Monthly Archives: November 2014

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

The First Thanksgiving 1621, oil on canvas by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899). The painting shows common misconceptions about the event that persist to modern times: Pilgrims did not wear such outfits, and the Wampanoag are dressed in the style of Native Americans from the Great Plains.

This feast lasted three days, and it was attended by 90 Native Americans (as accounted by attendee Edward Winslow) and 53 Pilgrims.

William Bradford, in Of Plymouth Plantation:

They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound   when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to the proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.

Edward Winslow, in Mourt’s Relation:

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.

Curious about other Thanksgiving traditions? Check out the library’s holdings to get a sense for how the holiday has changed over time.

If you’ve never been up in The Ames Library stacks (where we keep the books) you might realize that we some really AWESOME stuff. One of our new acquistions, for example, was recently featured in Wired Magazine.

On 10/15, Adam Mann, wrote:

What does the universe look like? How about the sun, moon, planets, and stars? These are probably question that humans have been asking themselves ever since we first looked up at the sky.

A new book, Cosmigraphics: Picturing Space Through Time, looks at the imaginative variety of ways that people have answered these questions throughout history. In it, photographer and filmmaker Michael Benson collects thousands of years of human understanding about the heavens.

Cosmigraphics is divided into 10 chapters, each following the progression of ideas about some heavenly topic. For instance, one chapter centers around representations of the Earth. In it, you can see dramatic medieval conceptions of our planet surrounded by elemental water, air, and fire. There’s also a bizarre 19th century map refuting the theory that the Earth is sphere-shaped — instead postulating a four-cornered, roulette-wheel world more in accordance with Biblical (or something) principles. Finally, there are recent geographic drawings of river basins and ocean floors based on the enhanced technological capabilities of the modern world.

All images in the book are essentially data visualizations representing the accumulated knowledge of their time. Ancient people’s data was far more limited than ours, and mixed with erroneous beliefs about divine spirits, celestial spheres, and geocentric cosmologies. But looking back through history reminds us that our current scientific ideas no doubt contain inaccuracies and partial truths, limitations of the data at hand. With scientists still debating the inner workings of black holes, the properties of neutrinos, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy, we realize the amount we have yet to know is as vast as the universe itself.

The book is also a good reminder of how big a deal the night sky was to pre-Industrial people. The movement of the sun and phases of the moon told them when to plant and harvest their crops. The changing stars and planets helped them interpret their own lives and their futures. Even today, you might get away from city lights and look up to feel a sense of wonder and awe, a slight tug from the collective unconscious of humanity that has been watching and thinking about the universe for so long.

All captions from Cosmigraphics”

Excited for this two day week?! The Ames Library will close early on Tuesday (4:30pm) and will be closed Wednesday through Saturday. We will open at 6pm on Sunday evening.

Instruction Lab, Room 129

• Monday, 10am, Prof. Hughey’s Gateway
• Tuesday, 8am, School of Nursing HESI Exam

Meeting Room, Room 214

• Monday, 9:30am, Network Group
• Monday, 3pm, CUPP
• Tuesday, 9am, Workflow meeting

Beckman Auditorium

• Monday, 7:30pm, Nursing 217
• Tuesday, 10am, Physical Plant training

Since we’re closed for the holiday there won’t be much going on this week, but that’s okay. It gives you plenty of time to start thinking about plans for the last week of classes. The following was originally published on the IWU News & Events feed.

“Illinois Wesleyan University will observe the holiday season with events celebrating a variety of cultural traditions.

On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the Black Student Union will host a Kwanzaa Dinner at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Center, Turfler Room. The African-American and Pan-African holiday celebrates “The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa”: self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

On Wednesday, Dec. 3 there will be a sing-a-long of the “Christmas” portion of Handel’s “Messiah” with Illinois Wesleyan’s Collegiate and University Choirs and faculty soloists at 11 a.m. in Evelyn Chapel.

Students can make holiday cards, wrap gifts and create winter crafts Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Dean of Students, “Wrapping It Up” will be held in the Dug Out.

IWU Hillel will sponsor a Hanukkah Dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Center, Turfler Room. Attendees will learn about the story and traditions behind the Jewish holiday, and students and faculty of the Jewish faith will have the opportunity to celebrate Hanukkah on campus. IWU Hillel hopes to increase awareness of religious diversity through this event, and share part of their faith with the Illinois Wesleyan community

The third annual “Light the Night: A Multicultural Celebration of the Season of Light” will be held on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. in Evelyn Chapel. Light the Night celebrates the stories, songs and meanings of various December holidays. Following the celebration, attendees can join a candlelight processional to Joslin Atrium for a reception with global holiday foods. The event is a part of the 3D series, a campus-wide collaboration that encourages diversity, dignity and dialogue at Illinois Wesleyan.

“Light the Night is an exuberant evening that reflects the wonderful diversity of our campus and leaves students energized and connected for a long week of exams and papers ahead,” said Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger, University Chaplain.

Illinois Wesleyan’s holiday events will conclude with the School of Music’s Christmas Choral Concert on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, Bloomington.

By Danielle Kamp ’15”

The days are getting shorter and colder (like you needed to be reminded) and it’s a struggle to get any quality outdoors time. Lack of sunlight in the winter can lead to a well-known condition called winter depression.

The following was originally published here.

Winter depression is a well-known condition that affects many people once temperatures fall and the shorter days of winter reduce the availability of natural daylight; in its most serious form, it is diagnosed as ‘seasonal affective disorder’ (more commonly known as ‘SAD’).

Several methods of dealing with SAD are available today, but one of the most significant is the use of light therapy in the form of sun lamps and light boxes. These mimic the natural sunlight that is in such short supply in winter; they are simple to use and non-addictive, making them a more preferable form of treatment than, say, anti-depressant medication, or other methods that involve changes in everyday lifestyle.

Of course, natural sunlight is the best way to treat seasonal affective disorder but, during those times when it not so readily available, the next best way to deal with it is light therapy.

The Advantages of Light Therapy over Other forms of Treatment

These powerful light machines have been developed as a result of years of research into winter depression and how to deal with it effectively, and their significance cannot be underestimated, especially when compared with more conventional forms of treatment.  They are non-addictive; once a light box or sun lamp has been purchased, there is no further financial outlay;  light therapy is easy to use, and more practical and less time-consuming than altering the diet or taking up exercise, making it convenient for those for whom time is at a premium.

How and Why Light Treatment Works?

Light treatment works by exposing the sufferer to intense levels of light from a specially designed box that is simple to set up and use. Users do not need to look directly at the light; all they have to do is focus on the areas that it illuminates.

It is well known that light affects various hormones and chemicals in the body; it also influences thehypothalamus, an area of the brain which regulates energy, appetite, and mood, all functions that are affected by seasonal affective disorder in winter.

When light levels are reduced in winter, sufferers, even those who are positive and upbeat at other times of the year, feel sad, anxious, and helpless. For them, and the people they live and work with, it can be confusing and bewildering, until they find out why; for such people, discovering that light therapy, can change the way they feel. They actually begin to feel.

How to use a Sun Lamp or Light Box?

• Put it on the table, or buy a stand (there are specials stands for sun lamps).
• Read the guide. Please read it. You will treat yourself much much better this way.
• Plug it in.
• Enjoy your Sunbathing.

Many people benefit from using the light box for between 15 to 30 minutes a day, but some enjoy longer periods of exposure.  The beauty of this form of treatment is that it can be customized to suit the particular needs of the user and, because it does not need to be administered under clinical conditions, it can be used in a patient’s home or workplace.

Side Effects?

There is no need for light treatment to interfere or interrupt the normal day.  Light treatment is not dangerous, though possible side effects may occur. Most are minimal, rare, and short-lived; a few patients may experience headaches, nausea, or eyestrain, but these are generally mild and disappear after a day or two.

With finals looming around the corner, now is the time to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Make sure you’re dressing warmly whenever you go out, eat healthy meals, drink plenty of fluids, and get yourself checked out if you’re starting to feel under the weather. The flu can knock you out for longer than you’d like, so pay attention and do what you need to in order to succeed. Flu symptoms include the following. Visit Health Services if you’re not feeling well!

• A 100^oF or higher fever or feeling feverish (not everyone with the flu has a fever)
• A cough and/or sore throat.
• A runny or stuffy nose.
• Headaches and/or body aches.
• Chills.
• Fatigue.
• Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea (most common in children)

There are sunlamps in all the library “living rooms,” so turn one on if you’re not spending enough time outside. That extra Vitamin D could make a difference.

While you’re checking out our sunlamps, look at what else is going on in The Ames Library this week.

Beckman, Monday, 4pm – Dr. Arturo Márquez Gómez, assistant professor in the Romance Languages Department of Kalamazoo College, will present “Against the Bad Education: Pedro Lemebel, Student Movement and Sexual Rights in Contemporary Chile.” Márquez Gómez was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. His research focuses on contemporary Latin American cultural production, literature, film and media. His current work focuses on Pedro Lemebel, a Chilean writer and performer, whose project challenged the identity politics imposed by the military regime and neoliberalism. This event is sponsored by the Latin American Studies team of the International Studies program, the Hispanic Studies Department, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Center for Human Rights and Social Justice.

Beckman, Tuesday, 4pm – Beyond Competence! Celebrate the rich, reliable and resilient LGBTQIA community as we explore the history and contributions made to the cultural fabric of the U.S. and the world in areas related to the arts, sports, food, politics, equality and world peace. Health Education about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Elders (HEALE) trainers Cecilia Hardacker, Kristin Keglovitz-Baker and Hector Salgado from Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago, will be on campus to present information about their health education curriculum in a series of LGBT cultural competency sessions. Facilitators will discuss essential terminology, LGBT historical context, how to create inclusive atmospheres in living and working spaces and legal issues commonly encountered by LGBT individuals. Hosted by Professors Amanda Hopkins (Nursing) and Carolyn Nadeau (Hispanic Studies) as part of their series through the Mellon Foundation Re-Centering the Humanities grant at IWU. Experts from HBHC will discuss the needs of this population and the Nurses HEALE curriculum.

Beckman, Tuesday, 7pm – “Das Leben der Anderen/The Lives of Others (2006)” An agent in the East German secret police becomes involved in the lives of the artists he is spying on. Sponsor: German, Russian and Asian Languages

Beckman, Wednesday, 7pm – The Sierra Student Coalition will host the documentary: “Vanishing of the Bees,” narrated by Ellen Page. Come learn about pollinators, colony collapse disorder, and what can be done to save the bees. Free and open to the public.

Beckman, Thursday, 4pm – The mysterious and seductive term “Negative Capability” has been thought to be a completely original creation of Keats’s genius. However, this presentation will argue that Keats derived the term “Negative Capability” from his thinking about literary critic William Hazlitt’s use of “natural capacity,” a term borrowed from the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Theune also will argue that the resultant narrowing of Negative Capability’s range of reference can and should serve as an important corrective to recent troubling uses of the term.
Research for this presentation was supported by a Mellon Humanities Fellowship provided by Illinois Wesleyan’s “Re-centering the Humanities” initiative. Sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the English honors society.

Beckman, Thursday, 7pm – “Joyeux Noel,” 2005, France/Germany/UK, the story of the spontaneous ceasefire during Christmas Eve on the front lines of World War I. Presented by Visiting Assistant Professor of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures-German Adam Woodis. Due to copyright restrictions, this event is free and open to the IWU community only.

Instruction Lab, Room 129

• Monday, 9am, Spanish 468
• Monday, 11am, Nursing 214
• Tuesday, 7:45am, BioChem Computer Lab
• Tuesday, 2:35pm, BioChem Computer Lab
• Wednesday, 9am and 1pm, Physical Plant training
• Wednesday, 2pm, Prof. Simeone’s Gateway
• Thursday, 9:25am, Prof. Reissenweber’s Gateway
• Thursday, 2:35, Prof. Criley’s Gateway
• Friday, 9am, Spanish 468

Meeting Room, Room 214

• Monday, 3pm, CUPP
• Tuesday, noon, Library Advisory Committee
• Tuesday, 4:30pm, Star Literacy
• Wednesday, 3pm, CUPP
• Thursday, 11am, Assessment Committee
• Thursday, 4:30pm, Star Literacy

Beckman Auditorium

• Monday, 9am, Nursing 217
• Monday, 4pm, International Studies Colloquium
• Monday, 6pm, English 233
• Tuesday, 11am, Meet a candidate for Director of Grants & Foundation Relations
• Tuesday, 4pm, Nursing Curriculum Speaker
• Tuesday, 7pm, German 370
• Wednesday, 9am, Nursing 217
• Wednesday, 7pm, Vanishing of the Bees
• Thursday, 11am, Meet a candidate for Director of Grants & Foundation Relations
• Thursday, 2pm, MUSE speaker series
• Thursday, 4pm, MUSE scholar – Prof. Theune on Keats
• Thursday, 7pm, International Film Series
• Friday, 9am, Nursing 400 exam
• Friday, 11am, Meet a candidate for Director of Grants & Foundation Relations
• Sunday, noon, English 233

Check out this new addition to The Ames Library collection!

From the publisher’s website:

Why are some genocides prominently remembered while others are ignored, hidden, or denied? Consider the Turkish campaign denying the Armenian genocide, followed by the Armenian movement to recognize the violence. Similar movements are building to acknowledge other genocides that have long remained out of sight in the media, such as those against the Circassians, Greeks, Assyrians, the indigenous peoples in the Americas and Australia, and the violence that was the precursor to and the aftermath of the Holocaust.

The contributors to this collection look at these cases and others from a variety of perspectives. These essays cover the extent to which our biases, our ways of knowing, our patterns of definition, our assumptions about truth, and our processes of remembering and forgetting as well as the characteristics of generational transmission, the structures of power and state ideology, and diaspora have played a role in hiding some events and not others. Noteworthy among the collection’s coverage is whether the trade in African slaves was a form of genocide and a discussion not only of Hutus brutalizing Tutsi victims in Rwanda, but of the execution of moderate Hutus as well.

Hidden Genocides is a significant contribution in terms of both descriptive narratives and interpretations to the emerging subfield of critical genocide studies.

From Amazon.com:

Review

Did you know that IWU has it’s very own institutional repository where we can highlight your scholarly and creative endeavors, making them findable by the rest of the world? Well we need your help with it!

Registration is in full swing and Ames Library has you covered! We’ve got computers on all five floors and Help@Ames ready to help should you have any problems. Call us at 3900 if you have any trouble.

Monday, 4pm – Women’s Bridging Networks: Building Democratic Infrastructure – Meg Rincker ’98, associate professor of political science at Purdue University Calumet, will speak. Sponsored by the Mellon Center, Department of Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies.

Our research with dogs explores questions of basic cognition. To enroll, visit their webpage: http://sun.iwu.edu/~efurlong/Home/Blank.html

Thursday, 12:10pm – Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St., Bloomington – Lunch and Learn: “Decoding Dogs: The Psychology of Man’s Best Friend.” – Presented by Assistant Professor of Psychology Ellen Furlong. Free and open to the public, the Lunch and Learn series is held in collaboration with Illinois Wesleyan University, McLean County Museum of History, Collaborative Solutions Institute and the Bloomington Public Library.

Thursday, 7pm – “Amelie” (2001, France) will be presented by Chair and Associate Professor of French Jim Matthews. Due to copyright restrictions, this event is free and open to the IWU community only.

Instruction Lab, Room 129

• Monday, 10am, Prof. Bushman’s Gateway
• Monday, 2pm, Prof. Chapman’s Gateway
• Tuesday, 9:25am, Prof. Nillas’s Gateway
• Tuesday, 10:50am, Multiculturalism with Prof. Simeone
• Tuesday, 2pm, OU Campus Training
• Wednesday, 10am, German 201
• Wednesday, 1pm, Prof. Flores-Rodriguez
• Wednesday, 2pm, Prof. Chapman’s Gateway
• Thursday, 8am, Practial Criticism with Prof. Diaz
• Thursday, 10:50am, Spanish 280
• Thursday, 1:10pm, Psychology 314
• Thursday, 2:35pm, Spanish 280
• Friday, 11am, Nursing 214
• Friday, 2pm, Spanish 303

Meeting Room, Room 214

• Monday, 9:30, Network Group
• Monday, 3pm, CUPP
• Tuesday, 1pm, Workflow Meeting
• Tuesday, 4:30pm, Star Literacy
• Wednesday, 11am, German 201
• Wednesday, 3pm, CUPP
• Thursday, 11am, Assessment Committee
• Thursday, 1pm, Web Redesign Workgroup
• Thursday, 4:30pm, Star Literacy

Beckman Auditorium

• Monday, 11:30am, School of Nursing, Ebola Open Forum
• Monday, 4pm, Political Science, Women’s Bridging Networks: Building Demonstration
• Tuesday, 10:50am, Political Science, Chinese Bubble
• Wednesday, 3:30pm, School of Nursing, Ebola Open Forum
• Wednesday, 5pm, Admissions Presentation
• Thursday, 9:25am, Political Science, Trials of Henry Kissinger
• Thursday, 7pm, International Film Series
• Friday, 7pm, International Film Series
• Sunday, 12pm, Angels in America, Prof. O’Gorman’s English 233
• Sunday, 7pm, International Film Series

The Fifth of November – English Folk Verse (c. 1870)

Remember, remember!

The fifth of November,

The Gunpowder treason and plot;

I know of no reason

Why the Gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot!

Guy Fawkes and his companions

Did the scheme contrive,

To blow the King and Parliament

All up alive.

Threescore barrels, laid below,

To prove old England’s overthrow.

But, by God’s providence, him they catch,

With a dark lantern, lighting a match!

A stick and a stake

For King James’s sake!

If you won’t give me one,

I’ll take two,

The better for me,

And the worse for you.

A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,

A penn’orth of cheese to choke him,

A pint of beer to wash it down,

And a jolly good fire to burn him.

Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!

Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!

Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

Read a Guy Fawkes biography written in 1839!