Humanities & Society

The Danforth Lecture Series continues on Monday, October 16 with a program featuring John Danforth on “Faith and Politics,” the title of his new book. The event is free and open to the public. It will be held at 4 p.m. in Graham Chapel. In his book, the three-term former Republican senator from Missouri and ordained Episcopal priest calls for moderation and tolerance in religious and political life, and a return to the separation of church and state. Decrying the narrow interpretations of religious orthodoxy, he supports an inclusive philosophy that embraces conflicting opinions and beliefs. A booksigning/reception will follow in Holmes Lounge.

With a competition to design a Career Center video advertisement available on the popular Web site YouTube.com, the center’s staff members discovered they could draw students into the process of connecting with good career advice.

Temple Grandin transforms our views of how animals and autistic people perceive the world and how they connect. Her Assembly Series talk “The Boundaries of Humanity” is at 11 a.m. on Oct. 4 in Graham Chapel.

Matthew Shepard’s murder in 1998 resulted in a public outcry that brought hate crimes to the forefront of the national consciousness.

Children can protect their bones against the inevitable bumps that come along with being active by getting enough calcium in their diets. Calcium is essential for the growth and repair of bones and teeth in children. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 60 percent of boys and 85 percent of girls between the ages 9 to 18 don’t get enough calcium, which helps develop strong bones.

As part of Washington University’s celebration of the Danforth Campus dedication, and to underscore the important role of higher education in society, a lecture series will debut on October 3. The first presentation, “Medicine & Society,” will feature Chancellor Emeritus William H. Danforth, M.D. He will be joined by leading St. Louis medical and health policy experts at 4 p.m. Tuesday, October 3, in Graham Chapel. The event is free and open to the public, and will conclude with a reception in the Women’s Building Lounge.

Many parents have no idea that their teenage children use drugs or alcohol. In fact, about half of the parents surveyed during a recent School of Medicine study didn’t realize that their children were using alcohol, marijuana or tobacco. Even fewer – 28 percent – are aware that their teens have used cocaine or other illicit drugs.

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

Modern Humans may have been the divergent branch.Could it be that in the great evolutionary “family tree,” it is we Modern Humans, not the brow-ridged, large-nosed Neandertals, who are the odd uncle out? New research published in the August, 2006 journal Current Anthropology by Neandertal and early modern human expert, Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, suggests that rather than the standard straight line from chimps to early humans to us with Neandertals off on a side graph, it’s equally valid, perhaps more valid based on the fossil record, that the line should extend from the common ancestor to the Neandertals, and Modern Humans should be the branch off that. More…