Humanities & Society

The most vulnerable and marginalized groups in this country stand to lose the most in this campaign, says Jason Q. Purnell, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and all the rhetoric directed at the middle class fails to take into account the very real struggles of the poor and the working class in this country. It’s one of the issues that is being overlooked as the presidential campaign heads into the home stretch with the election just four weeks away. “I do believe this election is a stark choice between a vision in which government has a constructive role to play in enhancing people’s life choices and one in which individuals are largely on their own,” he says.

The Sustainable Cities Conference, including a Land Lab Competition aimed at catalyzing innovative ideas for sustainability projects on St. Louis’ vacant lots, will be held Nov. 1-3. The aim of the conference will be to explore innovative ideas and strategies that advance a sustainable urban future. Featuring thought leaders from across the country, the gathering will address many areas that contribute to urban sustainability — including buildings, urban design, landscape, food and energy.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are inviting the world to take part in an online experiment that will allow participants to see how their individual scores on a face-name memory test compare with those of other test takers.

Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the tomb of Lady K’abel, a seventh-century Maya Holy Snake Lord considered one of great queens of Classic Maya civilization. The tomb was discovered during excavations of the royal Maya city of El Peru-Waka’ in northwestern Petén, Guatemala, by a team of archaeologists led by Washington University in St. Louis’ David Freidel, co-director of the expedition.

International economic forecaster and social observer Jeremy Rifkin will talk about preparing for the third industrial revolution at noon Thursday, Oct. 11, in Graham Chapel. A book signing will precede the lecture.

The annual celebration of Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Oct. 7 encourages pastors to preach politics from the pulpit. The Internal Revenue Code exempts certain organizations including churches from taxation, but prohibits them as a condition of tax-exemption from “any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” “Both the restriction and Pulpit Freedom Sunday raise important questions about the relationship between church and state, the role of religious argument in political discourse, and the significance of clergy in political debate,” says John Inazu, JD, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and expert on religion and the Constitution.

The first Mid-Autumn Celebration Show, sponsored jointly by the Chinese Students & Scholars Association and the Taiwanese Graduate Students Association, was held Sunday, Sept. 30, in Graham Chapel. “Mid-Autumn Day” is a festival akin to American Thanksgiving and widely celebrated by people across the Taiwan Strait.

Humorist and author of American culture, Sarah Vowell, will read from her work at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, in Graham Chapel. Vowell will read from her work, which often explores fundamental questions of American history, politics and cultural identity. A Q&A session and book signing will follow.

Signs, billboards, and placards are such a familiar part of the landscape that we often don’t notice them. However, even the humblest “on premise” sign is protected by the highest law of the land, the U.S. Constitution’s free speech clause. Daniel R. Mandelker, the Howard A. Stamper Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, has set out to help local governments and municipalities appreciate that fact with his new book, Free Speech Law for On Premises Signs. Published online at ussc.org and landuselaw.wustl.edu, the book will be released in hard copy later this year by the United States Sign Council.

Washington University in St. Louis has been ranked among the top schools in the nation for entrepreneurship by Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Princeton Review report. The annual survey names the schools with the top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation.