Academic Peer Advisors

The Deans’ Office is looking for talented and motivated students to become Academic Peer Advisors for the 2017-20178 academic year. Academic Peer Advisors are juniors and seniors who work during New Student Orientation (NSO) and throughout the academic year to support Wesleyan’s faculty advising program and enhance student access to academic resources. Academic Peer Advisors will receive training, give individualized peer advice and facilitate workshops for groups of students regarding metacognitive learning strategies, time management, public speaking, study, and exam preparation strategies. The Academic Peer Advisor position description and application can be found at: http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/resources/peeradvisors/peeradvjobdesc.html

NSO Peer Advisors

The Deans’ Office is looking for talented and motivated students to become NSO Peer Advisors for the 2017-2018 academic year. NSO Peer Advisors are sophomores, juniors and seniors who work during New Student Orientation to support Wesleyan’s faculty advising program and enhance student access to academic resources. The comprehensive position description and application can be found at: http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/resources/peeradvisors/NSOPeerAdvisorJobDesc.html

DROP/ADD Deadline is tomorrow, W: Feb 8th.

Click Here to learn more about the DROP/ADD Process

Source Management Workshop Flyer

Working on a thesis, essay, or research paper?

Want to explore software options for organizing your source material?

Accessibility Services will give a demonstration on how to use

EndNote and Evernote to organize your research material.

EndNote helps you organize your reference materials and citation information.

Thursday, February 9th, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, Usdan 108
(Feel free to bring your lunch)

Accessibility Services will give a demonstration on how to use EndNote and Evernote to organize your research material.

You can use EndNote to enter citations into Microsoft Word as you write, an automatically format your bibliography.

Evernote helps you to organize your reference material and notes.

You can use Evernote to store your annotated journal articles (rather than folders) and use tags to keep track of related items.

Additional demonstrations of:

OneNote Mendeley Sensus Access and more

Have you heard of grants, fellowships and scholarships like the Fulbright? Or Marshall and Rhodes? Want to move to New Zealand after graduation? Join Kate Smith, Associate Director of Fellowships, Internships and Exchanges to learn more about incorporating your experience into internships, graduate school and after graduation by attending one of the following upcoming events:

Fulbright Information Session |Thursday February 2nd @ 12PM

USDAN 110 – PLEASE BRING YOUR LUNCH!

All students are invited to attend an information session to learn about Fulbright grants – the many options, best practices in preparing your application and a timeline.

Exploring International Opportunities? | Thursday February 9th @ 12PM

USDAN 110 – PLEASE BRING YOUR LUNCH!

Interested in going abroad after graduation or for an internship? Join Kate to Explore International Opportunities!

Graduate School Abroad | Monday February 13th @ 12PM

USDAN 110 – PLEASE BRING YOUR LUNCH!

Interested in going to graduate school abroad? Join Kate Smith, Associate Director of Fellowships, Internships and Exchanges to learn about funded opportunities for graduate study through scholarships and fellowships, such as: Marshall Scholarship, Mitchell Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship, Churchill Scholarship, Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Fulbright Grants and more! Learn best practices for graduate school admissions abroad and resources to identify the best programs for your academic interests. Attend the information session to learn tips, best practices and how to prepare your application.

For more on fellowships, to set-up an individual appointment or check fellowship deadlines, please visit: http://www.wesleyan.edu/cgs/fellowship/nomination.html

2018’ers,

Welcome to the second semester of your junior year at Wesleyan University. For most of you time seems to be passing at lightning speed as you are immersed fully in your majors and personal pursuits. Please visit the class of 2018 blog at https://classof2018.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2016/10/13/juniors-preparing-for-graduation-in-senior-year-or-december-completion/ to review the process of preparing for graduation in May 2018 or December Completion, and to learn about important events and opportunities available to you as juniors.

The next few weeks will be a wise time to review your academic history report and major certification forms (available in your e-portfolio) to identify any issues that might pop up next year, such as oversubscription. I am happy to review your reports with you and to help you strategize ways to address early any concerns we discover. Additionally, spring of junior year is an important time to acquaint yourself with the Gordon Career Center staff and update your resume using their on-line tool, Handshake.

Remember to keep deadlines in mind: Drop/Add ends on Wednesday Feb. 8, 2017 and the last day to change the grading mode in courses the offer the option will be Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017.

There will be several events for our class this semester:

Monday, February 6^th Noon – 1 PM – Meeting of the 2018 Class Council

Wednesday, February 8^th 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm (location provided upon rsvp)- Welcome Back Dinner: Transfer Students Cultivating Community

Wednesday, March 1^st 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm (location provided upon rsvp) – Class of 2018 Faculty Dinner featuring Professor Yamil Velez of the Government Department

Tuesday, April 4^th 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (PAC 001) – Thesis and Honor Essays Q/A Session.

I am looking forward to checking in with you this semester. Please note my drop-in sessions below or contact me to schedule a meeting at a different time.

I wish you all the best for a healthy and successful Spring semester.

Dean Thornton

Renée N. Johnson Thornton, Ph.D., Dean for the Class of 2018

217 North College – Wesleyan University

860-685-2764 (office) – 860-685-3940 (fax)

Please contact my colleague, Mrs. Maheu at tmaheu@wesleyan.edu or by phone at 860-685-2765 to schedule an individual appointment.

Drop-in hours:

Mon. 2-3 p.m., Tues. 3-4 p.m., Wed. 5-7 p.m., Thurs. 11 a.m.-noon, Fri. 2-4 p.m.

 

Visit Class of 2018 Blog for updates, opportunities, & important dates: https://classof2018.blogs.wesleyan.edu/

Visit Peer Advisor Blog for helpful study tips

Foundations of Modernity

The Cultures of the Italian Renaissance

FIST 224 – COL 224 – ITAL 224 – MDST 223

Prof. F.M. Aresu – faresu@wesleyan.edu | Monday and Friday, 10:50 AM – 12:10 PM | FISK210

Office Hour: Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:00, and by appointment

 

In this course we will critically explore the intellectual achievements of the Italian Renaissance through a detailed analysis of some of its literary masterpieces. We will inquire into the rediscovery and emulation of classical literatures and civilizations. We will examine the revalidated notions of beauty, symmetry, proportion, and order. We will analyze the ways in which this rebirth fundamentally changed the languages, literatures, arts, philosophies, and politics of Italy at the dawn of the modern era. We will also approach often-neglected aspects of Renaissance counter-culture, such as the aesthetics of ugliness and obscenity, and practices of marginalization (misogyny, homophobia). In a pioneering quest for the fulfillment of body and soul, self-determination, glory, and pleasure, Italian scholars, philologists, poets, playwrights, and prose writers contributed to the development of new and increasingly secular values. Through a close reading of texts by authors such as Francesco Petrarca, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti, we will investigate continuities and ruptures between their quest for human identity and ours.

 

* Fear not! Course conducted in English. All primary and secondary sources in English.

For more information, please go to: https://iasext.wesleyan.edu/regprod/!wesmaps_page.html?crse=014560&term=1171

and do not hesitate to contact Professor F. Marco Aresu <faresu@wesleyan.edu>.

**NEW AND TIMELY COURSE FOR THIS COMING SEMESTER!**

FIST229: POLITICAL TURMOIL: “What just happened? What’s going to happen? What do we do now?”

Prof. Meg Furniss Weisberg <mweisberg@wesleyan.edu>

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:20-2:40pm

https://iasext.wesleyan.edu/regprod/!wesmaps_page.html?crse=014857&term=1171

Political turmoil, while disconcerting to say the least, is nothing new. This course will look at case studies from different times and regions (the creation of the US; the 1960’s in the US, France, Italy, and elsewhere; Brazil’s and Chile’s dictatorships; Italy in the 90s; the Arab Spring; post-Revolution Iran; the Great Leap Famine in China; contemporary Mali and D. R. Congo; and the U.S. just before the Civil War, among others) to see how others have responded to periods of political oppression and upheaval. After an initial period of discussion based on readings, we will hold conversations with members of our campus community who have experienced various forms of political turmoil.

The goal of the course is ultimately project-based: as we gain perspective on the issues, we will turn what we learn into well-informed, measured, concrete action. In particular, we will workshop several writing exercises related to the topic and destined to make an impact (letter to the editor, letter to an elected official, public service announcement for the radio, etc). All students (including those whose first language is not English) are welcome in the course and will receive individualized attention to their writing.

The structure of this course will be somewhat unusual: after the first few meetings, the first session of each week will be devoted to discussing the week’s reading and collectively brainstorming questions; during the second session, we’ll ask those questions of the week’s invited guest (often, but not always, another faculty member). We will write and workshop pieces related to the topic and/or destined to make an impact (letter to the editor, letter to an elected official, public service announcement for the radio, etc). We are also going to make a radio program interviewing our guests, so that the course can reach a wider audience.

This course is going to be an experiment: it will operate more like a working group than a regular academic course, and I will be learning beside you, rather than imparting information. My role will be to teach about effective writing, deepen your critical thinking and analytical abilities, solicit guest speakers who will suggest readings, and facilitate discussions. The class will be graded CR/U, and would likely be fine to take in addition to a normal course load—though it goes without saying that you should check with your advisor.

 More info: contact:

——————————————

Meg Furniss Weisberg

Visiting Assistant Professor of French

Interim Director of Academic Writing

Wesleyan University  

300 High St, Middletown CT USA

+1 (860) 685-2902

https://wesleyan.academia.edu/MegWeisberg

The Wesleyan Sustainability Office is hiring!  Please apply if you’re interested and share with others who may be interested:

Communication and Outreach Intern: Are you interested in sustainability? Want to help lead change on campus? Want to learn more about web design and pick up some communication skills? Then consider applying to be the Communication and Outreach Intern starting in February 2017! This awesome job will have you working on publicizing events & projects all throughout campus to promote sustainability! You will also be involved in strategic planning for the office and act as liaison between administration, faculty, staff and students. You’d be working within an established structure with as much support as needed! It’s a great opportunity to learn how to be an operator of change with an important issue!

Apply through the Google Form by Sunday, January 29 at https://goo.gl/Vvx6CP!  Questions can be directed to jkleindienst@wesleyan.edu.