Film Series & Talk: Ofir Touche Gafla, “In Praise of Fiction”–12/4, 8 pm

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In Praise of Fiction

The last presentation in the fall series Contemporary Israeli Voices 2014 is writer and  Schusterman Visiting Professor at the University of Texas, Ofir Touche Gafla, who will deliver a presentation entitled In Praise of Fiction on Thursday, December 4, at 8 pm at Russell House.

 

Ofir Touche Gafla’s first novel World of the End (2013) has become a cult classic. He has written several other novels including The Day the Music Died and The Book of Disorder, as well as short stories and scripts. He teaches at the Sam Spiegel School of TV and Film. In his presentation, he will talk about the creative process and how fiction serves his purposes as well as read from his novel The World of the End. The event will conclude with a book sale and reception to which all are invited.

 

Many thanks to those who attended this series, whichhas included many diverse, Israeli voices of renowned as well as emerging and promising voices in the film, literature and the arts. Please mark your calendar for the Eight AnnualRing FamilyWesleyan University Israeli Film Festivalwhich will be inaugurated on Thursday, January 29 at 8 pm at the Goldsmith Family Cinema. The festival will include 6 screenings, one every Thursday evening, of the best Israeli films and TV shows. Admission is free and all are welcome. More details to follow later on.

 

Best wishes, Dalit Katz

WCC Programs: Winter on Wyllys Av.!

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2017’ers,

This is a reminder that the deadline to register for the Career Programs is Monday, December 1 at Noon. There are still spots available in the programs listed below. While all of the programs are open to all class years, Choosing Good Work is most likely more fitting for first-years, sophomores & maybe juniors while CareerLab is more fitting for juniors & seniors.

Students with questions should contact: Rachel M. Munafo, Assistant Director of PR & Communications, Wesleyan University Career Center, 860.685.2180, rmunafo@wesleyan.edu

Winter on Wyllys 2015 encompasses a variety of career programming options designed for students to focus on their own career development over Winter Break. Students interested in  Choosing Good Work, CareerLab, Wall Street Prep and the Bloomberg Aptitude Test (the BAT) must register and fill-out the Res Lifehousing request form by 12pm on Monday, December 1st.

Choosing Good Work and CareerLab will be held in the mornings from January 12th through the 16th and will be followed by the Winter WESpeaker Series in collaboration with APR. Wall Street Prep will be held January 19th & 20th and the BAT will be given on January 21st. While students can only sign up for either Choosing Good Work or CareerLab all students are welcome to also sign up for Wall Street Prep & The BAT.

Choosing Good Work, taught by Sharon Belden Castonguay, is aimed at students who are undecided about their career path or what directionthey want to do this summer. The program is designed to help students identify what factors may be influencing their choice of major, internship, or career path, and help them to mindful of their decisions and do what is right fro them regardless of the messages they may be receiving from others. Cost: $100, Fee Waivers Available. Register Here.

CareerLab , taught by Persephone Hall, is aimed at students who know what they want to do after graduation or for the summer but aren’t quite sure how to get there. The program is a boot camp style introduction to everything a student needs to know to start their internship or job search and with the skills to launch themselves as a professional in their field of interest. Cost: $100, Fee Waivers Available. Register Here.

Wall Street Prep is an intensive 2-day seminar led by former investment bankers with applied expertise in financial and valuation modeling methodologies, and bridges the gap between academics and the real world to equip students with the hands-on practical financial skills that they will need to excel during the recruiting process and on the job. Cost: $200, Fee Waivers Available. Register Here.

The Bloomberg Aptitude Test evaluates the ability to think critically on financial topics and readiness for careers in business. After taking the test, students can enter their scores into the BAT Talent Search, a tool used by employers to identify candidates for entry-level jobs in business. Wesleyan will be offering the two-hour test on-campus for no cost. Register Here.

 

Note from Dean Brown: New Course/CEC Open House/Internships&Celebrating Students

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2017’ers–

1. New Course:

Check out this new course in the Dance Department–Performance Matters:  Creating Performance on Specific Topics—taught by Prof. Katya Kolcio in Spring 2015.

2. Civic Engagement Certificate Open House—12/2

Come to the CEC info session on Dec. 2, Noon-1 p.m. in Allbritton.  The CEC is open to students of all disciplines who are interested in questions of citizenship and democracy and who seek to enhance and reflect on their civic activities.  Check it out!

3. Internship/Job Strategies

This short list is excerpted from the Internship Workshop by Persephone Hall of the WCC:

  1. “What do I need and want to learn?  What do I have to offer?”  Identify a list of each for yourself and then talk with others to supplement.  Pursue opportunities in all areas of interest.
  2. Give yourself time.  Looking for an I/J is a job in itself.  What’s your plan?
  3. Use your resources:  LinkedIn, WesConnect, Indeed.com, Liberal Arts Career Network (LCAN—on WCC website), Career Drive (in your portfolio), faculty, personal acquaintances

See the Celebrating Students column for Fred Ayres ’17 and Lili Kadets ’17on their internship/work experiences.  Please share your own!!

Best, Dean Brown

Lecture: “Prisons, Religion, and the Cultural Logic of Mass Incarceration” — Mon., 11/24

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On behalf of the Religion Department, I would like to invite you to a public lecture by Dr. Joshua Dubler ’97, Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Rochester, this coming Monday, Nov. 24, at 4:15 pm, in 001 PAC.

The lecture is entitled: “Prisons, Religion, and the Cultural Logic of Mass Incarceration.”

Here is a brief description of the lecture: Drawing on his recent book, Down in the Chapel: Religious Life in an American Prison (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013), Dubler explores the role played by religious ideas and practices in nurturing the American prison boom. Special attention will be given to prisoners’ religion–how it is practiced, how it is regulated, and how it is popularly imagined.

The lecture is being co-sponsored by the African American Studies Program, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, the American Studies Department, the Anthropology Department, the College of Letters, the Government Department, and the University Chaplains.

Ron Cameron, Professor of Religion

New Dance 240 Course: Performance Matters

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The Department of Dance is pleased to announce an exciting new course for the spring semester:

NEW COURSE: Performance Matters: Creating Performance on Specific Topics

DANC 240 Spring 2015

This course introduces dance as a method of inquiry based in the physical, creative body and performance. This special offering is specifically designed for students interested in applying dance and performance toward a particular theme, question, topic, or area of research. Students are expected to come with a specific area of interest in mind, and ready to ask “In what ways can dance and performance deepen my understanding of…”

https://iasext.wesleyan.edu/regprod/!wesmaps_page.html?crse=014227&term=1151

Celebrating Students: Fred Ayres ’17

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Like other members of the Class of 2017, I rejoiced at the end of finals last May. All my hard work over the previous four months had paid off and I was quite proud of my performance. Little did I know, the grueling late-night hours in Olin were just beginning. After a brief respite at home, I returned to Wesleyan for Summer Session in June. I took 2.5 credits—Foreign Policy at the Movies (GOVT 387), Principles of Biology (BIO 181), and Principles of Biology Lab (BIO 191). Adding to the difficult nature of these accelerated courses was the experience of cooking for myself. (I’ll leave the story of how I almost started a fire in Alpha Delt’s kitchen for another blog post.) Altogether, the experience was extremely rewarding—I now have the opportunity to graduate a semester early or spend more time on my thesis senior year.

Fred AyresIn July, I shipped off to Washington, D.C. to intern with Congressman Sander Levin (MI-09). In addition to responding to constituent letters and leading tours around the Capitol, I wrote memos for Rep. Levin and his staff on briefings, hearings, and important pieces of legislation. The office was continually a flurry of activity with lobbyists, legislative assistants, and high-ranking members of Congress always stopping by for a visit. While my life’s work likely won’t focus on politics, having a firsthand experience of how our nation runs will benefit me in whatever field I choose to pursue.

I finished my summer by serving as an Orientation Leader for incoming first year students, including 43 new members of the Class of 2017! Although I wore the same red shirt for about a week straight, knowing that I helped lay the foundation for so many students’ success at Wesleyan made every moment worthwhile.

Celebrating Students: Lili Kadets ’17

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Every summer, as I have for the past ten years, I leave home and drive up to the shores of Lake Potanipo. I arrive at my home away from home—Camp Tevya in Brookline, NH—or a place that has taught me what true dedication means. As many camp goers will attest, the summer is an indescribable seven weeks suspended in time, a stretch when two months can feel like a day and a day can feel like a month. For the past three summers as a counselor, I’ve split my time between bunk responsibilities and Lili Kadetsswim instructing, moving on from my carefree camper days to taking care of other people’s children. Being a counselor is the perfect oxymoron: an extremely serious fun job. 24/7 work is tiring, but from what I hear, working at camp will be the best job I ever have. So far, I can’t argue against that. Many people also tell me that being a counselor beats “real world work” such as internships and office jobs any day. Yet in spite of the isolated “bubble” that we call our summer home, camp is the real world. Camp is the place where I learned that age isn’t a barrier for friendship. It’s the place where I discovered that kids truly care what I say, think, or do; it’s where I feel most confident as a leader. Camp is a place that teaches me how to be compassionate, patient, and overly enthusiastic. Camp is a community like Wesleyan—small, open, supportive and creative—but at a level that lets me truly take control. I may not have tested samples in a lab or helped out with a campaign this summer, but I learned how to translate and present my own experiences to new campers, and understand what making deep connections means. There’s no place I’d rather be!

Flu Shots….

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thumbnailCA1W2X0ZIf you missed the campus-wide flu clinic but would like a flu shot, please call the Health Center for an appointment at 860-685-2470.  The Health Center will offer them through the end of the semester while supplies last.