Humanities & Society

Welcome to Washington University in St. Louis, host of the 2008 vice presidential debate. The Office of Public Affairs is here to assist you as you cover the debate for your respective news organizations. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any assistance you might need during your stay here. This online Media Kit is […]

President Bush’s call this week for Congress to end its decades-old ban on offshore oil and gas drilling has highlighted key differences in the big-oil platforms of presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees Barak Obama and John McCain, suggests William Lowry, an expert on the politics of environmental and energy issues at Washington University in St. Louis.

SadatThe Supreme Court’s recent ruling giving the Guantanamo Bay detainees the right of habeas corpus “underscores the commitment of the United States to be governed by the rule of law even during times of national stress, and is a courageous response to the overreaching policies of the executive branch, buttressed by a compliant Republican Congress, that have caused world-wide criticism of U.S. interrogation and detention policies,” says Leila N. Sadat, expert on international law and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. Sadat, the director of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, is the author of the leading treatise on the international criminal court, “The International Criminal Court and the Transformation of International Law: Justice for the New Millennium,” and is closely following the status of the detainees at Guantanamo.

More than 1,000 Oklahoma babies have received a $1,000 jump-start on saving for college, thanks to SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK), a seven-year study designed to determine the economic and educational impact of “seeding” a college savings account for children at birth. SEED OK is a collaboration between the Oklahoma State Treasurer and the Center for Social Development at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.

More than 1,000 Oklahoma babies are receiving a $1,000 jumpstart on saving for college thanks to SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK), a seven-year study designed to determine the economic and educational impact of “seeding” a college savings account for children at birth. SEED OK, announced June 3 by Governor Brad Henry and State Treasurer Scott Meacham, is a collaboration between the Oklahoma State Treasurer and the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

A recently released Department of Defense report shows a 50 percent increase in documented PTSD cases in 2007. Monica Matthieu, Ph.D., an expert on veteran mental health and an assistant professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis, says that “While it is important to know the number of men and women returning from war with PTSD, it is also critical that veterans and their family members know where to go to access mental health services.”

Research is shedding new light on what happens in the brains of children and adults affected by clinical depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia, according to Washington University in St. Louis studies presented at a recent mental health symposium. The findings, which come as America celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month, point to new treatment options for preschool-aged children with significant clinical depression and for severely depressed adults who don’t respond to standard treatments, such as antidepressants and psychotherapy.

The massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province last week may have dealt a huge blow to China’s plans for a vast network of hydro-electric power dams, and the aftershock could mean more reliance on coal, more pollution and more competition for scarce global energy resources, suggests the author of a new book on the politics of China’s epic dam-building campaign.

To celebrate nearly 100 years of existence and a new era in social work education, the George Warren Brown School of Social Work is publishing “What We Believe: A History of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work: 1909-2007” by Candace O’Connor.

The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute of the School of Law announced a two-year project to study the international law regarding crimes against humanity and to draft a multilateral treaty condemning and prohibiting such crimes. Leila Sadat, J.D., the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and director of the Harris Institute, recently convened the […]