World’s oldest novel celebrates 1,000th birthday

One mark of a great novel, it’s been said, is its ability to stand the “test of time,” to remain captivating to readers from generation to generation. Washington University will honor such a novel Friday, April 18, with two campus events celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of “The Tale of Genji”, a central pillar of the Japanese literary canon.

Business can empower world’s poor

Harold Rosen, an international development expert with the World Bank, will discuss how new grassroots approaches to business can give poor people in developing countries the tools to lift themselves out of poverty. The lecture takes place at 8 a.m., Monday, April 14, in Room 200 of the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center. Free […]

Campus celebrates 1000th anniversary of ‘world’s first novel,’ April 18

One mark of a great novel, it’s been said, is its ability to stand the “test of time” — to remain captivating to readers from generation to generation. Washington University will honor such a novel on April 18 with two campus events celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of the Tale of Genji, a central pillar of the Japanese literary canon often hailed as the world’s first novel.

Human spatial cognition focus of PNP conference

Do the words we use to describe an object interact with and possibly shape our view of the world around us? That’s one of the questions explored in a special conference on the psychology and philosophy of human spatial cognition Saturday and Sunday, March 1-2. Free and open to the public, the “Perception, Language and […]

Obituary: Loevinger, psychology professor emeritus, 89

Jane Loevinger Weissman, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology and one of the first in her field to study daily challenges faced by mothers and other women, died Friday (Jan. 4, 2007) at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. She was 89 and a St. Louis resident.

China’s push for hydropower dams sparking grassroots backlash, suggests new book

When complete, China’s Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River will cost $25 billion and displace more than 1.4 million people.The Chinese government’s recent decision to scrap controversial plans for a huge dam at Tiger Leaping Gorge on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River represents a milestone for growing grassroots political movements in China, suggests the author of a new book on the politics behind China’s epic dam-building campaign.

Holiday giving season complicated by shifting norms on gratuities, psychologist suggests

Photo by Mary Butkus / WUSTL PhotoStudy finds that the larger the bill, the smaller the tip percentage.With the holiday season upon us, Americans are grappling more than ever with what’s appropriate when it comes to rewarding service providers with tips, gifts and other token gratuities, suggests Leonard Green, a psychology professor in Arts & Sciences who studies tipping behavior at Washington University in St. Louis. Video available.
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