Humanities & Society

After both of her parents and both of her husband’s parents succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease over a 14-year period, Susan Rava knew she needed to write a book about the experience. Swimming Solo was released in January.

The Freshman Reading Program steering committee has announced that the Class of 2014 will be reading and studying “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” by Mohsin Hamid. It is a novel set in the aftermath of September 11 and told from the perspective of Changez, a young Pakistani, who despite his love for America, sympathizes with the attackers.

As Iran celebrates the 31st anniversary of its Islamic revolution, Fatemeh Keshavarz, Ph.D., professor of Persian language and literature and a native of Iran, suggests that the Feb. 11 anniversary offers yet another example of how Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad skillfully manipulates the Western media into providing unwitting support for his campaign to stifle the nation’s opposition movement. Her commentary appears online at Counter Punch.

Members of the WUSTL community are pitching in to help relief efforts in Haiti in the wake of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. 

The Gephardt Institute for Public Service invites students, faculty and staff to participate in “Faces of Hope” in April, a celebration of civic engagement and community service. Student, faculty, and department-led initiatives; student groups; community-based learning and teaching courses; and service trips all are welcome to participate. Applications are due Friday, Feb. 12. 

Creativity at the World Economic Forum? That may seem like a bit of stretch. But according to Keith Sawyer, PhD, associate professor of education and of psychology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, the two go hand-in-hand. Sawyer moderated two sessions at last month’s forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Black Anthology, the student-written, student-performed and student-produced cultural arts show celebrating black culture, will present its annual showcase at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12, in Edison Theatre.

Don’t be fooled by a company’s recent attempt to market smokeless tobacco as “harmless,” says Douglas Luke, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Tobacco Policy Research at the Brown School. “Part of what we’re seeing here is the tobacco industry trying to position smokeless tobacco products so that they either do not come under the new Food and Drug Administration regulations or they come under weaker regulations,” Luke says.

Are you looking to make the government’s new dietary recommendations part of your life? Begin by writing down what you eat, says Connie Diekman, director of University Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis. The U.S. departments of Agriculture and Health & Human Services this week released new food guidelines that call for more fruits and vegetables, less sodium and more whole grain.

The George Warren Brown School of Social Work’s Livable Lives Initiative has awarded eight grants to faculty across the university. The selected projects investigate policies and programs designed to help those with low or moderate incomes achieve lives that are more stable, secure, satisfying and successful.