The first annual WesTalk conference featured three professors who spoke about their unique passions. The talks, which were sponsored by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship and took place on Thursday, Feb. 7, were modeled after Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED)’s mission statement.
“We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the world,” the statement reads. “So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.”
The WesTalk organizers, Hazal Muhtar ’14 and Edgar Pliaskis ’14, came up with the idea when they were studying abroad together in Edinburgh.
“I’m really into TED talks myself,” Muhtar said. “I was introduced to them three years ago, and ever since, I have been watching them obsessively.”
Pliaskis had a different motivation for organizing the talks.
“I love to talk to teachers to see what they are doing outside of class,” Pliaskis said. “Sometimes I find myself asking about which movies professors like to watch simply because I am interested. People have a lot to say about their research and their lives.”
Muhtar explained that the conference was supposed to be a larger event but was shortened due to financial constraints and weather.
“We initially had 20 speakers and we have six speakers now,” Muhtar said. “We were planning this for early November, but since we didn’t have sponsorship, we cancelled that date. That is why we lost a lot of speakers. That is why I think if we do it for a second year, we are hoping to have 20 or 30 professors.”
While half of the WesTalks occurred on schedule, the blizzard has postponed the other three talks to a later date.
One of the professors who spoke on Thursday, Assistant Professor of Economics and Latin American Studies Melanie Khamis, gave a talk titled, “A Way Towards Economic Development.”
“I think these talks expose people to ongoing research agendas and research topics,” Khamis said. “Professors have research seminars, and students talk to each other, but this is a good way of having something outside of class. I want to reach people who are not econ[omics] majors or not even interested in econ[omics]. I want to spark interest.”
Adjunct Instructor in Romance Languages and Literature and Italian Section Head Daniela Viale also spoke. Her talk was titled, “Voices from the Alps History and Memory in Italian Mountain Songs.” She explained how she got involved with WesTalks.
“The two main organizers wrote an email to all of the departments saying that they were looking for speakers to speak about something that they felt really close to,” Viale said. “Since I knew them, I wrote them back, and I got interested in the whole event.”
Participating professors expressed enthusiasm about their experiences developing and delivering WesTalks.
“I thought it was a very nice opportunity,” Khamis said. “I thought this would be a good way to talk about my broader research agenda with the students. I am hoping to inspire people to become a little more interested in my area of research and to think beyond the Wesleyan campus.”
The organizers added that anyone is welcome to give a talk with WesTalks in the future, including students.
“I took a class sophomore year, and it was a seminar, and we had to give a 45-minute talk on whatever is interesting,” Pliaskis said. “Somebody did one on how to make beer. They were very diverse, informative, and interesting, so student speakers is something we would love to look into.”
Muhtar notedthat WesTalks benefit all who attend.
“The advantage with a small school is that you can create a strong bond between the faculty and students,” Muhtar said. “When professors talk about their own personal experience outside class, it shows what professors are doing, their personality, and what they are interested in.”
Next year, the WesTalks will be much more extravagant, according to Pliaskis.
“We are hoping that [the talks are] going to get some great responses, and hopefully we will have more in the future,” Pliaskis said.