Month: September 2012

CHUM Lecture: Prof. Elijah Huge, “Saving the City” — 10/1, 6 p.m.

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 MONDAY NIGHT LECTURE SERIES

Monday, October 1    6 p.m.     Russell House

Elijah Huge

Assistant Professor of Art, Wesleyan

Industrialization introduced new threats to the city (electricity, speed, explosives, etc.) while also dramatically increasing the scale of historical perils (earthquake, deluge, conflagration, etc.). In turn, these threats gave rise to a field of new products, accessory to conventional building. Negotiating the thresholds between the developing infrastructures of the city and its private spaces, these emergency devices may be understood collectively as a crumple zone intended not to prevent urban disaster but to absorb, limit, and contain its effects. Together, these devices (automatic sprinkler, panic bar, emergency light, etc.) trace a narrative of escalation between an expanding urbanism on the one hand and increased risks for catastrophe on the other, rendering all spaces as sites of imminent disaster. Their current ubiquity facilitated by invention, insurance, and legislation, the integration of these devices into the spatial and psychological landscape of the city is the story of the Encyclopedia.

Drawing on a selection of architectural emergency devices, this talk will examine the ways in which disaster events have reshaped the conditions for architectural production, while exploring the mercurial relationships between prediction, projection, imagination, invention, and testing that characterize the invariably speculative activity of designing for the catastrophic moment.

Mindfulness Class @ Wesleyan — beginning 10/22; app deadline 10/9

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Mindfulness Class @Wesleyan — 5 Mondays starting on 10/22 6:30-8pm

During this 5-week course, students will be introduced to various techniques of mindfulness practice and spiritual awareness, including sitting meditation and yoga.  These modalities are designed to aid in stress and anxiety reduction, and when practiced diligently, may also offer opportunities for greater self-awareness and personal development.  The goal is to give students a spiritual toolbox that is portable, replicable, and sustainable. Students will gain an understanding of the roles these practices can play in leading a happier, healthier and more fulfilling life.

Referral Form:  Please email this form to Rabbi David Teva at dleipziger@wesleyan.edu  by 10/9/12

Name:                                               Email:                                           Year: 

Name of person making referral (if self referral, write self):

What experiences (if any) have you had with (please specify what types and for how long):

Meditation:          Yoga:        Religious/ Praying communities:        Other spiritual exercises or practices:

 Why do you want to attend this class? 

Is there anything you hope will change in your life as a result of taking this class?

 

 

The Durham Fair — this weekend!

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Check out the LARGEST volunteer fair in North America and the LARGEST agricultural fair in Connecticut this weekend—September 27-30.  The Durham Fair, right next door to Middletown on Rte. 17 (past Haveli’s), offers amazing rides, awesome fair food, live entertainment, and all the other exhibits found at your county and state aggie fairs.  It is an experience you don’t want to miss!  It is awesome!

Located at 24 Town House Road in Durham, the hours are Thursday, 4-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday  9 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.  Admission is $10 on Thursday and $15 per day on the others.  For a complete schedule, go to www.durhamfair.com.

WIRA Conference: The Cold War of the Middle East — 10/5 & 6

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The Second Annual Wesleyan International Relations Associations Conference:

“The Cold War of the Middle East: Saudi Arabia-Iran Relations”

Since tensions have been escalating recently between the two nations, with notable US involvement, this is particularly timely topic. From nuclear concerns to religious conflict, this topic features multiple facets that cannot be understood alone. Though the conflict is a complex one, we hope this day long conference will shed light onto the region’s politics and offer some insight into possibilities for conflict resolution or into the plausibility of military action.

Schedule of Events:

Friday, Oct. 5
Zikrayat, Kickoff concert: 8:00-10:00pm

Saturday, Oct. 6 
Registration begins at 12 pm
Opening speaker and panel discussion: 1:00-4:30pm
Keynote address by Robin Wright: 5:00-6:00pm

Hispanic Film Series: “The Cinema Hold-Up” — 9/27

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THE CINEMA HOLD-UP (ASALTO AL CINE):  Irina Gómez Concheiro / 2011 / México

The Cinema Hold Up is a vibrant, authentic, and wonderfully observed portrait of the tempo and texture of today’s Mexican youth culture. First-time feature director Iria Gómez Concheiro draws pitch-perfect performances from the talented ensemble cast and registers a strong and original voice in Mexican cinema. Negus, Chale, Sapo and Chata are teenagers who grew up in the same rundown district of Mexico City. They spend their days listening to hip-hop, smoking marihuana and fantasizing about the opposite sex. One day they have the bright idea of robbing a movie theater, jeopardizing the one sure thing they have in life – their friendship. An explosive, entertaining comedy with impeccable performances, this original, unpredictable debut establishes Iria Gómez Concheiro as a promising new voice in Mexican cinema. Gómez Conchiero acknowledges a debt to Italian neorealism and Brazilian Novo Cinema, and she has a liking for gritty locations, long tracking shots and non-pro actors. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

 

Where: Goldsmith Family Cinema, Center for Film Studies
When:  Thursday, September 27th, 8 p.m. 

Free Admission 

 
Presented as part of The Spanish Film Club series with the support of Pragda, the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain, and its Program for Cultural Cooperation with U.S. Universities. In collaboration with Wesleyanʼs Latin American Studies program and the Department of Romance Languages and Literaturesʼ Thomas and Catharine McMahon Fund. 

Homecoming/Family Weekend Employment Opportunities — 9/28 deadline

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Have you ever wanted to…

Meet alumni and parents from around the world?  Make money, friends and gain a whole new perspective on life at Wesleyan?  Drive a shuttle van around campus and use a walkie-talkie?  AND get a FREE Wesleyan T-Shirt?

Apply now to be part of Homecoming/Family Weekend 2012. Student workers play an integral role in the weekend by greeting guests at the registration site, assisting with activities and event preparation, escorting guests around campus in shuttle vans, and much more!

Applications close on Friday, September 28th  at 5:00pm.

The application can be found at:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dG9EUzFuSGRFa0lNZG04ajMyU0YyUlE6MQ 

If you have any questions, feel free to email interns@wesleyan.edu!

 **Please note: students who are hired to work for Events during this period cannot also work for Bon Appétit.

Aubrey Courville ’13, James Gardner ’13 and Raymond Wong ’14
Interns, Office of Alumni and Parent Relations
interns@wesleyan.edu
860/685-2418

Sexual Assault Survivors Support Group — sign up by 9/28

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Heal in the company of others:

The Sexual Assault Survivors Support Group (SASS) will be held on Tuesdays beginning October 2nd-December 4th from 5:45-7:00pm. SASS is open to survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape. Meetings will follow an open support group format and participants determine group topics each week.  

Contact Alysha B. Warren, LPC, Therapist/Sexual Violence Resource Coordinator, for more info  at awarren(at)wesleyan(dot)edu or visit the SASS website.

The deadline to sign-up is Friday, September 28th.

CHUM Monday Night Lecture Series — Prof. Margot Weiss 6 p.m.

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 MONDAY NIGHT LECTURE SERIES

Monday, September 24
6 p.m.
Russell House

  Cultural Trauma, National Memory:  BDSM Play with Slavery and Fascism

 Margot Weiss

Assistant Professor of American Studies and Anthropology

This talk explores the temporality of desire—the relationships between erotics, cultural memory, and histories of national trauma. It draws on ethnographic fieldwork with BDSM practitioners in San Francisco and Berlin to focus on what practitioners call “cultural trauma play”: play that re-performs real-world or historical trauma. I compare the eroticization of two emblematic national traumas—the Holocaust in Germany and chattel slavery in the United States- and contrast the political and national identifications at work in such play in order to explore what we might claim to know about the historicity of desire.

 

Meet the New Protestant Chaplain: Tracy Mehr-Muska

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I am very excited to be Wesleyan’s new Protestant Chaplain and have thoroughly enjoyed becoming part of this amazing community.  As a marine scientist turned clergywoman, I truly value the importance of caring for ourselves and others holistically, considering the physical, mental, and spiritual.  I aspire to be a safe, open, non-judgmental listener who is a chaplain to all, not just the Protestant community.  I personally believe that all people are spiritual, whether or not that spirituality is nurtured by a religious paradigm, so please know you are welcome to connect with me, whether or not you consider yourself “religious.”  I appreciate this sacred opportunity to journey alongside the students at Wesleyan and invite you to come by or stop me on the street to introduce yourselves or to share your stories.  I can’t wait to meet you.

Thesis/Essay Writers: Library Research Services

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The library is offering workshops on research sources and interlibrary loan and other services for seniors writing a thesis or an essay. Sessions will be offered on Monday 9/24, Tuesday 9/25, Wednesday 9/26, and Thursday 9/27  at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00 each day. No need to sign up ahead of time. Choose a date and time convenient for you and join a group for a 45 minute info session at Olin Library’s reference office. Attendees will be granted expanded interlibrary loan privileges.