- the “primal scream” Monday at midnight (to release all tension and frustration built on over the semester, Wes students will emerge from their dorms/libraries/rooms/etc. at the stroke of midnight, screaming at the top of their lungs outside for a full minute - it’s really interesting to be around so many people who are ready for finals!)

- music concerts

- dance performances

- comedy troupe shows

- and much, much more!

It’s that time of the year!!!

CHEERS!

H. Rizk ‘08
Senior Interviewer

No matter how you spell it, Channukkah is an awesome time of the year. For the first time in years, all 8 days of Channukkah fall during the Wesleyan University Academic Year and the Jewish Community has thought of lots of fun ways to celebrate.

This year the Wesleyan Jewish Community will be hosting communal candle-lighting in different lounges and locations throughout campus. And yes, there will be chocolate gelt and dreidels. All are invited.

Dates and locations:

• Tuesday, Dec. 4: Olin lobby
• Wednesday, Dec. 5: Nics lounge
• Thursday, Dec. 6: SciLi lobby
• Friday, Dec. 7: Bayit
• Saturday, Dec. 8: Usdan, ground floor
• Sunday, Dec. 9: Butt C lounge
• Monday, Dec. 10: Bayit
• Tuesday, Dec. 11: WestCo lounge

And, there is a huge annual Channukkah Party in the Bayit ( Jewish Program House ). This is always a well attended event ( by celebrators and non-celebrators alike ) with campus bands, home made latkes, and gelt galore.

So, to all celebrating: Happy Channukkah.

To all: Have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Safe New Year!

Emily Einhorn ‘08
Senior Interviewer

• The Writing Workshop: This is the epicenter writing resources at Wesleyan. Stop by the office and meet with a writing tutor or peruse sample essays and writing resources. Workshop tutors also hold satellite drop-in sessions throughout campus. Check out the schedule here.
• Writing Course Tutors: Attached to a specific course, these tutors are excellent resources for course and dicipline-specific writing help. Every course tutor is well versed in the specific subject of the course and/or the department. Course tutors are often associated with FYI courses.
• Writing Mentors: Unlike workshop and course tutors, writing mentors work repeatedly with the same students to help them improve their writing skills. Students and their mentors are encouraged to meet as often as possible to work on any writing assignment. This is an excellent way for less experienced writers to work one-on-one with someone who knows the student’s writing intimately and can facilitate growth.

Additionally, the English department offers “The English Essay,” a course on developing your non-fiction essay writing skills. This course is especially helpful for non-native speakers.

For more information, check out the Writing Program’s website.

And for those of you who dream of being published in The Atlantic Monthly or other media outlets, head over to WesMaps and check out the amazing creative writing courses (numbered between 130 and 170) we’re offering this year.

Justin Holzwarth ‘08
Senior Interviewer

• African-American Studies: …”Majors are required to take courses from a variety of disciplinary areas, including literature, the social sciences, and the arts. Each major also concentrates in a specific discipline or in a particular thematic area…”
• American Studies: “…The complexity of culture and of its historical development is such that its analysis requires the intellectual tools of more than one discipline and the interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives emerging in American Studies and other interdisciplinary fields…”
• Medieval Studies: “…the program may also provide a framework for students wishing to cross the somewhat arbitrary temporal, topical, and geographical boundaries of medieval studies in order to consider such problems as relationship between classical and medieval literature or art or the broader history of the preindustrial European studies…”
• Science in Society: “…an interdisciplinary undergraduate major program that encourages integrated study of the sciences and medicine as institutions, practices, material cultures, intellectual achievements, and constituents of culture and politics…”
• Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies: “…encourages students to explore and critique past and present cultural structures of power, focusing in particular on the social construction of gender as a category of analysis within the broader matrix of race, class, ethnicity, and sexual identity…”

These are just a handful of the interdisciplinary majors available to you at Wes. And if you don’t find one that suits your fancy, you can arrange to design your own!

Jessie Spector ‘08
Senior Interviewer

I know significantly less about Santogold, but she graduated from Wes before my time, and according to the big RS,Bjork is a big fan of her work.

A parent asked me at an info session last week, “Do people have success in the arts after they graduate?” Does Rolling Stone count as success?

A small sampling of some of the best speakers to come to campus in the past four years:

Music and Art:

Dar Williams ‘89 - a folk singer-songwriter

Patti Smith - singer-songwriter, poet, musician, who was one of the women most influential in the birth of punk rock.

Sol LeWitt - minimalist and conceptual artist specializing in wall drawings with exhibitions in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art.

Amiri Baraka - author and poet, former Poet Laureate of New Jersey.

Books and Literature:

Art Spiegelman - comics artist, editor, and Pulitzer-Prize winner for his best selling graphic memoir, Maus.

Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket ‘92 - author, screenwriter, and musician. Best known for his children’s series A Series of Unfortunate Events. He has played accordion with The Magnetic Fields.

Eric Schlosser - author best known for Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness.

Journalism and Politics:

Ralph Nader - consumer advocate and presidential candidate.

Seymour Hersh - Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist and author.

Amy Goodman - progressive broadcast journalist and host of the radio program “Democracy Now!”

Madeline Albright - former United States Secretary of State.

Film and Television:

Joss Whedon ‘87 - Academy-Award nominated writer and director famous for his show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Alexander Payne - Academy- Award winning director and screenwriter best known for Election.

Michael Bay ‘86 - director and producer best known for The Rock, Transformers, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor.

Paul Weitz ‘88 - director and screenwriter best known for American Pie, American Dreamz, and In Good Company.

Jonathan Demme - Academy- Award winning director, producer, and writer best known for Silence of the Lambs, Stop Making Sense, and Philadelphia.

Martin Scorsese - Academy-Award winning director, producer, and writer best known for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed.

and… finally… gracing our campus this coming Thursday …

Robin Williams - Academy-Award winning actor and comedian best known for Mork and Mindy, The Birdcage, Patch Adams, Jack, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, and Dead Poet’s Society.

Enjoy!

Emily Einhorn ‘08 and Jeff Wong ‘08
Senior Interviewers

While there are far more options at Wesleyan than I can list here (or remember), I’ve gathered a few of them for your perusal. Some especially good places to look are the Financial Aid Office’s work study job postings and the Office of Community Service’s volunteer listings.

Some internship/work/experience building opportunities at Wes:

Peer Leadership/Organizing/Administrative:

• ResLife Residential Advisors, House Managers, and Head Residents
• Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development Leadership Intern
• Queer Community Intern
• Student of Color Coalition Intern
• Student Judicial Board
• Senior Interviewers
• Tour guides
• Career Resource Center Peer Career Advisors
• Student Academic Resources Network Peer Advisors

Writing/Research:

• Writing Workshop Tutors
• Research with professors/labs
• Middlesex County Historical Society Intern
• Argus student newspaper
• Wesleyan University Press Internship

Arts:

• Davison Art Center Curatorial Internship
• Davison Art Center museum internships
• Second Stage student theater production company
• Oddfellows Playhouse TAs
• Green Street Arts Center TA or volunteer
• Center for the Arts Marketing, Programming, Box Office Interns
• Film Board - students who run the Wesleyan Film Series

 Health/Science:

• Volunteer EMTs in Cromwell, CT after a training course at Wes
• Community Health Center
• WesWell (Office of Health Education) Peer Health Advocates

Activism/Environment:

• Environmental Organizers Network
• Long Lane Farm
• Student Organizing Center Intern

Education/Tutoring:

• KidCity Children’s Museum volunteer
• Community Tutoring (T-Square, Woodrow Wilson Middle School, etc.)

Peter Hill ‘08
Senior Interviewer

President Michael Roth has just announced a new plan to make attending Wesleyan more affordable!!!

We’ve been excited about Roth since he was named to the Presidency - he has gone out of his way to listen to student voices. His blog has given us access to his thoughts, and has allowed us to give him immediate feedback. He has visited us in our homes, eaten in our dining halls, gone to our events, and played with his dog on the green in front of College Row. Now, on the eve of his Inauguration, he has started to make some lasting changes, with real repercussions for the next generation of Wesleyan students.

From the article:

“Beginning with the first-year class enrolling in the fall of 2008, most students whose total family incomes are $40,000 per year or less will receive an aid package that substitutes grants for any loan obligation. Beginning with the same class, all other students who receive aid will graduate with a four-year total loan indebtedness reduced by an average of 35 percent. ”

Also, see The Argus’ take on it here.

As Roth himself put it:

“Access to a Wesleyan education for students from all backgrounds has long been one of the core values of this community. It remains one of our highest priorities.”

Go Wes!

Jacqueline Chapman ‘08
Senior Interviewer

Here at Wes, study abroad is extremely encouraged. As early as freshman year there are meetings about different places that students study, complete with first hand accounts from those who have studied abroad. Students can go abroad as early as the second semester of their sophomore year and as late as the first semester of their senior year, though many of us go some time during our junior year. There are both semester long and year long, single country programs available or you can mix programs and spend one semester in one country and another in a different country. The Office of International Studies here on campus is super helpful in helping to figure out not only how long to go abroad for, but also where to go.

Not only are Wesleyan students encouraged to go abroad in general, but they are also encouraged to push the boundaries and study in unique locations. While the four programs in Paris, Madrid, Bologna, and Regensburg, Germany that Wesleyan faculty run themselves are located in Western Europe, Wesleyan sponsors over 120 other programs in almost every location imaginable. There are great programs in China, Egypt, Ghana, Chile, Peru, Australia, Denmark and so many others. These programs might be ones on which you travel around with a group of American students and have professors hired specially to teach you, direct enrollment courses where you enroll directly into a university in that country or a combination of both. While I studied abroad in Paris on the Vassar-Wesleyan Program in Paris, half of my classes were at the Wesleyan headquarters and half were at Paris VII, a Parisian university. It was a great experience because I got to compare classroom and teaching styles in Paris to ones here in the US and meet cool French students. If for some reason Wesleyan doesn’t offer or sponsor a program in a country where you’d like to study, you can petition to go on a program- with a solid reason for going and a clear itinerary, odds are it’ll be approved.

Once students come back from abroad, they are asked to record their experiences and give suggestions and comments about the programs. This is great for future study-abroaders because in the Office of International Studies there are binders upon binders filled with great information about each program that helps others decide which program is right for them.

Studying abroad was such a great and eye-opening experience, and I encourage you to check out the Office of International Studies website to find out more information about the different programs that are available to Wesleyan students.

Petra Groeneveldt ‘08
Senior Interviewer

The Colloquium Vibe
The colloquia are lively seminars, and the students are as actively engaged as the faculty. With two professors in the room, there is no sense that any question has a right or final answer, but through discussion students and faculty explore ideas and texts together. Because of this format, COL students have a high tolerance for ambiguity, allowing questions to be raised and discussed, but ultimately linger unresolved. The class grows together through these colloquia, and the ability to draw on previous discussions and readings makes the discussions progressively richer through the program. Classes also see the development of a strong class dynamic that makes the group understand each others’ speaking, learning, and thinking styles and habits, and react more effectively to them. In most colloquia, students are in charge of initiating the conversation, with one or two students given responsibility for leading any day’s discussion and providing relevant background (we occasionally assign each other extra reading, but generally just send out some provocative questions to get everyone ready for the discussion).

Because all classes taken in the COL for major credit are ungraded (we use written evaluations instead), there are a lot of opportunities to take risks—why play it safe when you could come up with something brilliant by going out on a limb, or learn a lot from a spectacular failure? This idea is carried through in COL colloquium papers, where there are rarely specific assignments. Instead, students choose individually how they want to formulate the questions, selecting their texts, framework, and the style of the paper. With two professors commenting on your work, it is common to elicit different reactions to the papers, which gives students a fuller understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their work, and a good sense of how to improve.

The Application Process
Students apply to the College of Letters at the end of their first year. While acceptance to the major is based on a brief application essay and interview, the process is far from competitive. COL students are a self-selecting bunch, and those students who are passionate about their studies will generally do well in the program. The one strict requirement is that students be advanced enough in a European language to study abroad in their sophomore year.

Sophomore Spring Abroad
COL sophomores study abroad in the Spring semester, and after having had a class together, having all these friends spread across Europe can be really helpful when you’re traveling. COL students study mostly in Wesleyan’s programs in Madrid (Spain), Paris (France), Regensburg (Germany), and Bologna (Italy), though other options are available for those interested in studying in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, or an ancient language. During my semester abroad in Madrid, I was with three other COL students on the Vassar/Wesleyan program, but also visited the COL majors in Paris, and accidentally ran into one while we were both on vacation in Florence, waiting in line at the Uffizi. The abroad experience gives COL students confidence and fluency in the language they study, and also provides a good background for continued study in the junior and senior years—when we talked about the connections between Medieval scholasticism and Gothic architecture, I had actually seen the buildings!

The Social Aspect
Because of its unique structure, the COL has a strong social aspect. The majors in each graduating class form a tight bond, with a series of five classes together, a shared study abroad experience with many students from the major, and the intense Spring semester of junior year spent studying for Comprehensive Exams together. In addition to these elements, there are also a series of faculty/student dinners each semester, as well as lectures and social hours that bring students and faculty together for food and intellectual engagement outside of class. In addition to the official departmental functions, it is not uncommon for the majors to have parties of their own, welcoming the new sophomores, welcoming the juniors back from abroad, celebrating the end of junior comps, or just to talk about Sartre some more. My class has also organized COL tea, and recently, has had several film viewings outside of class (after all, if you have to read Beowulf, why not see the Angelina Jolie movie version, too?).

What do you read?
The COL is often thought of as the “dead white men” major, but this is only partially true. COL doesn’t use a fixed canon, but rather the texts are selected anew each semester, so we read works that professors and students continue to find relevant and interesting. We follow Western ideas, but don’t necessarily confine ourselves to geographical limitations. In the Ancient Colloquium, the movement of ideas from the fertile crescent through Northern Africa and eventually up to Europe, as well as out of Greece and Rome and into Asia Minor are particular focuses. This concept of the movement of ideas continues strongly in the 19th and 20th centuries, as we look at colonial and postcolonial reinterpretations of the Western canon, and at how the ancient ideas of the Western world can be adapted and used in new ways. Because COL is not just a series of fixed courses but allows a great deal of flexibility, a lot of students take a particularly modern bent on their studies, using the Classical education they can get in the COL to inform their ideas about gender, race, postcolonial theory and literature, etc.

As for the actual books we read, here are a few sample reading lists from my colloquia:

20th Century Colloquium, “Precedence and the Void,” Fall 2005
Dostoevsky, Yeats, Freud, Engels, Eliot, Kafka, Woolf, Hemingway, Benjamin, Orwell, Borowski, Arendt, Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, Rubenstein, Fanon, Friedan, Garcia Marquez, and Foucault.

Ancient Colloquium, “Geographies of Identity,” Fall 2006
The Bible (Old and New Testaments), Hesiod, Sophocles, ancient historians Herodotus and Livy, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Ovid, and St. Augustine.

If you have questions about the College of Letters, please don’t hesitate to email me at pshill [at] wesleyan [dot] edu—I’d love to tell you more about it!

Peter Hill ‘08
Senior Interviewer