Humanities & Society

As part of her visit to Washington University to attend the opening of her play, Metamorphoses, playwright Mary Zimmerman will give an Assembly Series talk on “Bodies I Have in Mind: Adapting Ancient Texts for the Stage,” at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 21, in Graham Chapel.

Thanks in part to an ambitious and enthusiastic group of Washington University School of Medicine’s employees, the school is a “greener” place than it was one year ago.

Entrepreneurs dedicated to helping empower and build strong communities have reached the final stage of the annual business plan competition sponsored by the YouthBridge Foundation and the Skandalaris Center at WUSTL. The seven finalists have presented their business plans to the judges who will award $155,000 in seed money to the winners. The award ceremony takes place April 13 after a keynote speech by Kevin Salwen who has just published a book about his family’s experience with selling their home, living with less and giving back to their community.

The Jane and Whitney Harris Community Service Award was presented to Geraldine and Robert Virgil for their outstanding contributions to the St. Louis region.

Social commentator, actress and comedian Nancy Giles will explore why “Mentoring Matters” for the Assembly Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 15 in Graham Chapel. The talk is free and open to the public.

The 20th annual Pow Wow, a festival of American Indian cultures, opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 10, in the Field House. Visitors and participants will be able to enjoy dancing, singing, drumming, arts, crafts and food. The daylong event, hosted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the Brown School, is free and open to the public.

Parents, schools and communities need to be involved in combating the epidemic of childhood obesity, Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, says.

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.