Author: Liam Otten

Rick and Ilsa, “Casablanca’s” ill-fated lovers, will always have Paris. Uncle Sam will always have Kabul. And Saigon. And Baghdad. In the long-running tragedy of American foreign entanglements, Uncle Sam has become less a hapless romantic idealist and more a cynical “love ’em and leave ’em” serial abuser, says veteran filmmaker Richard Chapman.

Immigration, the fight for social justice, the lives of vulnerable populations. In “The Outwin: American Portraiture Today.” 45 contemporary artists — selected by jury from more than 2,600 entries — explore a wide range of artistic approaches while responding to current social and political contexts. Organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the exhibition is on view this fall at WashU’s Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

In conjunction with “The Outwin: American Portraiture Today,” the Mildred Kemper Art Museum will host a series of artist talks and other events throughout the fall.

Rafia Zafar, professor of English, has co-edited a special issue of the African American Review dedicated to pioneering writer, historian and activist Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874-1938).

Three Washington University faculty members — David Cunningham, Hedwig Lee and Geoff Ward — have co-edited a special issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Constance Vale has been named chair of undergraduate architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.

Rebecca Wanzo, professor and chair of women, gender and sexuality studies in Arts & Sciences, has won two major awards in the field of comic book studies.

Philosopher Carl Wellman, the Hortense and Tobias Lewin Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences, died of natural causes July 17 at St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis. He was 94.

Renowned composer Robert Wykes, professor emeritus of music in Arts & Sciences, died June 29, 2021, in St. Louis. He was 95.

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University has received a $75,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. to support a major new installation by artist Nicole Miller.