What's going on in SC&A

January - March, 2005

Cookbooks and Gender in Postwar America

In the years after the Second World War, several new cookbook genres emerged that attempted to address the culinary needs of targeted demographic groups in American society. For the first time, publishers thought cookbooks for single working women filled a specific need in the marketplace. Changing, and at times conflicted notions of masculinity in the postwar years resulted in a movement for men to “reclaim” the kitchen as a specifically masculine space. Today, we can use these cookbooks and other examples of popular print culture to explore the changing social conditions under which Americans lived and worked after the war.

This exhibition collects more than 30 examples of cookbooks and printed ephemera that relate to cooking and gender in midcentury America.

Previous Exhibitions:

January - September 2004

75 Years of Olin Library

September - November 2003

The Library Project

The Library Project is an installation of artworks that explore the nature of the library--its vastness, its continuing proliferation, and the peculiarities of its organization. A chart follows a path through the electronic keyword system, a computer screen flashes thousands of book covers at high speed, and hundreds of library call numbers mark the entire campus. The project is by Professor of Art Jeffrey Schiff with students James Jacobus '03, Myra Rasmussen '04, and Aki Sasamoto '04. On display through November 30th, 2003.

May - September 2003

Fifty Years of Graduate Liberal Studies

April - May 2003

The Book Artist as Social Critic

January-April 2003

40 Years of World Music at Wesleyan

Fall 2002

Books at Risk

March 25 - May 19, 2002

Not all innovative teaching exploits cutting-edge technology. While many scholars and librarians feared that the electronic revolution would sound the death knell for the printed book, in fact, the physical book is thriving. Surprisingly to some, the availability of large numbers of electronic texts has helped foster a new interest in the book as artifact. Set against the flat, ahistorical, disembodied character of the electronic text, books of the past acquire an additional cachet when compared with the alternative.

This exhibition highlights new pedagogical uses for old books, as well as periodicals, archival collections, and other primary sources. Each of its seven sections focuses on a specific assignment developed by a Wesleyan faculty member, often working with librarians in Special Collections & Archives, during the past three years. While the assignments and disciplines vary greatly, they have common interests in using rare books, manuscripts, and archival collections as teaching tools. Assignments were chosen for this exhibition to convey a range of possibilities; several other recent projects had to be left out because of limited space.

February-June 1, 2001

The holdings of Special Collections & Archives are growing apace. Acquired by gift, purchase, or transfer - some of what's old is in fact very new. This exhibition highlights a small selection of the many items that have been acquired by Special Collections & Archives over the past three years.

The materials shown here range from a 17th-century schoolbook to a 1980s Wesleyan tee shirt. Half of the exhibition is devoted to new acquisitions for the rare book collections; the other half showcases additions to the University Archives. Within each part of the exhibition, the order is roughly chronological.

Like the other books, manuscripts, and archival documents added to the collections, each item on display was carefully selected for Special Collections & Archives. Some items meet specific curricular needs, others build on existing strengths of the collections, still others fill in gaps in our holdings. Sometimes a substantial new gift can lead the way to a whole new area of collecting. There are many reasons why particular items belong in the secure environment of Special Collections & Archives rather than in the library's circulating collections. The most common factors are age, scarcity, provenance or association, and monetary value.

Most books come to Special Collections & Archives as gifts or are transferred from the circulating collections. Some books are purchased with funds from an endowment bequeathed in 1987 to Special Collections & Archives by Frances Hamill, who was a prominent rare book dealer in Chicago and a close friend of late Special Collections Librarian Elizabeth Swaim. Other books are purchased with general library acquisitions funds. Most additions to the University Archives are gifts - from students, alumni/ae, faculty, and their relatives. University records are transferred from departments and offices. Without our generous donors, our collections would grow very slowly indeed.

This exhibition will be on view through June 1, 2001. The introduction and the entries for rare books were written by Suzy Taraba; the entries for archival materials were written by Jeffrey Makala. Leslie Starr designed the exhibition. The exhibition is presented in honor of all donors to Special Collections & Archives - past, present, and future.

Sept. 22 - Jan. 2001

Just over forty years ago, Wesleyan's curriculum underwent a sea change under the guidance of President Victor L. Butterfield.  As originally conceived, the College Plan sought to remake the entire university into a federation of Colleges, each with an interdisciplinary focus.  This exhibition explores the  origin of the College Plan and its four resulting programs: The College of Letters, the College of Social Studies, the College of Quantitative Studies, and the College of Science in Society.

April 4 - August 13, 2000

 May 23 - September 10, 2000

January 24 - March 30, 2000

Nov. 11, 1999 - Jan. 20, 2000

Unlike disasters which make headlines, the gradual deterioration of Wesleyan's library books rarely provokes an outcry until faculty and students find that needed volumes fall to pieces as they are used.  This exhibit presents examples that show the effects of the major causes of book deterioration - acidic paper, unstable adhesives, decaying leather, high temperature and humidity, air pollution, mold, dust, insects, dogs, misguided enthusiasts, and careless readers.

Sept. 10-Nov. 10, 1999

Drawn from the holdings of the University Archives, this exhibition celebrates both the 40th anniversary of Wesleyan University Press as a scholarly publisher and the transfer of the archival records of the Press to the University Archives. From its early days as a division of scholarly publishing within Wesleyan's Department of School Services and Publications (the publisher of My Weekly Reader and other school materials) to the present, Wesleyan University Press has been noted for its dedication to publishing books that "push the envelope" and challenge the prevailing assumptions of their time. To date, Wesleyan University Press has published over 750 books, and its publications have received six Pulitzer Prizes, three National Book Awards, and numerous other honors.

Also, at the Davison Art Center:

Organized in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Head of the Connecticut Regatta, this exhibition of photographs, prints, and other materials from the Wesleyan University Archives celebrates the history of rowing and the sport of crew at Wesleyan from the 1850s to the present day.

May 26th - September 3rd 1999:

This exhibit of archival materials presents the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Pluralism and Unity Project grant which has explored and documented diversity at Wesleyan.

April - May 23rd 1999:

Last update: Sept. 2004

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