Humanities & Society

“It is unlikely that a dispute over proper ownership of sports memorabilia would receive this sort of attention if it did not involve O.J. Simpson,” says Christopher A. Bracey, associate professor of law and of African and African-American studies at Washington University in St. Louis. “If the past is prologue, his celebrity status may also prove to be his ‘get out of jail free’ card, reinforcing his reputation as a man who operates ‘above the law.’ On the other hand, recent celebrity cases suggest that celebrated athletes and entertainers will no longer receive a free pass when it comes to the criminal justice system. In the case of Michael Vick — and perhaps OJ — one might argue that celebrities are now, in some sense, being targeted for prosecution.” Bracey is following the Simpson case and is available for interviews.

“I always thought the fashion police were a myth, but they seem to be real,” Richards says.A growing number of cities have enacted laws that would make wearing saggy or low-slung pants indecent exposure. “It’s an interesting question whether these laws would violate the First Amendment as currently understood,” says Neil Richards, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “Saggy pants laws form a hybrid case. They are regulating in terms of indecent exposure but seem to be directed at the expression of identity through clothing.” Richards is available to discuss the constitutional issues surrounding these laws.

Michael Widlanski, a former New York Times and Cox News reporter with 20 years experience in the Middle East, will discuss “The Big Mouth Theory: Communication Power in the Global Arena” as he delivers the second annual Schusterman Lecture at 7:15 p.m., Oct. 8, in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

Richard P. Sloan, professor of behavioral medicine in psychiatry at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital at the Columbia University Medical Center will respond to the question, “Is Religion Good for Your Health?” at 11 a.m., Wednesday, September 26 in Graham Chapel. Sloan’s talk is free and open to the public. The fall 2007 Assembly Series schedule continues through November 15. All programs are free and open to the public.

“Universal health care is getting the attention it deserves, but unfortunately, the proposals receiving the most attention ignore the ‘Big Leak,'” the enormous non-benefit costs incurred by health care providers who must match their billions of billings with thousands of differing private health care plans,” says Merton C. Bernstein, a founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Coles Professor of Law Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis. “Putting everyone under the Medicare umbrella would eliminate that leak,” he says. Bernstein is available to discuss current universal health care proposals as well as the Medicare-for-all option.

DiekmanTo help curb the expanding waist lines of her constituents, south Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry has proposed a two-year moratorium on new fast food restaurants in her district. If enacted in Los Angeles, or any other American city for that matter, would the plan work? Don’t count on it, says Connie Diekman, R.D., director of University nutrition and president of the American Dietetic Association.

Just as rising gasoline prices are forcing many Americans to tighten their financial belts, new research suggests higher fuel costs may come with a related silver lining — trimmer waistlines. “An additional $1 in real gasoline prices would reduce obesity in the U.S. by 15 percent after three years,” said Charles Courtemanche, an economics doctoral student in Arts & Sciences.

Mark Manary, professor of pediatrics, assesses patients for malnutrition at a clinic in Malawi, Africa.An enriched peanut-butter mixture given at home is successfully promoting recovery in large numbers of starving children in Malawi, according to a group of researchers at the School of Medicine. Malnutrition affects 70 percent of all Malawian children with an estimated 13 percent of children dying from it before the age of five.

Psychiatry researchers at the School of Medicine have had good results in early research using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to treat patients with depression. Now they are testing TMS as a potential treatment for new mothers with post-partum depression.

Could higher gas prices mean trimmer waistlines?Just as rising gasoline prices are forcing many Americans to tighten their financial belts, new research suggests higher fuel costs may come with a related silver lining — trimmer waistlines. “An additional $1 in real gasoline prices would reduce obesity in the U.S. by 15 percent after three years,” suggests Charles Courtemanche, an economics researcher at Washington University in St. Louis.