Humanities & Society

Congressional expert Steven S. Smith says Congress has plenty of parliamentary tactics for stalling and pushing through legislation. The fate of the health care reform bill could be determined by a process of reconciliation, filibusters, deeming or something Smith calls a “vote-a-rama”.

As one of the “generic geologists” on a dig called the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Jennifer Smith, PhD, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, was asked to sample the alum from ancient mines and to determine whether it could be the source of the blue in the “blue painted pottery” found at sites dating from the New Kingdom.

In an effort to engage individuals outside of Washington University in St. Louis, the Institute for Public Health is offering affiliation to those working in public health or related disciplines worldwide. Scientists, physicians or employees in a county health department are examples of individuals who would qualify.

David Frankfurter, PhD, professor of religious studies and history at the University of New Hampshire, will give the Weltin Lecture in Religious Studies at 4 p.m. Monday, March 22, in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.

Glenn Stone, a professor of anthropology and environmental studies at Washington University, joins National Public Radio host Ira Flatow for a broadcast of NPR’s Science Friday live from St. Louis. The show will focus on the pros and cons of genetically modified crops.

The annual WUSTL Relay For Life will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 20 and 21, at Francis Field’s Bushyhead Track. The relay is a 12-hour family-friendly event that raises funds for the American Cancer Society. Last year, the event attracted more than 2,000 volunteers who helped to generate more than $150,000 for cancer research, advocacy, patient services and education.

The Tyson Living Learning Center at Washington University in St. Louis has been called one of the greenest buildings in the U.S. Green technologies behind the building are the focus of a National Public Radio Science Friday news video and an NPR radio discussion broadcast live from St. Louis March 12.

The annual African Film Festival will be held Friday through Sunday, March 26-28, on the Danforth Campus, offering “one of its very strongest programs this year of unique and yet universally-relevant films,” says Gaylyn Studlar, PhD, director of the Program in Film and Media Studies in Arts & Sciences and the David May Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities.

Reconciliation is a “fast-track” legislative process that bypasses potential Senate gridlock and permits the passage of budget-related legislation by majority vote. It’s a hot-button issue now as the Senate grapples with health-care legislation. “The passage this term of health-care legislation, and perhaps the future of health care reform more generally now may turn on rulings of the current parliamentarian,” says Cheryl Block, JD, professor of law. 

As President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress head for a final showdown over long-stalled health-care reform legislation, pundits are struggling to explain an array of arcane congressional rules and protocols that may determine whether health care reform passes or dies on the vine. Many of these pundits are getting it wrong, suggests WUSTL congressional expert Steven S. Smith, Ph.D.