Faculty

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – This year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most famous symbols of the Cold War.

Before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, artists decorated the western side with graffiti of protest, while the eastern side remained untouched.

“The city of Berlin [which was separated by the wall] has been holding celebrations all year, leading up to the anniversary on November 9,” said Sonja Fritzsche, associate professor of German and Eastern European Studies at Illinois Wesleyan, who was in Berlin working on research at the Humboldt University in Berlin this summer.

Illinois Wesleyan University will honor the anniversary with an international film series on the wall and talk by Visiting Professor Bill Brown from Oct. 4-8, following German Reunification Day (which is Oct. 3). Details are available on the German Studies site.

The Berlin Wall amounted to more than 80 miles of concrete and wire built in 1961 under the Soviet leadership of Nikita Khrushchev. Constructed to stem the tide of emigration from the east, the city of West Berlin was encircled by the wall. In 1990, the former Federal Republic of Germany (or West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) reunified on October 3, nearly a year after the fall of the wall.

Now that 20 years have passed since 1989, it might seem as though the events of that November could be relegated to the pages of history. Like all history, however, the ramifications of an event reverberate through time.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – For decades, scholars have reported how the Soviet culture emphasized that happiness could be found in the utopia of a collective society. Yet how was collective happiness pursued? A groundbreaking new book, co-edited by Illinois Wesleyan University’s Isaac Funk Professor of Russian Studies Marina Balina, explores the concept of happiness as defined by Soviet culture in Petrified Utopia: Happiness Soviet Style (Anthem Press, 2009).

“These essays redefine the preconceived notion of Soviet happiness as the products of official ideology imposed from above and expressed predominantly through collective experience,” said Balina.

Featuring articles by leading specialists in the study of Soviet culture from the United Kingdom (UK), the United States, Germany and Italy, the book is part of the publisher’s series on Russian, East European and European Studies. The goal of this collection of essays is to introduce the Western reader to the most representative ideas of happiness, and the common practices of its pursuit that shaped Soviet everyday life and cultural discourse from the early post-revolutionary years to the later period of Stalinist and post-Stalinist culture.

The book’s essays explore the idea of happiness as portrayed in paintings, architecture, films and posters, which contributed to our understanding of the “Soviet Self.” Along with her editing duties that she shared with Evgeny Dobrenko of the University of Sheffield, UK, Balina has co-authored an introduction and contributed an essay on the concepts of happiness as portrayed in children’s literature titled, ”It’s Grand to be an Orphan!’ Crafting Happy Citizens in Soviet Children’s Literature of the 1920s.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Irving Epstein, professor of Educational Studies and former acting director of International Studies, has accepted the position of Associate Dean of Faculty at Illinois Wesleyan. Epstein assumed the position as of August 1, 2009.

As Associate Dean of the Faculty, Epstein manages areas relating to faculty development. His duties include developing orientation programs, professional development workshops, and administering faculty travel and internal grant programs.

Epstein has held several other administrative positions since joining the staff of Illinois Wesleyan in 1996, having served as Department Chair of Educational Studies and as Director of General Education. He has held membership on the Curriculum Council and (CUPP) at the University, and has served as head of the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Epstein has also been active in the Scholars at Risk Network, an international network of colleges and universities that provide temporary academic positions to professors, lecturers, researchers and other intellectuals who face threats in their home country because of their ideas and place in society. He has worked with Illinois Wesleyan administration to host two such scholars over the past five years.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. –Visiting Assistant Professor Saloua Zerhouni has joined the faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University this fall as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar. Zerhouni comes to Illinois Wesleyan from Mohammed V University Souissi, in Rabat, Morocco, where she is an assistant professor of political science at the School of Juridical, Economic and Social Science.

“It is an honor to be able to work with the students and faculty of Illinois Wesleyan,” said Zerhouni, who is teaching two courses at IWU this semester: Women, Gender and Politics in North Africa, and The History of the Arab World. “I look forward to open and engaging discussions with my students, and hope my time here will work to build bridges in understanding.”

Zerhouni earned a doctorate from The University of Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco, in 2002 in political science. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah in Fez, Morocco. She was an associate researcher for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, Germany, and a visiting researcher at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., before taking her position with Mohammed V University Souissi.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Bayeux Tapestry captured a pivotal moment in European history. The 230-foot-long embroidered cloth, which depicts events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and scenes from the battle iself, is renowned among scholars of medieval history, art and literature. Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of English Dan Terkla is helping to uncover the mysteries of the Tapestry with the new book The Bayeux Tapestry: New Interpretations (Boydell & Brewer, 2009).

“History is written by the victors, and the Tapestry is a great piece of public relations,” said Terkla, who co-edited the collection of essays for the book, and contributed his own chapter. In the case of the Bayeux Tapestry, the victor was William of Normandy, who defeated King Harold I of England at the Battle of Hastings. Thought to be embroidered around 1068, the Tapestry tells the story of how William the Conqueror ascended to the throne of England as the rightful king, and portrays Harold as a usurper.

Edited by Terkla, Martin Foys and Karen Eileen Overbey, the book is a collection from a combination of well-established scholars and voices new to Tapestry studies, said Terkla. “We truly hope to live up to the title of the book, New Interpretations.”

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