lsbrown

Durham County Fair — 9/22-25

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CHECK OUT THE LONGEST RUNNING VOLUNTEER COUNTY FAIR IN THE COUNTRY!! — September 22 – 25, 2011

In 1916 the Durham Fair began a tradition. That tradition continues today during the last full weekend in September when the fairgrounds come alive and magically transform into Connecticut’s largest agricultural fair. Come visit the Durham Fair and you’ll see what a real fair is all about. Live entertainment, rides and games on the Midway, first-class animal competitions and discovery events on the Corn Stalk Stage. Along with a trove of crafts, exhibits, shopping and fun food. Yum! The Durham Fair is easy to reach yet hard to leave. We know you will have a great time!

The Durham Fair is owned and operated by the Durham Agricultural Fair Association, Inc., and is a private, not-for-profit corporation. The Durham Fair is the largest fair in North America managed entirely by unpaid volunteers. For more information click http://www.durhamfair.com/.

Note from Dean Brown: Headliners are KC and the Sunshine Band (a little retro disco anyone?) on Sunday night, Blues Traveler with harp afficionado, John Popper, on Saturday night, and Steel Magnolia on Sunday afternoon. There is an entrance fee for the fair whether you go day or night, so check that out on their website as well. Great rides, fair food, music, and exhibits of all types. Don’t miss this New England county fair!

Molecular Biophysics & Biological Chemistry Retreat — Thurs., 9/22

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We invite you to the 12th Annual Molecular Biophysics and Biological Chemistry Retreat to be held on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at the Wadsworth Mansion.  The retreat will feature four speakers from Wesleyan University, including two new faculty colleagues: Christina Othon (Physics) and Ruth Johnson (Biology). In addition, students in the Molecular Biophysics program will present posters on their research.

The keynote speaker for the retreat is Professor Vern L. Schramm from Albert Einstein College of Medicine; http://www.einstein.yu.edu/biochemistry/profile.asp?id=7856<http://rutchem.rutgers.edu/?q=node/54>  Professor Schramm investigates enzymatic transition state structures to enable development of powerful drugs against cancer and other diseases.

Molecular Biophysics is an interdisciplinary program that has been supported by an NIH training grant for over 25 years. The retreat is made possible by support from the training grant, Chemistry and MB&B departments.

Contact Professors David Beveridge, Ishita Mukerji, Manju Hingorani, or Erika Taylor with any questions.

Decadent Desserts, Jazz and Exhibition — today 5-7 p.m.

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Decadent Desserts
Student event organized by the Friends of the Davison Art  Center
Thursday, Sept. 22, 5:00-7:00 pm

Desserts by Fusion Bakery, jazz by student musicians in the Davison Art Center courtyard, and the opportunity to view the exhibition, Excavations: The Prints of Julie Mehretu.

Center for African American Studies First Book Series — 9/22

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On Thursday 9/22, from 4:15-6:00 p.m. at the Center for African American Studies in the Vanguard Lounge is the first of five speakers in the center’s new First Book series.

Historian Danielle Mcguire (Wayne State University) will discuss her award-winning first book, At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape and Resistance–A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power (Knopf, 2010).

At the Dark End of the Street won the 2011 Frederick Jackson Turner Award From the Organization of American Historians and the 2011 Lillian Smith Book Award.

The talk  will be followed by a book signing.

The event is free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Joan Chiari in AFAM at ext: 3569.

What are the Humanities Worth? Stanley Fish speaks out on Wed., 9/21

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Wesleyan welcomes Stanley Fish this coming Wednesday, September 21.

His talk will take place at the Chapel at 4:15. There will be a reception immediately afterward in the Daniel Family Commons in the Usdan Center.

 Following up on some of his recent NYT Op-eds, Professor Fish will address the status of the humanities in the Academy and in today’s world.  Please join us for what should be a provocative talk.

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“WHAT ARE THE HUMANITIES WORTH?”  

One of the country’s leading public intellectuals, Stanley Fish is an extraordinarily prolific author whose works include more than 200 scholarly publications and books. While his research covers a variety of fields, he has written for many of the country’s leading law journals, including Stanford Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Yale Law Journal, and others. Professor Fish is the author of numerous books including Doing What Comes Naturally: Change, Rhetoric, and the Practice of Theory in Literary and Legal Studies (1989); There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It’s a Good Thing, Too (1994); Professional Correctness: Literary Studies and Political Change (1995); The Trouble with Principle (1999); and How Milton Works (2001). 

Two WSA Comms. — Join!! App Deadlines 9/23 and 9/26

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Spring Fling is an all-campus outdoor concert that happens on Foss Hill every May. In the past, artists like The Dirty Projectors, Big Boi, and TV on the Radio have come to rock out Wesleyan’s student body. Social Committee works throughout the year to put together a multiple-act show that brings the most current and enjoyable bands to campus in an effort to please the entire student body.

If you would like to become a member of the Social Committee in the 2011-2012 school year, please answer the questions in the attached application (either in an email or an attached word document) and send them to mpiderit@wesleyan.edu by Friday, September 23rd. We will review the applications and contact applicants for interviews. The committee meets once a week according to member availability.

The Social Committee

The Green Fund Committee is now accepting committee member applications for the year. The Green Fund Committee is responsible for allocating the funds raised from the Green Fund Fee: an opt-out $15 fee charged to each undergraduate each semester. Any student, faculty, or staffperson can submit a proposal to the Green Fund to improve the Wesleyan Community’s environmental footprint. The fund is intended for projects that the University might not pursue on their own means. If you feel like you would be a good candidate for this committee, fill out the application at:

The application is due on Monday, September 26th at 5pm. For more info, visit: greenfund.WSA.Wesleyan.edu.  You can also contact: greenfund@wesleyan.edu with any questions or comments

– Evan Weber, Chair of the Green Fund Committee

Upcoming Jewish Holidays and Classes

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Dear Student,

Hello and Shalom from Wesleyan’s Director of Religious and Spiritual Life and Rabbi.

I wanted to wish everyone a meaningful and productive year, and remind students of the university’s policy on class attendance and religious holidays.  Any student who is planning to miss classes during the upcoming Jewish holidays Rosh HaShanah/Yom Kippur, September 28-30, and October 7-8) is expected to speak with her/his professors as soon as possible. 

To see the schedule for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services and events, go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl /jewish/schedule.html

 Wesleyan’s policy is as follows: “The following information on the observance of religious holidays is provided to alert members of the Wesleyan community to possible scheduling conflicts. Faculty are asked to accommodate students whose religious holiday observance conflicts with paper deadlines or scheduled examinations.  Not all holidays require absence from routine commitments. Questions about the holidays may be directed to the University Chaplains.  Students who have questions about class attendance and assignments should consult with their Class Dean.”  

http://events.wesleyan.edu/events/pdf_academic_calendar?v_year_from=2011&v_year_to=2012

(scroll down to top of page 3)

If I can be of help with your transition to Wes. feel free to stop by my office. You can find me at:  169 High Street (corner of Church St.), Rm. 208, x2278, dleipziger@wesleyan.edu

 Shanah Tova and Happy Beginnings, Rabbi David Leipziger Teva, Director of Spiritual and Religious Life, University Jewish Chaplain, http://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl/

Lecture: “Provincializing Democracy: Space, Ecololgy and Rights on India’s Southwestern Coast” — 9/20, 4:30 p.m.

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Please join us for a talk on “Provincializing Democracy: Space, Ecology and Rights on India’s Southwestern Coast,” by Ajantha Subramanian (cosponsored by the Certificate in South Asian Studies and College of the Environment).

Tuesday, September 20th, at 4:30 pm, Woodhead Lounge.

Ajantha Subramanian, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University, conducted ethnography with the Mukkuvar fisher community in Tamil Nadu, India. This talk brings together the literatures on political ecology, the anthropology of rights and development, and subaltern studies, to highlight the struggles of artisanal fishers with trawler owners, the Catholic Church, and state institutions. Subramanian focuses on how artisanal fishers mobilize both local and global languages of patronage and environmentalism to claim rights and citizenship.

Lecture about modern terrorism — today, 4:30 p.m.

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I want to bring your attention to a forthcoming public lecture co-sponsored by the History, Government, and Russian Departments; Jewish and Israel Studies; and the Office of Academic Affairs.  TODAY, September 19, 2011. 4:30 p.m. Allbritton, Room 103.

“Death Orders delineates psychohistorical patterns of worldwide terrorism during the past century.  It shows why terrorists? objectives degenerated from punishment of political elites to indiscriminate violence against civilians. Death Orders ventures beyond politics and psychology; it is the first work to present modern terrorism as a form of ‘dark spirituality.'”Assistant Professor of History, Department of History and College of Social Studies

The lecture will be by Professor Anna Geifman (Boston University) on her new book, DEATH ORDERS: THE VANGUARD OF MODERN TERRORISM IN REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA. 

I hope that you are able to make it, it promises to be an interesting and provocative talk. 

Sincerely, Victoria Smolkin-Rothrock,

Celebrating Students ’13: Ross Gormley

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            This summer I was employed by an Italian company called ACLE where I essentially taught English to Italian children in English immersion camps, staying with host families the whole time.

            The first week of orientation training was a pleasantly overwhelming array of English speakers from around the world–Ireland, Canada, UK, Australia, and South Africa (over 100 of them). By day we trained to be counselors and by night we sampled the Italian lifestyle, sipping cappuccinos by day and wine by night. It was all too easy to fall in love with the Italian way of life:  old woman eating gelatos, old men melting away on the beach, and a vibrant culture of both the old and new generations.

            The scariest part of it all was the first day when I had twelve little campers staring at me, trying to anticipate my next move as I stood at the chalkboard with a blank stare. “Name game,” I reluctantly cried out, and then proceeded to demonstrate proper English introductions. The work was frustrating; in fact I was the sole counselor who didn’t scramble out of my classroom to cry in the bathroom (although I did lose my voice a few times (and possibly my sanity).

            I travelled every week from San Remo to Deruta (near Perugia and Assisi), to Turate (near Lake Como and Milan), to Piverone (a small town in the Piedmont [wine country] region). After three weeks, I was exhausted and could barely sit in a chair for fear of it turning into another round of musical chairs. The camp songs “I’m alive awake alert enthusiastic,” and “Monday is a working day,” were seemingly permanent features of my conscious now. By the third week, however, I had assumed a leadership position and was planning and implementing the afternoon activities for the entire camp.

            By the end of the summer, I realized how invaluable my experiences were. Travelling is a beautiful way to gain perspective and confidence. For eight weeks, I travelled to Peru, Italy, and Portugal ultimately to return home with a new sense of myself and the world which I live in.