On November 2, the Wesleyan community gathered in Exley 150 for Agency and Improvisation: Exploring Modes of Individual and Collective Power to Make Change, the Bailey COE’s 21st Annual Robert F. Schumann Where on Earth Are We Going symposium.
The symposium opened with 2024-25 Bailey COE Think Tank fellows sharing their collective progress on contextualizing agency from different interdisciplinary angles. This year’s diverse group consists of students Maryam Badr ’25, Hannah Podol ’25, and Nic Galleno ’25; Sonia Sultan, Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies; Justine Quijada, Associate Professor of Religion, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, and Environmental Studies; Garry Bertholf, Assistant Professor of African American Studies; and Roxy Coss, the 2024-25 Menakka and Essel Bailey ‘66 Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Bailey COE.
During the first session, each fellow discussed their research and understanding of agency, ranging from zebra finches to Black Reconstruction by W. E. B. Du Bois. The presentation closed with an opportunity for discussion that resulted in productive, impactful conversations between the fellows and audience members.
- Watch the quartet perform “Never Meet Your Heroes,” by Roxy Coss
- Read more about the 2024-25 Think Tank here!
The second half of the symposium featured a presentation and performance by Think Tank fellow Roxy Coss, a Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist, composer, educator, and activist who has performed with Clark Terry, Mingus Big Band as well as her late mentor, Harold Mabern, to whom she dedicated her opening performance, “Mabes.”
Joined by Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble director Noah Baerman (keyboards), Matt Dwonszyk (bass) and Jonathan Barber (drums), Coss struck a chord with the audience; her saxophone cried powerful stories of grief, protest, and resilience on self-penned compositions that included “Nasty Women Grab Back,” which she wrote in response to the 2016 election, using her artistic agency to advocate for change, and “Never Meet Your Heroes.”
Grounded in agency, Coss wove together history, performance, and personal anecdotes, urging the audience to rethink their understanding of jazz. She will be sharing the same in A Celebration of Women in Jazz: A Critical Analysis of Gender/ENVS256, aka Women in Jazz, which will be offered at Wesleyan in spring 2025. For more information about the course, email Roxy at ross@wesleyan.edu!