedom from a Religious, Secular Perspective

Veritas Forum to Explore Religious Liberty Issues in American Society

Asian Soft Power Discussed at East Asian Studies Student Conference