Humanities & Society

Jean Allman, PhD, the J.H. Hexter Professor in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences and chair of the Department of History, recently was named director of WUSTL’s Center for the Humanities. Allman shares some thoughts on the center’s ever-growing importance and role in highlighting the rich diversity of the humanities.

WUSTL High School Summer Experiences offers students from the United States and around the world a chance to experience all facets of college life in both for-credit and noncredit options. Programs range from one to five weeks, with both residential and commuter options.

Washington University in St. Louis students joined Bon Appétit staff in preparing maple syrup and other locally collected foods for brunch this month at Ibby’s Bistro, all for their class with biology senior lecturer Stan Braude, PhD. The students tapped Danforth Campus maple trees and collected berries on the South 40 and acorns in nearby Forest Park.

Half of parents in the United States would consent to have their children receive the flu vaccine in school, according to a survey from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. It is among the first to provide national data on parent preferences on school-administered flu shots. “This study shows the potential to use schools for large-scale influenza vaccination programs in the U.S.,” said Derek S. Brown, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School and lead author of the study.

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson, PhD, a leading expert on the impact of practices such as meditation on the brain, will give the annual Witherspoon Lecture on Religion and Science. The Assembly Series address, “Change your Brain by Transforming your Mind,” will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, in Graham Chapel.

Teams of students devoured buckets of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at Vermonster Challenge, an annual benefit sponsored by Mr. Wash. U. and Relay for Life.

As part of St. Louis’ 250th birthday celebration, 250 cakes have been installed at local landmarks — including WUSTL’s own Francis Field and the School of Medicine.

Students from the WUSTL in DC Programs had the chance to visit with the Dalai Lama during a private forum at the American Enterprise Institute on moral free enterprise and ethics. Afterward, the Dalai Lama greeted students and posed for pictures.

Kenny Broad, FameLab host and National Geographic’s 2011 Explorer of the Year, says FameLab delivers an engaging mix of cutting-edge science and entertainment.

What happens in your brain when you look at this Klimt painting? A lot more than you might ever guess, according to Nobel laureate neuroscientist Eric Kandel, who will explore the connection between art and the mind/brain in his talk, “The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind and Brain from Vienna 1900 to the Present” for the Assembly Series at 5 p.m. Monday, March 3, in Graham Chapel.