A Quick Reminder

Building codes can be deciphered using this handy dandy guide. Enjoy your classes today, folks.

Sign up for student forums!

Since they're not advertised through Wesmaps, it can be tough to find good information about student forums.

Jason Bitterman '10 sends in some info about his upcoming student forum, "Comics as a Language:"

Interested in reading and discussing comics? Sign up for the comics student forum this semester!

We will be looking into a variety of comics, including mainstream comics, graphic novels, alternative comics, and manga. Over the course of the semester we will try to define what comics are, discuss different methods of cartooning, and determine what comics can do that no other medium is capable of.

If you are interested, please email jbitterman@wes.

Long Lane Farm sends in some info about its student forum, "Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Food Distribution:"

The Long Lane Farm is offering a student forum this semester focusing on sustainable agriculture and sustainable food systems. This forum will be worth one full credit, and will involve weekly readings, some weekend practical work at the farm, as well as a final project. We can accept up to 15 participants, but also please let us know if you're interested in auditing. There will be a meeting for those interested on this coming Thursday (the 22nd) at 8 pm at Earth House. If you cannot attend, but are still interested, please let us know! Contact us at longlanefarm@gmail if you have any interest - we will send you an application.

Annie Paladino '09 sends in a blurb about the "Intro to Stage Management" class:

Interested in learning about stage management? Stage managing a show this semester and want to have a group of people to bounce ideas off of? If you've ever been interested stage managing theater performances at Wesleyan (or elsewhere!), but weren't sure where to start, come learn the ropes in this .5 credit student forum!

What does a stage manager do? The stage manager is one of the most important positions for any theatrical production, coordinating and serving as a point person for virtually all aspects of the production/rehearsal process. At Wesleyan, student stage managers often have to make do with on-the-job training; this forum aims to provide an alternative, low-pressure environment where students can develop the skills necessary to be a successful stage manager.

Shows are always in need of competent stage managers, and this is a great way to get involved in theater at Wesleyan or just see how this process works! Contact Annie Paladino '09 (ampaladino@wes) if you are interested!

And Melody Chang '12 tells us about the student forum, "The past, present, and future of sustainability:"

Join us this semester for a student forum about sustainability! Worth 1 credit and capped at 15 students, this forum will be meeting Monday & Thursdays 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Sustainability is a word used left & right these days but - what is it? Does it really matter? How did we get to our current state and what can be done to move towards a more "sustainable" world? Topics to be covered include: climate change, energy, water, waste, & food systems, economic & governmental policy, social justice, religion & finally personal values as they pertain to a continued existence on earth.

Email mchang@wes for an application and more detailed outline of topics to be covered. Thanks!

To see all of the student forums approved for this semester, check out the Registrar's webpage.

Donate your Doo-dles

Zombie Art Collective wants your class-time doodles for an end of the semester installation in Olin Library. Geometric designs, secret messages to fellow sufferers, wishful initial combinations, illustrated to-do lists, professor portraits--ALL text and images outside of classroom content are welcome. Attach any information you would like to provide to serve as context (for example, the title of the class you were in when you made them), although this is not necessary. NOTE: You will not receive your doodles back. If you cannot sacrifice donating your notes, just cut out the doodle; also, ransack old notebooks if they’re still around.

Donation boxes are located in these places:

1. Hall outside Weshop
2. Olin
3. Art Library
4. Usdan (near mailboxes and newspapers)
5. Sci Li
6. Pi Café

JUST DO IT. It’s the exhibitionist in you. Contact gkredell@wes for more information or if you would like to get involved.

Service Learning: romanticism with the elderly

Adam Tinkle 'GRAD writes:

Professor Cecilia Miller, whose intellectual history surveys have become legendary as canon-devouring feats of endurance, will be trying something a little different this semester. She will be giving a Service Learning Course where students will be reading six great novels of the Romantic period—including Frankenstein, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther—and then doing book-group discussions with residents of a retirement community in Middletown.

In other words: half your class time spent doing the normal humanities thing, and the other half working with a population that's seriously in need of some extra intellectual stimulation. So, if you've always wanted to study with Prof. Miller but had been intimidated by her long reading lists, or want to be part of Wesleyan's new Service Learning Initiatives, or are simply interested in the high emotions and outrageous fashions of the Romantic period, check it out. Some seats still available!

HIST385 meets Thursdays from 1:10 – 4:00 PM.