Humanities & Society

President George W. Bush’s recent push for the establishment of an ownership society features partial privatization of Social Security by diverting a portion of the payroll tax into individual accounts. “Privatizing Social Security is a dangerous idea,” says Merton Bernstein, a nationally recognized expert on Social Security. “Despite widespread criticism and misunderstanding, Social Security is in good shape for the future and its funding can be made solid by modest measures. In contrast, privatization would cost $3.75 trillion.”

Many Americans are faced with the fear of going hungry.Most Americans don’t think they’ll ever be faced with the question of how they will get their next meal, but a recent study co-authored by a social welfare expert at Washington University in St. Louis shows that at least 42 percent of the U.S. population will deal with food insecurity during their lifetime. “Food insecurity goes beyond the fear of going hungry,” explains Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare at the university’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work. “Food insecurity means that people are unable to provide themselves and their families nutritionally adequate food on a regular basis.

A.G. Edwards Media Contact: Margaret Welch, (314) 955-5912 As a sponsor of the presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, A.G. Edwards is proud to support a forum for voters across the country to evaluate the ideas, opinions and beliefs of those who will shape our nation. When choosing the next president of the […]

Officials with both President Bush and Senator John Kerry agreed to three debates, including one on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, at a press conference held September 20. Both Steve Givens, assistant to the chancellor and chairman of Washington University’s debate steering committee, and Jonathan Greenberger, editor in chief of Student Life, express excitement and relief over the announcement in this article by Philip Dine of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

PakrasiA research team of biologists and engineers led by faculty at Washington University in St. Louis is seeking to find the Fountain of Youth — not in Florida, but in photosynthetic cyanobacteria (ancient little blue-green algae). Looking at the cellular systems in cyanobacteria, and then in a model plant and a moss species, these researchers want to determine how these organisms protect themselves from radicals, which are chemical culprits in the aging process in everything from bacteria to human beings.

Adults of all ages are being invited to become volunteer participants in research conducted by faculty and students connected with the Aging and Development Program of the Department of Psychology in Arts & Sciences. Some of the studies deal with practical problems, others with basic abilities such as thinking, memory and perception. Current projects range […]

Viet D. Dinh, professor of law and director of the Asian Law and Policy Studies Program at Georgetown University, will speak about “Liberty and the Rule of Law After September 11th” for the Assembly Series Sept. 22. The talk, which is part of the School of Law’s “Access to Justice” Public Interest Law Speakers Series, […]

The institute’s goal will be to “offer teachers new and engaging ways to teach popular music as a humanities subject,” Gerald Early says.

Photo by David KilperSt. Louis teachers gather at WUSTL to compare notes.At Washington University in St. Louis, teachers from five school districts are working with science and math education faculty in an effort designed to align curriculum to the NCLB standards and to improve instruction. Their work is supported by $6.5 million from the National Science Foundation, through funding from NCLB.

David D. Cole, professor of law at Georgetown University, author of numerous books on terrorism and civil liberties, and cooperating attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, will discuss “John Ashcroft’s Paradigm of Prevention and the Future of Civil Liberties”. After graduating from Yale Law School and clerking with the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Cole joined the Center for Constitutional Rights where he litigated several First Amendment cases, including the case that established protection allowing flag burning under the First Amendment. As a volunteer staff attorney for the Center, Cole continues to litigate First Amendment issues.