Humanities & Society

People committed to improving the health of vulnerable communities and populations have a new degree option at Washington University in St. Louis — a Master of Public Health (MPH). The MPH Program at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work is accepting applications for its first class. The Brown School regularly hosts information sessions about its academic programs. The school plans a special half-day “Focus on MPH” event on February 13 from 8:30 – 1:30 p.m. Individuals who have applied or plan to apply for the fall 2009 semester should attend. The event will be held in Brown Hall Lounge.

Cartoonist/artist/actress Lela Lee will be the featured speaker for the Assembly Series program at 4 p.m., Wednesday, February 11 in Graham Chapel. The event, sponsored by the Asian American Association, is free and open to the public.

Those looking to learn more about President Barack Obama and gain an introduction to African-American writing are advised to check out two new books, “Best African American Fiction: 2009” and “Best African American Essays: 2009.”

Steven C. Hause, Ph.D., senior scholar in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the Innovative Entrepreneurship Education Course Award from the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship for his course, “Economic History and Entrepreneurialism in Modern Western Civilization.”

A new brain-imaging study is shedding light on what it means to “get lost” in a good book — suggesting that readers create vivid mental simulations of the sounds, sights, tastes and movements described in a textual narrative while simultaneously activating brain regions used to process similar experiences in real life.

What is the proper role of American higher education in shaping the values and ambitions of a free democratic society, and more specifically, what are Washington University’s responsibilities as a citizen of the greater St. Louis community, the nation and the world? Getting the campus and surrounding community to reflect on these questions is the goal of the Master of Liberal Arts program’s “Democracy and the University” seminar series.

The Master of Public Health Program at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work is accepting applications for its first class.

Speakers covering such diverse subjects as science, entrepreneurship, film and mathematics will take center stage during the Spring 2009 Assembly Series.

Many older adults worry — a lot. Almost one in 10 Americans over age 60 suffer from an anxiety disorder that causes them to worry excessively about normal things — like health, finances, disability and family. Although antidepressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can improve anxiety symptoms in younger adults, little has been known about their effects in older people. In the largest study of SSRIs in older people with anxiety disorders, a team of psychiatric researchers found the drug escitalopram (Lexapro®) improved anxiety symptoms and quality of life.

WilsonWilliam Julius Wilson, one of the nation’s leading scholars on race and urban poverty, will deliver this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration lecture at 4 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Eric P. Newman Education Center, 320 S. Euclid, on the School of Medicine campus.