wellesleyweek news
lecture inaugurates the newhouse center for humanities
michael and kitty dukakis to speak on campus
alumna film documents one of world’s last geishas
philosophizing about freedom and choice
29 nov.-
6 dec.
2004
information about wellesleyweek
lecture inaugurates the newhouse center for humanities
David Ferry, a distinguished poet and literary critic, will read from his translations and discuss the art and practice of translation Wednesday, Dec. 1, beginning at 5:30 pm in Jewett Auditorium.
Ferry is the author of numerous books of poetry, original and translation. His most recent books are The Epistles of Horace: A Translation (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2001), The Eclogues of Virgil: A Translation (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1999), Of No Country I Know: New and Selected Poems (University of Chicago Press, 1999) and The Odes of Horace: A Translation (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1997).
Of No Country I Know was awarded the 2000 Lenore Marshall Prize from the American Academy of Poets and the 2000 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry from the Library of Congress. His The Georgics of Virgil: A Translation is scheduled to be published next spring by Farrah Straus and Giroux.
Ferry was a professor at Wellesley from 1952 until 1989 and is now the Sophie Chantal Hart professor of English (emeritus). He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the recipient of numerous other prestigious fellowships and honors, including a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Scholarly Research and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for poetry.
The reading and discussion will be the inaugural public event of the Susan and Donald Newhouse Center for the Humanities, which was established last year with a $10 million gift from trustee Susan Newhouse and her husband, Donald.
Lawrence Rosenwald, Anne Pierce Rogers professor of English, will provide a response to Ferry’s reading and commentary. His scholarly interests include American literature, especially the American literary representation of language and the theory and practice of translation.
michael and kitty dukakis to speak on campus
Massachusetts’ own Michael and Kitty Dukakis will speak at Wellesley College on Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 5 pm in Pendleton Atrium. They will offer a lecture, “The Future of the Democratic Party: How to Win in 2008,” an event sponsored by the Wellesley College Democrats.
“Michael Dukakis was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988 and ran against George Bush Sr.,” notes Jacqueline McAllister ’06, vice president of the Wellesley College Democrats. “Katharine (Kitty) Dukakis has served on former President Bill Clinton’s Holocaust Memorial Council, on the board of directors for the Refugee Policy Group and as a member of the Task Force on Cambodian Children. Both will discuss their campaign experiences and how the Democratic Party needs to evolve for 2008. Indeed, this event will offer great insight into Democratic tales of woe and future success.”
Born in Brookline, Mass., Michael Dukakis is the former governor of Massachusetts. A visiting professor at Northeastern University’s political science department, he has also taught in the senior executive program for state and local managers at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and at Florida Atlantic University. For more information, e-mail jmcallis@wellesley.edu.The 2004 Charitable Giving Campaign is underway, offering support to local charities: Community Works, Oxfam America, Rosie’s Place and the United Way. “Our collective generosity to all these organizations will aid in community development,” note campaign chairs Connie Bauman, Michael Hearn and Lynne Payson. The traditional campaign raffle will be held to thank contributors on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 9:30 am in the Academic Council Room.
To donate an item or service to the raffle, send your name, department, extension and donated raffle item by Friday, Dec. 3, to Fran Adams, Post Office, Marilynn Madzar, Schneider Center, or Lisa Kaufman, Controller’s Office.
alumna film documents one of world’s last geishas
Smoke & Mirrors: A Geisha Story, a film by Artemis Willis ’88, will be shown Monday, Nov. 29, at 6:30 pm in Collins Cinema. Willis will be on hand to discuss her 2004 directorial debut.
A Weston native, Willis portrays her symbiotic relationship with Kiharu Nakamura, an 88-year-old former geisha living in Queens. When the two women met in 1994 they were both struck by the muse: Nakamura offered herself as a subject, and Willis began the project of documenting her. As the legend of Nakamura’s life unfolded, Willis questioned the veracity of her story and traveled to Japan to explore the past, arriving at a deeper appreciation and empathy for Nakamura and what she had survived. Willis’ attempt to demystify her subject turns into a deeper mystery, transforming Smoke and Mirrors into a meditation on the nature of reinvention and a celebration of self-creation.
Willis has worked in feature and commercial film production and for the critically acclaimed Opera Company of Boston. Smoke and Mirrors was premiered by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, earlier this year. For more information, call x2185.philosophizing about freedom and choice
Richard Holton, professor of philosophy at MIT, will present “Freedom and the Act of Choice” Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 4:15 pm in the Library Lecture Room.
“Much discussion of free will has focused on the issue of moral responsibility: if determinism is true, how can we be responsible?” asks Holton. “Relatively little discussion has focused on the phenomenology of freedom: on what it feels like to be free.”
Holton will explore one aspect of freedom, namely that of choice, saying, “The key to understanding the role of choice comes from reflection on the fact that we are limited creatures, often unable to form a judgment as to which action is best, and hence forced to choose. The trick is to show how choice, so understood, does not amount to mere random picking.” For more information, call x2620.mit unveils a game of revolution
History comes to life in an interactive new game, Revolution, invented by MIT Professor Henry Jenkins and his team of students from Comparative Media Studies. The three-dimensional game, based on Colonial Williamsburg during the American Revolutionary War, will be presented at an exhibit titled “History + Games: MIT’s Revolution” on Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 2:30 pm in Collins Cinema. Here’s an explanation of the game from its inventors’ Web site at www.educationarcade.org.
“The year is 1773, the place is a town in Virginia. Over the next 10 years, you will face the toughest decisions of your life. There is no guarantee you or even your family will come out of it alive, but your fate has not yet been decided. You will struggle within the throes of History.” Revolution, both educational and engaging, is a multiplayer game in which each player navigates a town, interacts with other players and acts and reacts to various events. Players begin by choosing the role they wish to play from a set of predefined characters. They explore and improvise their own narrative based on the resources available to them, as well as their interactions with other players. For more information on the exhibit, call x3775.
mivan arreguin-toft, political science, and Harvard professor Monica Duffy Toft co-authored an opinion piece in the Oct. 25 Boston Globe titled “‘Peace with Honor’ in Iraq.” The article examined the Iraq war, comparing it to the Vietnam war, noting, “President Bush can no more succeed with our current approach in Iraq than LBJ did in Vietnam.” The authors conclude, “...until we rethink our policy, American men and women, along with Iraqi citizens whose freedom Bush so doggedly claims to defend, will continue to die in a war we never needed to fight.”
jonathan cheek, psychology, has contributed to an article on WebMD.com titled “Holiday Survival for the Ultra Shy.” The article notes that shyness doesn’t mean having “to dodge the mistletoe this holiday season.” Cheek, an expert on shyness, noted that it is “the tendency to feel tense, worried or awkward during social interactions, especially with unfamiliar people.” Shy people may have trouble maintaining eye contact or relaxed body language at social events and often agonize over what to say in conversation. “Shy people are their own worst critics,” Cheek added. “They have a perfectionist vision of what they ought to be doing.” The article offers a number of tips and supportive advice for shy people. To read the article, go to http://my.webmd.com/content/article/96/103870.htm.
mary lefkowitz, classical studies, has written a book review for the New York Sun, “We Are Who They Were,” on the Simon Goldhill book, Love, Sex & Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives (University of Chicago Press, 2004). The author “takes us through the looking glass into antiquity and shows us some of the sights he thinks most interesting and informative,” a journey that will amuse, surprise and enlighten readers, Lefkowitz writes.
classes resume.
italian table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court private dining hall. Info: x2616.
meeting. College Government Senate. 6 pm, Academic Council Room. Info: x1181.
esl tutoring. 6-8:30 pm, PLTC small conference room. Info: x2480.
cws workshop. “Navigating the CWS Library.” 6:30 pm, GRH 442. Info: x2352.
film/discussion. “Smoke and Mirrors: A Geisha Story.” Speaker: Artemis Willis ’88, filmmaker. (See story, page 2.) 6:30-8:30 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: The Writing Program. Info: x2185.
meditation. 7-8:15 pm, meditation room, lower chapel. Sponsor: Buddhist Community. Info: x2793.exhibit. “History + Games! MIT’s Revolution.” Speakers: Henry Jenkins and Comparative Media Studies Team, MIT. (See story, page 2.) 2:30-4 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: Art. Info: x2042.
walk with spirit. 4 pm, Chapel lawn. Sponsor: Religious and Spiritual Life. Info: x2687.
meeting. “Travel Talk in the Hoop: Political Science Destinations.” 4:15 pm, Café Hoop. Sponsor: International Study. Info: x2320.
lecture. “Freedom and the Act of Choice.” Speaker: Richard Holton, philosophy, MIT. (See story, page 2.) 4:15-6 pm, Library Lecture Room. Sponsors: Philosophy and Wilson Fund. Info: x2620.
sharing circle. 7-8 pm, Little Chapel. Sponsor: Unitarian Universalist. Info: x3484.
german table. 7:30-8:30 pm, Schneider loft. Info: x2584.annual walk of hope. In observance of World AIDS Day. 12:30-1:30 pm, DMCC. Info: x2810.
meditation. 12:30-1 pm. (See 11/29 listing.)
french table. 12:30-1:30, Bates private dining hall. Info: x2403.
spanish table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court small dining room. Info: x3571.
concert/discussion. “Composers Series: Mario Davidovsky with violinist Rolf Schulte.” (See story, page 4.) 12:30-1:30 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2028.
christmas potluck. 12:30-2 pm, Molly’s Pub. Bring salad to share. Sponsor: InterVarsity Faculty-Staff Christian Fellowship. Info: kvosburg@wellesley.edu.
russian table. 1-2 pm, FND 416. Info: x2028.
lecture. “Proofs That Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof.” Speaker: Arthur Benjamin, mathematics, Harvey Mudd College. 4:15-5:30, SCI 396. Sponsor: Mathematics. Info: x3148.
apt workshop. “Food for Thought and for Your Stomach.” 4:30 pm, Stone-Davis living room. Info: x2641.
lecture. “The Future of the Democratic Party: How to Win in 2008.” Speakers: Michael and Kitty Dukakis. (See story, page 1.) 5 pm, Pendleton Atrium. Sponsor: Wellesley Democrats. Info: Democratsmail@wellesley.edu.
inaugural event. Newhouse Center for the Humanities. “The Experience of Translating.” Speakers: David Ferry, English, professor emeritus, and Lawrence Rosenwald, English. Reception, 5 pm; reading, 5:30 pm, Jewett Auditorium. (See story, page 1.) Sponsor: Newhouse Center. Info: x2225.
panel discussion. “Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS.” Speakers: Kyle Kauffman, economics, and Lidwien Kapteijns, history. 6-9 pm, PNW 116. Sponsor: Student Global AIDS Campaigns (SGAC) and AIDS Committee. Info: x2821.
meeting. “Good Book Club.” 6:30 pm, BIL 202. Sponsor: Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. Info: x2655.apt workshop. “Making the Most of Study Period.” 4 pm, Pomeroy living room. Info: x2641.
apt workshop. “Test Taking Techniques.” 5 pm, Beebe living room. Info: x2641.
film/discussion. KIDS; on birth control. 6-8 pm, Harambee House. Sponsor: SGAC and AIDS Committee. Info: kscott2@wellesley.edu.
esl tutoring. 6-8:30 pm. (See 11/29 listing).
apt workshop. “There Are Only 24 Hours in a Day: Are You Using Yours Wisely?” 7 pm, Claflin. Info: x2641.
lecture. “Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest.” Speaker: Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author. 7-8:30 pm, Botanic Gardens Visitor Center. Members: $18; others: $23. Sponsor: Friends of Horticulture. Info: x3094.
concert. Prism Jazz. 7:30, Molly’s Pub. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2077.
concert. Ryanhood and Toons. 8-10 pm, Schneider. Sponsor: Boston Area Students Involved in the Community (BASIC). Info: BASICmail@wellesley.edu.
film. Spike Lee’s Bamboozled. 8:30 pm, PNE 125. Sponsor: Ethos. Admission: Botswana orphanage donation. Info: Ethosmail@wellesley.edu.walk with spirit. 7:30 am, Chapel lawn. Sponsor: Religious and Spiritual Life. Info: x2687.
prayer/discussion. Muslim communal (Jummah). 12:45-1:30 pm, lower chapel. Info: x2025.
film. In Women’s Hands. 4:30 pm, PNE 239. Sponsor: SGAC and AIDS Committee. Info: x2821.
films. Garden State and The Barbarian Invasions. 7-11 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: Film Society. Info: FilmSociety@wellesley.edu.
bible study. 7 pm, lower chapel. Sponsor: Asian Baptist Student Koinonia. Info: x4692.
concert. Yanvalou. Director: Kera Washington. 8 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2077.saturday december 4
kwanzaa celebration. 12-2 pm, Munger. Sponsor: Harambee House. Info: x2133.
concert. Chamber Music Society. 2 pm, Pendleton Concert Salon. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2077.
a cappella concert. Tupelos. 7-10 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Info: tupelosmail@wellesley.edu.
films. Garden State and The Barbarian Invasions. 7-11 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: Film Society. Info: FilmSociety@wellesley.edu.
sunday december 5worship service. 11:15 am, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. Info: x2655.
catholic mass. 4 pm, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Newman Catholic Ministry. Info: x2688.
meeting. Darshana. 5 pm, meditation room, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Hindu Community. Info: x2794.
christmas vespers. Wellesley College Choir. Conductor: Lisa Graham. 8 pm, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2077.monday december 6
ergonomics fair. 12-1 pm, Academic Council Room. Sponsor: Ergonomics Committee. Info: x3882.
italian table. (See 11/29 listing.)
esl tutoring. (See 11/29 listing.)
concert. Chamber Music Society. 7 pm, Pendleton Concert Salon. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2077.
meditation. (See 11/29 listing.)exhibit. Mayling and Emma: A Chinese-American Friendship. Clapp Reference Room, through Dec. 31. Info: x2128.
exhibit. Presidential Elections at Wellesley College. Archives, Clapp Library, through December. Info: x2127.
exhibit. Infinite Possibilities. Through Dec. 12. Sponsor: DMCC. Info: x2051.
exhibit. American Identities. Through Dec. 14. Sponsor: DMCC. Info: x2051.
exhibit. The Consequences of War: Poetry, Graphic Art and Documents. Clapp Library Special Collections, through February 2005. Info: x2129.
book sale. Clapp Library. Donations $.50 to $2. Info: x2894.
12/3/04: Class of 2007 major declarations due if intending fall 2005 or fall/spring 2005/2006 study abroad programs.
12/10/04: Last day of fall term classes.
12/11/04: Reading period begins.
12/14/04: Charitable Giving Campaign raffle. 9:30 am, Academic Council Room.
12/15/04: Final exams begin; 9-11:30 am and 1:30-4 pm.
12/21/04: Final exams end in the afternoon. Final papers due by 4:30 pm.
12/22/04: President Diana Chapman Walsh’s Winter Solstice holiday party. 9-11 am, College Club. Info: x2243.
don't miss... listen and learn about electro-acoustic music
A pioneer in electro-acoustic music will discuss his “Synchronisms No.9” for solo violin and electronic sounds in Wellesley College’s Composers Series on Wednesday, Dec. 1, from 12:30-1:30 pm in Jewett Auditorium. Composer Mario Davidovsky and violinist Rolf Schulte will present this concert and discussion.
Davidovsky, whose works explore the possibilities of combining music for instruments with prerecorded sounds, has received a Pulitzer Prize among other awards. He is a professor of music at Harvard and Columbia Universities and chairman of the Electronic Music Center at Columbia. In a blending of live and pre-recorded music, the piece will be performed by Schulte, who will participate in the discussion, providing illustrative excerpts. He will end the program with a full performance of the work. For more information, call x2028
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Last Modified: November 29, 2004
