Lauren RubensteinNew psychological therapies can improve patients' cognitive and social skills, change brain activity
Wesleyan Media Project analysis finds record ad volume and negativity; evidence of micro-targeting
Lim: Modern presidents put too much stake in applause rendering platitudes when delivering speeches
Jeanine Basinger discusses her new book along with Wesleyan's many successful film alumni
Odede '12 now works to provide education, health care, sanitation in the Kenyan slum where he grew up
Review: "...her prose is carefully shaped, with the clarity of diamonds. Often dark, but always worth reading"
Lim: Obama looks to be following FDR's bold example, not Clinton's cautious one, for his second term
The New York Times on Jan. 25 published an op-ed by Andrew Curran, dean of the arts and humanities and professor of romance languages and literature, on the legacy of Enlightenment era philosopher and novelist Denis Diderot. Curran writes of Diderot: "His message was of intellectual emancipation from received authorities — be they religious, political or societal — and always in the interest of the common good. More so than the deists Voltaire and Rousseau, Diderot embodied the most progressive wing of Enlightenment thought, a position that stemmed from his belief that skepticism in all matters was 'the first step toward truth.'…
The Hartford Courant on Dec. 7 published an op-ed by Assistant Professor of Sociology Daniel Long about a new pilot program in Connecticut and four other states to increase time that children spend in school. Long responded skeptically to the program, writing that past experiments with increased learning time have shown mixed results, and are an expensive, unproven way to improve student learning. At a time when Connecticut school districts face increasingly tight budgets, the state should focus on reform efforts backed by research, Long writes. On Dec. 20, Long also participated in a discussion on the impact of increased class time…
Two book reviews by President Michael Roth recently were published in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. For the Post on Dec. 28, Roth reviewed Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks, a "graceful and informative" study of hallucinations caused by "neurological misfirings that can be traced to disease, drugs or various changes in neurochemistry." Drawing upon descriptions of hallucinations experienced with Parkinsonian disorders, epilepsy, migraines, and narcolepsy, "Sacks explores the surprising ways in which our brains call up simulated realities that are almost indistinguishable from normal perceptions," Roth writes. He adds: "As is usually the case with the good doctor Sacks, we are prescribed no overarching theory or even a…
Islamist groups have "highjacked the local movement," crushing Tuaregs' hopes for independence
National Book Critics Circle Award nominated-book profiles three remarkable women of the early 20th Century