Center for the Study of Public Life

Judging Teachers: the Law and Teacher Evaluation Policy Reform Efforts

Judging Teachers: the Law and Teacher Evaluation Policy Reform Efforts with Mark Paige The talk will address legal issues and court responses associated with policy efforts intended to improve public education and teacher quality, including those attempting to link teacher evaluation and employment status with student achievement, such as “value added modeling.” Professor Mark Paige…

The Arab Spring: Looking Back After Seven Years

The Arab Spring: Looking Back After Seven Years with Ambassador Jake Welles ’79 The Arab Spring, which began with much hope in early 2011, failed to bring democracy and change to the region, with the lone exception of Tunisia.  Of the countries directly impacted by the Arab Spring, Egypt and Bahrain have reverted to an…

Haiti: Migration and Globalization

Haiti: Migration and Globalization Haitians in the U.S. vs. Trump   Tens of thousands of Haitians who currently reside in the United States on Temporary Protected Status face possible deportation by the Trump administration. This talk will focus on the domestic and global political and economic factors that transformed Haiti into an exporter of labor…

Politics, Policy and Social Justice in Venezuela

Politics, Policy and Social Justice in Venezuela A Conversation with Professor Antonio Machado Allison Venezuela is in crisis.  President Nicolás Maduro has clashed with the constitutional democracy of Venezuela. The country is in financial collapse with hyper-inflation and critical shortages of basic food supplies.  The elected Legislative body has been overruled and made inconsequential by…

Political Caricatures in the Age of Trump

Political Caricatures in the Age of Trump Martin Rowson is a cartoonist whose work appears regularly in The Guardian, The Times, and other British papers, and is chair of the British Cartoonists’ Association. He won the Cartoon Art Trust’s Political Cartoonist of the Year Award in 2000 and 2004, and the Political Cartoon Society’s Cartoon…

Stuck in the Doorway

A preview of the upcoming documentary film and media project Stuck in the Doorway Few images of the past decade have been as gripping as those coming out of Greece in the summer and fall of 2015, as waves of refugees struggled to reach the shores of Europe.  The whole world watched as over one…

The Political Crisis in Catalonia

The Political Crisis in Catalonia The Catalonian drive for independence has met with fierce resistance from the Spanish government in Madrid. Does Catalonia deserve independence? What are the ways that the political standoff can be resolved? These issues will be discussed by Antonio Gonzalez (Romance Languages) and Peter Rutland (Government). Tuesday, October 10, 12:00-1:00 pm,…

Films on Foss – Summer 2017

The Mayoral Youth Cabinet, in partnership with the City of Middletown and Wesleyan University, are bringing back the wildly successful movie series, Films on Foss. These events are FREE & open to the public, and allow multiple generations to come together and build community. The films are show on campus at Foss Hill, just off Wyllys Ave…

PCSE Seed Grants in Action: Report #1 from Appalachian Scholar Project

Appalachian Scholar Project has had an eventful first few months of the program. Since winning the grant, Dennis (Founder and Director) has recruited a fellow veteran, Gabe Hurlock, to assist in teaching the curriculum. Appalachian Scholar Project has also implemented a system for volunteer tutors from Wesleyan to work remotely with students in West Virginia as…