Humanities & Society

The Department of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences is presenting a seminar series throughout this academic year and into next titled “Interrogating Diversity: Race, Gender, and Class Across Time and Space.”

Faculty and administrators are invited to submit proposals for program initiatives that strengthen and promote diversity and inclusion at Washington University. The Advisory Committee for the Diversity and Inclusion Grants, which will review the proposals, is particularly interested in proposals that address work environment, recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and administrative staff, and cultural competence.

Jon Meacham, former editor of Newsweek, will present “God and Politics: From George Washington to Barack Obama” at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, in Graham Chapel on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis with a book signing and reception to follow.

The School of Law is hosting a screening and discussion of the award-winning documentary “Off and Running” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser-Busch Hall. The event is free and open to the public. In “Off and Running,” filmmaker Nicole Opper chronicles the coming-of-age story of Avery, the adopted daughter of white Jewish lesbian parents and sister to two adopted brothers — one mixed-race and one Korean.

An entrepreneur who has helped thousands of people in poverty-stricken countries throughout Africa says she couldn’t have done it without the help of students and professors at Washington University. The Blessing Basket Project bestows its annual World Changer award on WUSTL. Video history and thank you from artisans in Africa included.

Playground, a film on child trafficking in the United States, will be screened at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, in Steinberg Hall auditorium. A panel discussion featuring Libby Spears, the film’s director, and local experts will follow the documentary.

Andy Uecker (left), of the International Institute of Saint Louis, speaks with Adam Steffen, a graduate student in computer science in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, during the Public Service Fair Sept. 21 at the Danforth University Center. The fair, sponsored by the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, featured more than 40 nonprofit organizations offering a variety of community service and internship opportunities.

Tara Nummedal, PhD, associate professor of history at Brown University, will present “The Lion’s Blood: Anna Zieglerin and the Alchemical Redemption of the World” for the 2010-11 Witherspoon Memorial Lecture in Religion and Science at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.

The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., and Washington University in St. Louis announced recipients of grants from the joint Academic Venture Fund that support collaborations between scholars at WUSTL and Brookings working on projects that impact research, education and policy.

A 10-year study on Child Development Accounts (CDAs) has confirmed their viability as a tool for long-term asset building. Beginning as early as birth, CDAs are investment accounts that allow parents and children to accumulate savings for post-secondary education, homeownership or business initiatives.