• Tools
    • WesPortal
    • Directory
    • Library
    • OneStop
    • WesConnect
    • Calendar
    • WesMaps
    • WFS
    • Moodle
    • EMS
    • GApps
  • About
  • Admission & Financial Aid
  • Academics
  • Campus
  • Athletics
  • Giving
  • Students
  • Alumni
  • Parents
Skip to content Skip to content
Roth on Wesleyan

modern and postmodern

Semester Underway

January 28, 2018January 28, 2018 by mroth

I sent this message to the campus a few days ago. My class, The Modern and the PostModern, begins tomorrow….so for me it seems we are just getting underway. I’ve been teaching versions of this course since the 1980s, and around 2000 I thought I’d retire it. But postmodernism, often a bogeyman for one group or another, is back in the news — mostly in relation to President Trump. I’ll share these  articles from the New York Times and this video from the Wall Street Journal (start at 5 minutes), as recent examples, but we start with Rousseau and Kant.

Here’s the message that went out to campus:

After a long winter break, I am looking forward to the new semester. Like many faculty, I’ve spent many hours preparing for my upcoming classes, and I’ve tried to dig into some research, too. The teacher-scholar model is at the heart of our enterprise, and Wesleyan is making new tenure-track faculty hires to further strengthen the distinctive education we offer. We have already signed up additional faculty in departments and programs such as Government, Psychology, Music, Science in Society, and Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies.

Promoting civic engagement is part of our educational mission, and shortly we will be sharing a new civic action plan and asking for your views. Ours is an “Engaged University,” and here the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships plays a key role. On February 5, we welcome to campus the Center’s new director, Clifton Watson. On February 15, students, faculty, and staff have another opportunity to be engaged as we host Dr. Joi Lewis, the CEO and founder of Joi Unlimited Coaching and Consulting and the Orange Method, as the speaker at our annual event honoring the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. More information on the program will be forthcoming.

Wesleyan has set yet another record in admission applications: a total of 12,673! That more talented high school grads than ever want a Wesleyan experience is something about which we can all be proud, because it is our combined efforts that create that experience. Faculty do it through powerful teaching and research, staff do it through effective work on behalf of the university, and students do it through avid appetite for learning coupled with an exuberant, joyful building of community. 

Expressing support for the university also contributes – be it by talking to others about Wesleyan or by making a financial contribution. In this last regard, the news is also good. As 2018 begins, we have already raised $27 million towards our annual goal of $35.6 million! We use much of these funds to invest in the long-term future of the institution through endowments that support financial aid, academic programs, and campus learning.

The economic basis on which the Wesleyan experience depends is stronger than ever, though still not strong enough given our ambitions and needs. Of these, improving our facilities is especially important, and how best to do that is something we look forward to discussing with you. We have scheduled forums dedicated to facilities planning on February 6 during common time and on February 13 at 4:30 p.m., both in the Kerr Lecture Hall (Shanklin 107). These forums are open to all faculty, staff, and students, and we want your input.

All of this work, from faculty hires to civic engagement, from admissions and financial aid to facilities enhancement, is in keeping with the planning framework developed in Beyond 2020.

Someone said to me recently that young people have to be brave to pursue a liberal education these days – courageous in the context of environmental and political challenges, in the face of political polarization and economic competition. Yes, I thought, the students I know at Wesleyan are brave, and with the support of faculty, staff, and alumni, defy contemporary pessimism with boldness, rigor, and practical idealism. Let the new semester begin!

Categories UncategorizedTags Civic Engagement, modern and postmodern, postmodernism, Wesleyan University
Michael S. Roth

Michael S. Roth became Wesleyan University's 16th president on July 1, 2007.

We welcome comments from readers, but reserve the right not to publish certain comments, such as those that are anonymous or appear to be spam.

Follow @mroth78 on Twitter

The profile image of emilynussbaum
Emily Nussbaum 8 hours ago

I know these videos are hell to watch, but I don’t want people to forget what this government is responsible for. twitter.com/_SJPeace_/stat… Retweeted by Michael S Roth

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 8 hours ago

Read @ValeriaLuiselli “Euphemisms lead us to tolerate the unacceptable. And, eventually, to forget. Against a euphemism, remembrance. In order to not repeat.” #LostChildrenArchive

The profile image of CIS_Wesleyan
College of Integrative Sciences 1 day ago

Applications for the CIS 2019 summer program for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences are due March 8th!! Submit your applications soon! @wesleyan_u Retweeted by Michael S Roth

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 16 hours ago

Hope my students, reading #JamesBaldwin this week @wesleyan_u , check these out twitter.com/jennydeluxe/st…

sedat pakay’s intimate portraits of james baldwin (at david zwirner for god made my face) blew me away. to be captured with such love! to be vulnerable enough to *allow* someone capture your love with such love 💫 pic.twitter.com/TvdbJQDdzM

— Jenna Wortham (@jennydeluxe) February 16, 2019
The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 18 hours ago

Read ⁦@dwallacewells⁩ on #ClimateChange “We are all living in delusion, unable to really process the news from science that climate change amounts to an all-encompassing threat. Indeed, a threat the size of life itself.” ⁦@nytopinion⁩ nyti.ms/2V2QLA2?smid=n…

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 2 days ago

Read @ValeriaLuiselli “everything that happened after I took the picture was also inside it, even though no one could see it, except me when I looked at it, and maybe also you, in the future, when you look at it” #LostChildrenArchive

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 2 days ago

We usually see ⁦@wesleyan_u alumnus ⁦@JasonAdamK⁩ cartoons ⁦@NewYorker⁩ but today @NYTimes nyti.ms/2Eeq4TA?smid=n…

The profile image of parisreview
The Paris Review 3 days ago

“In recent years I have been disturbed by the conversations around Baldwin’s work—largely, shall we say, heteronormative conversations that elevate the imitator and plunge the so-called liberal into a very comforting cold bath laced with guilt and remorse” theparisreview.org/blog/2019/02/1… Retweeted by Michael S Roth

The profile image of CampMarmalade
Wayne Koestenbaum 3 days ago

first thing I’ll do to mark the national emergency is revisit the James Baldwin show that Hilton Als curated at David Zwirner @davidzwirner twitter.com/jorie_graham/s… Retweeted by Michael S Roth

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 3 days ago

The passing of beloved prof Joe Reed seems to be mark the end of an era and gives us an occasion to remember what makes @Wesleyan_u a place of creative vision and energy roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2019/02/15/rem…

Remembering Joe Reed, Visionary Mentor
The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 3 days ago

Another @wesleyan_u alumnus serving the public good! twitter.com/adamghinds/sta…

Thank you https://t.co/MgCYCUz9py for this spotlight. #TeamHinds is ready to get to work! #mapolihttps://t.co/jFyqIqrKm2

— Adam Hinds (@adamghinds) February 15, 2019
The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 3 days ago

Read the inspiring Dan Callahan on sustained excellence & pertinence "I am struck by the persistence of most of the topics @hastingscenter:end-of-life care, human subjects research, genetic developments, costs & equitable health care, & reproductive issues thehastingscenter.org/hastings-cente…

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 3 days ago

Reading with wonder ⁦@mariarussonyt⁩ on #MauriceSendak “At some moment every child realizes that her parents not only can’t fight off the monsters — they don’t even notice them” nyti.ms/2UYYLls?smid=n…

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 3 days ago

New study shows that pragmatic #LiberalEducation helps launch graduates into meaningful and sustainable work #BeyondtheUniversity @ithakaSr @MellonFdn ihenow.com/2GrOcUO

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 3 days ago

“This is all about misunderstanding where we are on the perception of tech companies and their role and responsibility with regard to the polarization of society.” twitter.com/albertwenger/s…

My take on the Amazon HQ2 fiasco https://t.co/CISYAWHB4x

— Albert Wenger (@albertwenger) February 15, 2019
The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 3 days ago

So sorry I missed your talk. My students & I have been reading your work for years. Glad you had a good visit @wesleyan_u twitter.com/marnie_hw/stat…

Warm thanks to @ekleinberg and #historyandtheory colleagues for such a *wonderful* visit and for all the folks who braved the snow to connect. @wesleyan_u students are fantastic: their questions and engagement are a credit to History and to you President @mroth78!

— MarnieHW (@Marnie_HW) February 14, 2019
The profile image of wesleyan_u
Wesleyan University 4 days ago

Artist Jasper Johns donated 23 of his prints to the Davison Art Center last year in honor of DAC curator Richard “Dick” Field, curator from '72-'79. Prior to this, Field P’09 hadn't seen Johns's work, 'Corpse and Mirror', in 40+ years. More info: fal.cn/i43K @WesCFA Retweeted by Michael S Roth

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 4 days ago

On this awful anniversary, my take on @DaveCullen book on the gun safety political movement emerging from #Parkland #MorethanSurvivors datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/leading-…

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 4 days ago

The ⁦@wesleyan_u⁩ word (and bird) of the day “Gynandromorphs” #CardinalPride nyti.ms/2UQ9q1U?smid=n…

The profile image of mroth78
Michael S Roth 4 days ago

“Both students and editors said that the victims were mostly African-American or Latino, and that many of their deaths had not been publicized. “ via @NYTimes nyti.ms/2E8dbtX?smid=n…

Pages

  • About

Archives

Click here for an RSS feed

Login

  • Log in
© Wesleyan University