Humanities & Society

Celebrated editor, publisher and art collector Larry Warsh recently gifted 56 works of Chinese photography to the Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis. This spring, the museum will publicly display 43 of those works, all made between 1993 and 2006, for the first time in “Looking Back Toward the Future: Contemporary Photography from China.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has called for a phaseout of the state’s income tax, a move that would cause the most pain to the state’s low-income residents, says an expert on tax law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Mark Rank, the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare, won the 2026 Independent Press Award in the category of sociology for his book “The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us.” 

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will fully fund practicum internship experiences and provide living stipends to students in its Master of Social Work program beginning in fall 2026, Dorian Traube, the Neidorff Family and Centene Corporation Dean of the Brown School, announced. 

The markets essentially shrugged when the U.S. removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a special operation. But that could change if the U.S. follows through on other geopolitical threats, says political scientist Timm Betz at Washington University in St. Louis.

Faculty experts in political science, history and law at Washington University in St. Louis discuss the recent capture of the Venezuelan president and offer context about President Donald Trump’s latest challenges to international order.

The unfolding crisis in Venezuela, as well as President Trump’s subsequent threats to countries including Greenland, Colombia, Mexico and Iran, threaten international relations and embolden adversaries. David Carter, an expert in international relations and territorial conflict at Washington University in St. Louis, explains why.

Sociologist Kenneth “Andy” Andrews, an expert in the dynamics and influence of social movements, was installed as the Tileston Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Historically, public opinion has constrained presidents’ use of unilateral power. But political scientist Dino P. Christenson, at Washington University in St. Louis, explains why public opposition to President Trump’s actions in Venezuela is unlikely to sway him.