Humanities & Society

Fighting rising antisemitism in the U.S. will require a dramatic shift in civility and a renewed focus on teaching history and religion, according to Mark Oppenheimer, at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. “The humanities don’t inoculate against hatred, but they give us the tools to fight it.”

President Donald Trump has made headlines recently for threatening to stop federal funding of “any college, school or university that allows illegal protests.” However, there is no such thing as an “illegal” protest, said an expert on constitutional law in the School of Law. The First Amendment explicitly protects the right of peaceable assembly.

What would America look like if there were no state governments? Stephen H. Legomsky, the John S. Lehmann University Professor Emeritus at WashU Law, tackles that question in his new book, “Reimagining the American Union: The Case for Abolishing State Government,” published by Cambridge University Press.

WashU Advocates are raising awareness about the university’s mission with government officials, communicating how WashU works to solve societal challenges and improve lives.

Politicians often claim to know what kind of government the founders would have wanted. Presidential historian Peter Kastor was struck by the relative lack of scholarship around an obvious follow-up question: What kind of government did the founders actually create?

Abram Van Engen, chair of the Department of English in Arts & Sciences, has been named the next director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. Van Engen has published widely on religion and literature.

New research from the Department of Political Science in Arts & Sciences found that women in the U.S. House of Representatives are more likely to emphasize their home districts.

How do origin stories influence political campaigns? Arts & Sciences professors illuminate ‘The Stories That Win.’

Students in the social choice systems class at Washington University are learning about design challenges in social choice systems like redistricting.

Andrea Katz, an expert on presidential power at WashU Law, says Trump’s threats to bypass Senate approval of controversial Cabinet nominees could turn the process on its head.