Humanities & Society

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…

The Nuremberg trials of major Nazi war criminals spawned the idea of international human rights, but have the principles endured? Leading scholars from Washington University in St. Louis will join former Nuremberg prosecutors and distinguished experts on international criminal justice to examine the legacy of the war trials and their impact on international law, the judicial system and world peace. The conference, “Judgment at Nuremberg,” marks the 60th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials and will take place Sept. 29-Oct. 1 on the Washington University campus.

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.

Judy Shepard, the mother of the late Matthew Shepard who was murdered for being gay, will discuss “The Legacy of Matthew Shepard” at 8 p.m. Oct. 3 in Graham Chapel. The talk is free and open to the public, although priority seating will be given to Washington University students.

Anthropologist Erik Trinkaus argues that “in the broader sweep of human evolution, the more unusual group is not Neandertals, but it’s us — Modern Humans.”

A lead counsel in the Guantanamo Bay detainees U.S. Supreme Court case, an expert on pornography in feminism and law, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his work in international criminal justice are part of the fall lineup for the School of Law’s ninth annual Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series.