Humanities & Society

The Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis will host a daylong conference titled “State and Local Government Finance Amid Economic Turbulence” beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, April 9, in Simon Hall’s May Auditorium. The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Although best known as a pioneering feminist, Gloria Steinem always has been a civil rights advocate. Her work now extends to the burgeoning global problem of human trafficking. Steinem will be on campus at noon Monday, April 12, in Graham Chapel speaking on “Sex Trafficking and the New Abolitionists” for the Assembly Series.

Leading experts will convene for a discussion panel on “Labor and Migration Effects of Human Trafficking” at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser-Busch Hall. The panel, hosted by the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Work and Social Capital, is co-sponsored by the Law & Culture Initiative and is free and open to the public.

A team of psychologists at Washington University that include graduate student Jonathan Jackson have found an intriguing possibility that personality and brain aging during the golden years may be linked.

Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir will give a free concert covering American history through music at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at the 560 Music Center.

Outgoing, gregarious people who fill their lives with deep, meaningful conversations may have found at least one key to a happier life, suggests research from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Arizona.

Hip hop artist and actor Common will give the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Association of Black Students, at 7 p.m. Monday, March 29, in Graham Chapel. This event was originally scheduled to take place April 6.

Fairness and cooperation among strangers depends on more than evolution, according to a new study published in the current issue of Science magazine. “Historical factors such as religion, commerce and punishment play a role,” says Carolyn Lesorogol, Ph.D., study co-author and associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. 

It is being called “A Celebration of Women and Diversity at Washington University,” but it is much more than a celebration. Beginning Monday, April 5 through Saturday, April 10, a unique set of events — mostly free and open to the public — will be offered that demonstrate the talent and vitality that women and minorities bring to the university, the region, the nation and the world.

Mae Quinn, JD, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis says drug courts may not be as effective as claimed. “In their zeal to solve problems plaguing our communities, today’s court reformers often overlook important concerns of individual defendants — including their rights to due process of law and zealous representation,” Quinn says.