Humanities & Society

Campaign 2004 will be a rough and tumble, says Steven S. Smith, Ph.D.While most 2004 campaign coverage remains fixated on the wild and crazy race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the 2004 election also promises to be especially challenging for Democrats seeking seats in the House and Senate. The Democrats are in for a fight in 2004, and the liberal and more moderate factions of the party may likely be their own worst enemy if they engage in a political and philosophical battle for the hearts and minds of voters. “The Democrats are in a bad way in 2004,” said Steven Smith, Ph.D., an authority on congressional politics and the Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences in Arts & Sciences.

Jeff Ojemann/University of WashingtonImproved imaging of brain’s language areas may replace more invasive pre-surgery mapping techniques, such as the electrocortical stimulation method shown here.Advances in neurosurgery have opened the operating room door for an amazing array of highly invasive forms of brain surgery, but doctors and patients still face an incredibly important decision – whether to operate when life-saving surgery could irrevocably damage a patient’s ability to speak, read or even comprehend a simple conversation. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are developing a painless, non-invasive imaging technique that surgeons here are using to better evaluate brain surgery risks and to more precisely guide operations so that damage to sensitive language areas is avoided. The breakthrough could improve odds of success in an increasingly common surgery in which damaged sections of a patient’s temporal brain lobe are removed in an effort to alleviate epileptic seizures. November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, the Whitney R. Harris Institute for Global Legal Studies and the Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis will present the conference, “Globalization, the State, and Society,” Nov. 13-14 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser Busch Hall. This event, which is free and open to the public, is planned as part of the University’s Sesquicentennial celebration.

Two of the nation’s most recognized political commentators, Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, will discuss prospects for the 2004 presidential election in a public forum from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Laboratory Sciences Building. The discussion, which is free and open to the public, takes place on Election Day — exactly one year before the 2004 presidential elections.

November Science & Technology Tip Sheet

November Business, Law & Economics Tip Sheet

November Culture & Living Tip Sheet

George Eberle, former president and chief executive officer of Grace Hill Settlement House and Health Center, will lecture on “The Impact of Professionalism and Elitism on Neighborhood Capacity Building From the Settlement House Perspective” at 1:10 p.m. Oct. 30 in Brown Hall Lounge. The lecture is co-sponsored by Grace Hill and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work in honor of Grace Hill’s 100th anniversary. After Eberle’s keynote address, there will be a panel discussion featuring representatives from the United Way, Urban Strategies Inc., the St. Louis community and GWB.

BernsteinNeil Bernstein, an expert in labor law and legal issues relating to striking workers and a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, analyzes the current state of the grocery strike in St. Louis and discusses the overall effectiveness of strikes with Mike Sampson of KWMU’s St. Louis on the Air on Oct. 27. Listen to the program from the KWMU Web site.

GriggsEconomic implications of the American Airlines decision to dramatically reduce flights from its St. Louis airport hub will be among the topics discussed in a free public forum on the “Future of the Airline Industry” to be held on campus Oct. 31. The discussion is timely since it comes one day before American Airlines plans to cut its St. Louis airport daily departing flights from 417 to 207. Keynote speaker is Michael Levine, a professor of law and management who directed federal airline deregulation efforts in the late 1970s and served as an executive at Northwest Airlines until 1999. Jan Druecker of the University of Illinois presents analysis on economic impact of job losses in region.