Faculty Deliver 9-Minute Lectures at Wesleyan Thinks Big. Five of the most exciting professors at Wesleyan gave talks on the ideas they can’t stop thinking about during Wesleyan Thinks Big on Thursday, March 28 in Memorial Chapel. Students nominated their favorite professors earlier in the semester to give nine-minute lectures, without slides, handouts, or Moodle, on a topic of their choice. Wesleyan Thinks Big was inspired by TED Talks and encourages professors to talk about things they aren’t able to fit into class but are excited and inspired by. Vera Schwarcz, Mansfield Freeman professor of East Asian studies, gave a talk titled “A Jewish Wanderer Listening for the Unsayable in China.”
Balu Balasubrahmaniyan, adjunct assistant professor of music, spoke on “Periyar’: E.V.Ramasamy and Social Activism in India.” Paula Matthusen, assistant professor of music, spoke on “Sounds in Remembered Spaces.” Jeff Rider, professor of romance languages and literatures, spoke about “The Importance of Old Stories.” The Complete Romances of Chretien de Troyes: David Staines: 9780253207876: Amazon.com. Redirecting. The Death of King Arthur (Penguin Classics): Anonymous, James Cable: 9780140442557: Amazon.com. The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, Vol. 1267): James J. Wilhelm: 9780815315117: Amazon.com.