Separating the Girls from the Boys—Author Explores How Consumer Culture Defines Identities

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Just who decided girls should wear pink, boys blue? In a talk at Washington College, author and scholar Jo Paoletti will share answers to that question and more. Based on research from her recently published book, Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America, Paoletti’s presentation will examine how consumer culture—from cartoons to fashion—shapes and defines the sexes in the United States, and how changing concepts of sexual identity, in turn, shape the culture.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place Wednesday, September 26, at 5 p.m. in Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall on the Washington College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.  A reception with the author will follow. The event is sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the Department of History, the Gender Studies Program, and Phi Beta Kappa.  

Paoletti, an Associate Professor in the American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, holds degrees in apparel design and textiles and has tracked the changes in children’s clothing—and the meaning behind those changes—for three decades.  “It’s really a story of what happened to neutral clothing,” she explained in an article in Smithsonian in 2011, noting that both girls and boys once wore dainty white dresses up to age 6. “What was once a matter of practicality—you dress your baby in white dresses and diapers; white cotton can be bleached—became a matter of ‘Oh my God, if I dress my baby in the wrong thing, they’ll grow up perverted.’ ”

For more on the speaker: http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~jpaol/.

Acclaimed Writer Daniel Mark Epstein to Discuss His New Biography of Bob Dylan, March 5

CHESTERTOWN, MD— From the moment he first exploded onto the American music scene in 1963, Bob Dylan has been lauded as a poet, a prophet, and a savior. In a talk at Washington College on Monday, March 5, acclaimed poet and biographer Daniel Mark Epstein will offer an intimate, nuanced look at this legendary singer-songwriter, the most important lyricist America has ever produced.

Sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, Epstein’s talk, “The Ballad of Bob Dylan,” is free and open to the public, and will begin at 7:30 pm at Center Stage, Hodson Commons (popularly known as The Egg), on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue. Epstein’s recent book The Ballad of Bob Dylan (Harper, 2011) will be available for purchase, and a book signing will follow the presentation.

In his talk, Epstein will frame Dylan against the background of four seminal concerts performed over four decades and will explore the larger context of the artist’s life, from his meteoric rise as a young folksinger through his reemergence in the 1990s and his role as the éminence grise of rock and roll today. “We all know Dylan was a master wordsmith,” says Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center. “But so is Daniel Mark Epstein, so this is guaranteed to be a memorable evening.”

The New York Journal of Books praised The Ballad of Bob Dylan for doing “what few have been able to at all, much less this well: capture [Dylan’s] spirit and somehow get closer to the essence of an American icon.” The Sunday Times (London) concurred, noting that “Epstein is refreshingly direct and accessible,” and the Telegraph lauded the book for its “fine sensitivity to all aspects of Dylan’s art.”

Daniel Mark Epstein's poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, and The New Republic. He is the author of three plays and more than a dozen books, including Lincoln and Whitman: Parallel Lives in Civil War Washington (Random House, 2004), and The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage (Ballantine), which was named one of the Best Books of 2008 by both the Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Sun-Times. His 1999 biography of another musical legend, Nat King Cole (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), was a New York Times Notable Book.

A graduate of Kenyon College, Epstein has held fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded him an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006.

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Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in colonial Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is dedicated to fostering innovative approaches to the American past and present. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on the literary craft of history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large. For more information on the Center, visit http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

Visiting Neuro-Economist to Explain What Really Motivates Our Financial Decisions

CHESTERTOWN, MD—As economic concerns and debt continue to dog the U.S., and European leaders work to avert financial catastrophes in their own countries, it seems more important than ever to understand just how people make monetary decisions—at home, in business, and in government. Are we even capable of reasonable decisions in the midst of so many temptations to misspend?

Economist Daniel Houser will offer some answers from the field of neuroeconomics when he delivers a talk titled “Temptation and Self-Control” on Tuesday, November 29 at Washington College. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 4:30 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on the College campus (300 Washington Avenue).

“Temptation and the need for self-control are ubiquitous features of human lives, and can play an important role in the way we make economic decisions,” says Houser, Chair of the Department of Economics at George Mason University and a faculty member of its Center for the Study of Neuroeconomics. His talk will explore the ways temptation influences not only our purchases but also our productivity at work, and will discuss strategies for improved self-control.

The event is co-sponsored by the Washington College Department of Psychology, the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society in Economics, the Washington College Chapter of Sigma Xi and the Daniel Z. Gibson-John A Wagner Visitor Fund. For more information, http://www.washcoll.edu.

Martha’s Kitchen Brings “Home-Grown Goodness” to Dining Options in Hodson Hall Commons

The Washington College dining service has cooked up a new concept for the Hodson Hall Commons food court, one that serves up locally grown food in a flexible format. Martha’s Kitchen—a nod to Mrs. George Washington—offers an eclectic menu inspired by student feedback. “After many conversations with students I found they were looking for something with a less corporate feel, “ says director of dining services Donna Dhue. “Specifically, they wanted entrée salads, some Tex-Mex options and the ability to get a good grill sandwich.” That translates, for starters, into a selection of quesadillas, five fresh salads, burgers (veggie, turkey and beef options), grilled cheese and cold sandwiches.

“The menu is a little eclectic, but home grown,” says Dhue, “Where possible we will feature local food items, such as grass fed beef from St. Brigid’s Farm and salad greens from Chesapeake Greenhouse,” she adds.

Adding to the distinct local feel are a couple of menu items with a decidedly Washington College twist: The “Elisabethan Cobb Salad” is named after campus First Lady Elisabeth Reiss, and her husband, former ambassador Mitchell Reiss, is honored with a chicken parmesan sandwich called “The Negotiator.”

The former Coyote Jack space now occupied by Martha’s Kitchen has been renovated with green counters, bead-board paneling and a more open feel.

Dhue says Martha’s Kitchen is, by design, a work in progress. “One of the best parts of this concept is that we can see what works and what does not and make changes as we go according to student feedback. The new design reflects this opportunity and allows us to be flexible with the menu.”

Riverfront Concert Series Kicks Off Thursday, June 16, with Carribean Trio in the Egg

DUE TO THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR THIS EVENING, TONIGHT'S CONCERT WILL TAKE PLACE AT HODSON HALL COMMONS, IN "THE EGG." START TIME IS STILL 6:30 PM.

CHESTERTOWN, MD— The popular Washington College Riverfront Concert Series, hosted by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, returns for a second year with a stellar lineup of free Thursday evening concerts on the riverfront lawn of the Custom House. The series will kick off June 16 with Caribbean trio Sweet Lime and Passion, continue June 30 with folk duo Magpie, and conclude July 21 with blues/hot jazz duo The Blue Rhythm Boys.

All three events will begin at 6:30 p.m. behind the Custom House, corner of High and Water streets in downtown Chestertown. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets, lawn chairs and picnic dinners. Lemonade and cookies will be provided free of charge. In case of inclement weather, the concerts will take place in The Egg, a performance space in Hodson Hall Commons on the main Washington College campus.

Launched by the Starr Center in 2010, the Riverfront Concert Series builds on the Center’s longstanding interest in the musical traditions of the Chesapeake Bay and its rich heritage of storytelling. The series host is the Starr Center’s program manager, Michael Buckley, whose weekly radio program on Annapolis-based WRNR, 103.1 FM (Sundays, 7 to 10 a.m.) includes the widely acclaimed interview series “Voices of the Chesapeake Bay.” Special assistance is provided by Yerkes Construction.

“We were happy that last summer’s concerts drew such an enthusiastic response from the community,” says Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center. “We’re delighted to be able to expand the series this year, from two concerts to three, and provide more opportunities for our friends and neighbors to enjoy great music here on the beautiful Chester River waterfront.”

The trio opening the Riverfront Concert Series on June 16, Sweet Lime and Passion, is one of the capital region’s premier arts and education groups. Trio members David Boothman, Major Boyd, and Elizabeth Melvin offer audiences a “Caribbean cornucopia” of musical styles, including calypso, reggae, soca, and zouk (French Caribbean dance music).

A native of Trinidad, keyboardist Boothman has worked with artists and producers from Derek Walcott to Andre Tanker to Scofield Pilgrim, and has toured extensively with the group Kysofusion. Marimba player Melvin has worked for the Smithsonian Institution and Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts and has studied ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland. Together, Boothman and Melvin serve as artistic directors of the Annapolis-based Caribbean Arts Central. A 13-year veteran of the Caribbean Arts Jazz Ensemble (CAJE), Major Boyd is one of Baltimore’s top saxophone players. The group’s first album, Sweet Lime and Passion, was released in 2008. For more on the group, visit http://www.caribbean-artscentral.com/.

The series continues on June 30 with acclaimed contemporary folk duo Magpie. Blending blues, jazz, country, and swing with contemporary folk music, Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner have been performing together for nearly 40 years, using music to bring people together, teach schoolchildren about history and ecology, and encourage commitment to social and environmental justice.



Leonino and Artzner are master artists with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, and have created several thematic school programs on topics such as the Great Depression, the Underground Railroad, and the civil rights movement. In 2000, Magpie collaborated with scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center to create a “museum musical” about the life cycle of the Chesapeake Bay’s most famous resident, the blue crab. “Tales of the Blue Crab” premiered at the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre, and is now a traveling show performed in schools around the country. For more on Magpie, visit http://www.magpiemusic.com/.

The Blue Rhythm Boys will round out the 2011 series with a performance on July 21. Blending the blues à la Mississippi John Hurt with the “hot club” swing of Django Reinhardt, the Blue Rhythm Boys have delighted audiences with their tight vocals and hot guitar playing since 1997. Duo members Tom Mitchell and Jim Stephanson’s smoky mix of jazz and blues has won the group a wide following. For more on the Blue Rhythm Boys, visit http://www.bluerhythmboys.com/.




Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in colonial Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The college’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is dedicated to fostering innovative approaches to the American past and present. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on written history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large. For more information on the Center, visit http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

Sweatshop Activist to Share Nike Campaign

CHESTERTOWN—Jim Keady, the activist behind the Nike accountability campaign, “Team Sweat,” will visit Washington College Tuesday, March 22 to talk about his efforts to improve working conditions and wages in the sportswear giant’s overseas factories. Keady will speak at 4:30 p.m. in The Egg, a performance and meeting space on the first floor of Hodson Hall Commons. His interactive multi-media event includes role-playing, video footage, and a question-and-answer period. The event is free and open to the public.

Keady was forced to leave a soccer-coaching job at St. John’s University in New York in 1998 when he refused to wear the Nike logo on his team gear. He has since devoted much of his life to protesting the company’s workplace policies. He spent a month living among Nike workers in an Indonesian slum, allowing himself only the $1.25 daily wage a typical worker would receive.

He now serves as the director of Educating for Justice, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that educates and organizes citizens around issues of peace and justice. For more information: http://www.teamsweat.org


Photos: Top, a sign from a Team Sweat protest in Australia. Bottom, Jim Keady.

Catholic University Scholar to Discuss Unholy Marriages of Politics and Religion

CHESTERTOWN—The Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture at Washington College will host a lecture on the dangers of politicized religion on Tuesday, March 8 . Jeffrey Dirk Wilson, a philosophy professor at Catholic University of America, will present “Political Theology: A Clear and Present Danger—Lessons from the Third Reich to the Present” at 7 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

Wilson’s lecture will examine how theological concepts often have been wrenched from their religious contexts and invested in political movements, and will talk about the dangerous consequences that followed.

Professor Wilson works in the field of political philosophy and has special expertise in the area of religion and politics. He is an expert on the writings of the controversial pre-World War II German legal and political theorist Carl Schmitt, whose work advanced the idea that “all significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts.” Wilson will highlight the dangers of this approach to state power and how the transcendence of God renders this approach theologically dubious.

Wilson’s talk is free and open to the public.

From Descartes to Sinatra, Oxford Scholar To Discuss Impact of Religion on Culture

CHESTERTOWN—A distinguished Oxford scholar will talk about the role of religion in social life, from the European Enlightenment to the present day, when he visits Washington College on Monday evening, January 31. The lecture by Dr. Nicholas Wood—playfully titled “Do Be Do Be Do,” or “Descartes, Sartre and Sinatra: Religion, Culture and the Modern World”—will take place at 7 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue. Sponsored by the Washington College Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture, the event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Wood is a member of the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford, and director of the Oxford Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture. An expert on the relationship between faith, culture, and society, he has been an important partner of the new Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture (IRPC) at Washington College. While in Chestertown, Wood will meet with students who will be participating in the Oxford Research Seminar this coming June.

That Oxford seminar will each summer welcome up to 12 high-achieving Washington College students for seminars that explore the impact of religion on politics and society. Participating students will reside at Oxford, meet in tutorials with Oxford professors and conduct research at the renowned Bodleian Library. In addition, students will engage in faculty-led study trips to culturally significant sites in the region.

Established in fall of 2009, the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture is dedicated to the objective study of religion’s influence on American and world history and its contemporary role in political and cultural life. For more information, please visit http://irpc.washcoll.edu/.