Wesleyan University Library

Join us for a screening of a chapter of the film-in-progress Searching for the Folk Philosopher, followed by a discussion with Wesleyan graduate student Ameen Mokdad MA’26, the film’s composer and Impact Producer.

In the film, Iraqi director Mounir Salah searches for his grandfather’s friend Aziz Ali, the pioneer monologist of Iraq. Because of his critical political monologues, various Iraqi governments considered Ali inimical. He was sent to prison several times for his commentary, accused first of being a Communist, then a N**i, and finally a Freemason. What will Salah do once he discovers that his grandfather met the same end as his friend?

“When music becomes that put your life on the line, to end up in jail, exile then punished to be executed but you survive the rope and never stop.”

Sponsored by the World Music Archives & Music Library. Email [email protected] for more information.

Friday, October 24, 2025 — 3-4 p.m.
Frank Center for Public Affairs, Room 100

Mohammad Geldi Geldi Nejad MA’23, known as “Oghlan Bakhshi,” a master of the dutar, a two-stringed lute, and an epic bard, will perform some Turkmen songs and instrumental pieces with special guest performers Zyyada Jumayeva and Abdolghaffar Geldinejad on Thursday, October 9, 2025 from 12 noon-1 pm in Smith Reading Room, first floor Olin Library. All are welcome to this free concert. More information about the musicians is available here: https://tinyurl.com/5d33xz3z

Sponsored by the World Music Archives & Music Library. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Make your own softcover journal with the Book Arts Lab!
Join Preservation & Book Arts Librarian Krista Narciso for a hands-on bookbinding workshop. You’ll learn how to fold and sew a basic pamphlet binding, which can be used as a journal, notebook, or sketchbook.
Wednesday, 17 September at 2:00pm in Olin Library, Dietrich Room (blue room in hallway between Olin and PAC).
Sing up: https://wesleyan.campuslabs.com/engage/event/11441479

Now on view at the Science Library! Visit Freedom in the Equation - an exhibition that highlights the work and stories of ten Ukrainian scientists whose research was tragically disrupted by Soviet-era repression or more recent Russian aggression.

What can archival collections tell us about the complex relationship between Russian émigré musicians and their new American audience? This talk delves into the World Music Archives at Wesleyan, uncovering early hand-written balalaika and domra scores, émigré-era sheet music, and historical LP recordings that reveal how music from the Russian Empire was preserved, adapted, and marketed in the United States. Against the backdrop of early 20th-century American fascination with imperial Russia—its grandeur, mystique, and imagined romance—émigré musicians played a key role in shaping perceptions of Russian culture through performance and recording. By following the musical traces left behind, Anya Shatilova MA'20 PhD '25 will explore how this repertoire evolved in exile, how it was received by American audiences, and what it tells us about the broader Russian-American cultural relationship of the time.

Friday, May 23, 2025 at 1:00pm
Olin Library, Room 014 (Jakobson Room)