We Stand in Solidarity with Our Asian and Asian-American Community Members
The Library wishes to express profound sadness and anger about recent acts of violence against Asian and Asian-American people.
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Prints that Erase: Ideals of Femininity in Chinese Propaganda Posters
What comes to your mind when you think of Communist propaganda posters? Uplifting words colored in red? Inspiring stories trumpeting the party’s leadership? Or strategic rhetorics aimed at brainwashing people?
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Nymph Supported by Two Satyrs, 1763.
Some of the most visually decadent art comes from the Rococo period in Western Europe. I am fascinated by this unapologetically self-indulgent period of European art, made right before the birth of the French Revolution.
Beyond Repair: Suling
The suling is an end-blown flute from Indonesia, made from bamboo. Like the other instruments in the Javanese gamelan, sulings are tuned to one of two scales, sléndro or pélog.
Ephemera in Special Collections & Archives: The Newtonian system of philosophy by Tom Telescope
Enlightenment ideas about science and philosophy take center stage in this small book of lectures presented to children by a boy called Tom Telescope, the “little philosopher.” The pseudonymous Tom explains complex concepts through conversation and demonstration with “familiar objects, in an entertaining manner, for the use of young ladies and gentlemen,” as made clear in the publication’s subtitle.
Beyond Repair: Bachi
In Japanese taiko drumming, wooden sticks called bachi are used to hit the head of the drum. Taiko drums come in various sizes from the small, high-pitched shime-daiko, to the mid-sized chu-daiko, to the large, lower-pitched o-daiko, and each of these requires a different size of bachi.
Open Doors: A Reflection on SC&A and National Poetry Month 2021
It was two years ago, April of 2019, that I first came to the Special Collections and Archives. I was a pre-frosh at WesFest, awkwardly wandering across campus with a wrinkled assortment of info sheets and campus maps. The disorienting stream of events and people left me with a nagging sense of worry: maybe Wesleyan wasn’t the place for me, maybe it was all too much.
Book talk by Prof. Ronald Schatz and celebration of Wesleyan Library Research Prize Winners
On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 6 pm, the library will celebrate the winners of the 2020 Wesleyan Library Undergraduate Research Prize at a virtual event, which will begin with a talk by Wesleyan Professor of History Ronald Schatz
Beyond Repair: Janggo
About the instrument
The janggo, or janggu in folk styles, is a Korean drum, perhaps the most prominent of Korean percussion instruments. The body is carved into a hollow hourglass shape from a solid piece of paulownia wood, and stretched pieces of animal skin are fastened to metal hoops to form the heads on either side.
Postcards from a Pandemic
It’s been just over a year since the University Archives first asked for your experiences related to COVID-19. Thank you to all those who responded – we’ve been slowly adding all the submissions to our Digital Collections! We have a new project aimed at the whole Wesleyan community to learn what this year has been like. … Read more