Fall 2023 Lecture Series

Lectures are held at 4:30pm in the Butterfield Room of the Wasch Center unless otherwise listed.

September 20 - Stephen Bank, “How not to tell a joke”

Dr. Bank has worked for many years as a psychotherapist serving children, adults, and families here in Middletown.  At the same time, as a columnist for the popular children’s magazine, The Weekly Reader, in scholarly writing, and on TV, he helped introduce the American public to certain basic concepts of psychoanalytic thought.  After retirement, he has taught popular Wasch Center courses such as “From Freud to Facebook” and “The Art and Science of Listening and Conversation.”

October 4 - Joseph Rouse, "Social Practices as Biological Niche Constructions"

Joseph Rouse, Wesleyan’s Hedding Professor of Moral Science, Professor of Philosophy and Science in Society, and Professor, Environmental Studies, will discuss his recently published fifth book, Social Practices as Biological Niche Constructions (Chicago UP, July 2023). This book has already sparked interest among readers in a wide variety of disciplines, including philosophers, scientists, and social scientists. 

November 15 - Bruce Masters, “Israel/Palestine: 75 years of mutual misunderstanding”

*This lecture will be held in Exley 121.

Bruce is the John E. Andrus Professor of History, Emeritus at Wesleyan.  He is the author of many important books and articles on the history of the Middle East, including The Arabs of the Ottoman Empire, 1516-1918: A Social and Cultural History, 2013; and Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Arab world: The Roots of Sectarianism.

November 29 - Sari Rosenblatt, A reading from one of her not-yet-published stories

Sari Rosenblatt will read one of her not-yet-published stories. Her book of stories, Father Guards the Sheep was published in 2020 by Iowa University Press. She is winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award. She currently teaches fiction writing in New Haven at the Education Center for the Arts.