Humanities & Society

A discussion on the need for interfaith cooperation, featuring Rabbi Steve Gutow and the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, PhD, was scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser-Busch Hall at Washington University in St. Louis. This discussion has been canceled.

The Advisory Committee for the Diversity and Inclusion Grants has awarded eight grants to Washington University faculty and staff for initiatives that improve the university environment for women and members of underrepresented minority groups.

Growing up in Maryland, Shanti A. Parikh, PhD, knew early on she wanted to be an anthropologist. But at the encouragement of her p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;} .MsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in;margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} mother, Parikh majored in finance at the University of Virginia. A stint in the Peace Corps following graduation returned Parikh to her original passion and to the area of study that would remain her lifetime focus.

When the Senate convenes Jan. 25, it is expected to weigh a resolution to reform the filibuster rule and eliminate secret holds — protocols that many have blamed for encouraging congressional gridlock. Although the proposal is put forth by the Democratic majority in the Senate, it contains a series of relatively modest changes that should hold some appeal to the Senate’s Republiican minority, suggests congressional expert Steven S. Smith, PhD.

Shanti A. Parikh, PhD, associate professor of anthropology and of African and African-American studies, both in Arts & Sciences, reacts with great joy at being named co-recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Award during Washington University’s 24th annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 17 in Graham Chapel.

The mission of Campus Life, as outlined in the Strategic Plan for Excellence in the Undergraduate Experience, is to “build and sustain an undergraduate experience of exceptional quality, where students, known by name and story, prepare themselves for lives of purpose and meaning.” At WUSTL, Campus Life is composed of three areas: Community Service Office, Danforth University Center & Event Management, and Student Involvement and Leadership.

In remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr., the Society of Black Student Social Workers at Washington University’s Brown School will host the fifth annual “Financial Freedom Seminar: Recovering From the Recession, Reaching for the Future,” from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, in Brown and Goldfarb halls. The seminar, free and open to the public, is designed for St. Louis community youth and adults interested in building wealth, repairing and maintaining good credit, purchasing a home or starting and expanding a business. 

“The Past is Alive … The Work is Not Yet Done” is the theme of Washington University in St. Louis’ 24th annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, in Graham Chapel on the Danforth Campus. Events will aslo take place at the School of Medicine, the Brown School and the School of Law.

On Jan. 12, 2010, Lora Iannotti, PhD, nutrition and public health expert at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, was in Leogane, a seaside town 18 miles west of Port au Prince, Haiti, working with local officials on improving the health of Haitian children. That’s when a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake struck the poverty-stricken country. Its epicenter, Leogane. Iannotti survived, but some 230,000 perished. Haiti was devastated; an estimated 3 million were affected by the earthquake in a country already known as the poorest in the Western hemisphere. Since last January, Iannotti, assistant professor at the Brown School, has returned to Haiti a number of times to continue her work on undernutrition and disease prevention in young children. She is back in Haiti again, one year later.

Changing words in Mark Twain’s classic book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is fine as long as the original version still is easily available for readers, says Gerald L. Early, PhD. “We change texts all the time,” Early says. “For instance, we make children’s versions of the Bible, Homer and Shakespeare.”