October 2015 – Princeton Writes

Cracking the Code

Stephanie Whetstone2020-01-14T14:15:11-05:00

Cracking the Code The recent movie, The Imitation Game, revealed how a team of British mathematicians and linguists collaborated to break the German Enigma code during World War II. They began with the premise that any code is made up of patterns. The trick was to translate the code into a pattern the team already understood: English. Understanding the words, however, wasn’t enough to break the code. The team also had to translate the Germans’ patterns of social behavior, culture, and, of course, human error. These are the same tools we use to decode language every day. Many English speakers are [...]

Cracking the CodeStephanie Whetstone2020-01-14T14:15:11-05:00

Meet Stephanie Whetstone, Assistant Program Director

Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-21T15:01:40-04:00

This fall, Princeton Writes ceased to be an army of one, thanks to the appointment of its first assistant program director, Stephanie Whetstone from Durham, North Carolina. A talented writer and teacher, she has devoted more than a decade to helping high school, community college, and university students in her region communicate more effectively. She recently talked about her life with Princeton Writes’ undergraduate fellow, Emily Reardon ’16, who prepared this profile. Stephanie Whetstone began her creative career as a sixth-grade poet in Kentucky. And even though she would marry a photographer, film documentaries, and fill her life with the [...]

Meet Stephanie Whetstone, Assistant Program DirectorStephanie Whetstone2015-10-21T15:01:40-04:00

vitiate (VĬSH-ē-āt)

Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-19T12:00:08-04:00

Definition (Verb) To render incomplete, imperfect, or faulty; to impair or spoil. In Context "Or so I argued against Arendt's view which, if put into practice, would surely vitiate what she hoped to invigorate and purify." Michael G. Gottsegen, The Political Thought of Hannah Arendt, 1994.

vitiate (VĬSH-ē-āt)Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-19T12:00:08-04:00

chaplet (CHĂP-lĭt)

Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-12T12:00:37-04:00

Definition (Noun) A wreath for the head, usually a garland of flowers or leaves, also of gold, precious stones, etc.; a circlet, coronal. In Context "A chaplet of fresh white dog roses and columbine crowned her brow and her cloak was pinned with a beautiful brooch of delicate blue enamel work." Elizabeth Chadwick, A Place Beyond Courage, 2007.

chaplet (CHĂP-lĭt)Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-12T12:00:37-04:00

interregnum (ĭn-tər-RĔG-nəm)

Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-05T12:00:21-04:00

Definition (Noun) A breach of continuity; an interval, pause, vacant space. In Context "For about fifteen years there was an interregnum in English literature, which makes a convenient division between the great men of the Napoleonic era and the great Victorians." William Ralph Inge, The Victorian Age, 1922.

interregnum (ĭn-tər-RĔG-nəm)Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-05T12:00:21-04:00

Americanah (2013) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Stephanie Whetstone2015-10-01T12:00:11-04:00

Critical Assessment "There are some novels that tell a great story and others that make you change the way you look at the world. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah is a book that manages to do both. "It is ostensibly a love story – the tale of childhood sweethearts at school in Nigeria whose lives take different paths when they seek their fortunes in America and England – but it is also a brilliant dissection of modern attitudes to race, spanning three continents and touching on issues of identity, loss and loneliness." Elizabeth Day, "Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Review," The Guardian, [...]

Americanah (2013) by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieStephanie Whetstone2015-10-01T12:00:11-04:00