Humanities & Society

Local culture impacts cotton production in India. In a study published in the February issue of Current Anthropology, Glenn D. Stone, Ph.D., professor of anthropology and of environmental studies, both in Arts & Sciences, at Washington University in St. Louis, explores how the arrival of genetically modified crops has added a new layer of complexity to cotton farming in a key area of the developing world. More…

On the battlefield, a soldier’s hearing can be permanently damaged in an instant by the boom of an explosion, and thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq have some permanent hearing loss. But what if soldiers could take a pill before going on duty that would prevent damage to hearing? Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a medicinal form of hearing protection may someday be a possibility. More…

Scientists have known for years that the energy cost of walking and running is related primarily to the work done by muscles to lift and move the limbs. But how much energy does it actually take to get around? Does having longer legs really make a difference? Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has developed a mathematical model for calculating energy costs for two and four-legged animals. His research was published in a recent issue of The Journal of Experimental Biology.

When the Conrad Black trial gets under way in March, the argument will be similar to the case against Tyco’s Dennis Kozlowski rather than the cases against Ken Lay or Bernard Ebbers, says Samuel W. Buell, J.D., associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “This is a case about whether an executive looted his own company, not whether he committed accounting fraud,” says Buell, a former Enron prosecutor. “In a looting case, the battle is often over the testimony and credibility of the members of the board of directors.” More…

Eminent British archaeologist Lord Colin Renfrew to speak on cognitive archaeology and how we become human, at the Assembly Series, 4 p.m., March 22 in Graham Chapel.

Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., adjunct professor of religious studies, provides insight on the controversy surrounding a new Discovery Channel documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which airs March 4. Flinn, a consultant in forensic theology, is an expert on religion and the law, including issues related to the separation of church and state, government funding of faith-based social program and the display of religious symbols in schools, courtrooms and other public places.

HoltzmanDavid Holtzman, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of Neurology, is co-recipient of the MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s Disease. Holtzman is also associate director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) and a member of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at the School of Medicine.

Michael Kimmel, Ph.D., a leading expert in the study of American male identity and behavior, will give a talk on “Mars, Venus or Planet Earth? Women and Men in a New Millennium” as part of the Assembly Series. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 28 in Graham Chapel.

Robin D.G. Kelley, Ph.D., one of the country’s pre-eminent scholars in African-American history, will serve as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University Feb. 28-March 1. Kelley, who is professor of history and American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California, is a leading scholar of the modern civil rights movement, jazz studies and African-American music and culture.

To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision, the University is hosting a national symposium on “The Dred Scott Case and Its Legacy: Race, Law and the Struggle for Equality” March 1-3.