Humanities & Society

The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, a year-long national effort to explore the most serious problems behind bars in America today and how to solve them, will hold its third public hearing from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 1-2 in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Room 310. The hearing, hosted by the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, will focus on corrections officers – a vast, yet poorly understood workforce that shoulders tremendous responsibilities, often without adequate leadership, training, or resources. Officers, administrators, labor leaders, former prisoners, and other witnesses will describe pivotal changes in the workforce and the job and conditions that jeopardize the health and safety of both officers and prisoners.

Nationally recognized attorney and human rights advocate Stephen Bright will discuss his views on the death penalty and the current state of the U.S. prison system in a talk entitled, “Crime, Prison, and the Death Penalty: The Influence of Race and Poverty.” The talk, part of Washington University’s Assembly Series and the School of Law’s “Access to Justice” series, will be held at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom, Anheuser-Busch Hall.

The Association for Political Theory’s conference Oct. 21-22 is designed to foster “intellectual sociability” among scholars.

Sadat”In arguing that the Saddam Hussein trial is a ‘Trial of the Century,’ some experts appear to be suggesting that media interest is tantamount to success, importance and legitimacy. This is a mistake,” says Leila N. Sadat, expert on international law and international war crimes tribunals and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “Criminal trials, whether of important and notorious individuals, or of small-time offenders accused of petty crimes, are nothing more than show trials, unless three criteria are met: The judges must be independent, well-qualified and impartial; the accused must be properly and effectively represented; and the proceedings must be fair. Using these criteria, it is difficult not to be skeptical about the fairness, and therefore the ultimate significance, of the trial of Saddam Hussein.”

The Association for Political Theory’s conference Oct. 21-22 is designed to foster “intellectual sociability” among scholars.

Addressing poverty, famine, infectious diseases, international conflict and other world problems is the mission of a new global education and research initiative announced today by Washington University in St. Louis and a partnership of top foreign universities and multinational corporations. Launched with a $10 million endowment commitment from John F. McDonnell and the JSM Charitable Trust, the McDonnell International Scholars Academy creates a growing worldwide network of scholars, researchers and business and governmental leaders.

Richard Burkhardt will examine the scientific, social and political aspects in the development of ethology as a modern science in his Thomas Hall Lecture at 4 p.m. on October 25. He teaches history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and specializes in the history of evolutionary theory and ethology, which is the study of animal behavior by means of comparative zoological methods.

Based upon research done in northeastern Louisiana, anthropology’s T.R. Kidder thinks the traditional viewpoint could be completely wrong.

Religion and pluralism, natural law, feminist ethics, responding to terrorism, deliberative democracy, race and reparations, American conservatism, identities and borders, and classical critiques of democracy will be among topics explored Oct. 21-22 as the Association for Political Theory holds its 2005 meeting at Washington University.

In vitro fertilization can cost anywhere from $10,000 – $15,000 for each round of treatments. This means access to assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is generally limited to a relatively small portion of couples that seek it. Several state governments have turned to public policy in an attempt to make access to ART more widely available. But two professors from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis find that market competition can be as effective at expanding access as requiring insurance companies to cover infertility treatments. At the same time, competition appears to lower the rate of high-risk births and encourages the use of new technologies.