Arts & Sciences

As it approaches the 200th anniversary of publication, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” remains a cultural touchstone and a powerful metaphor for the dangers of science unchecked by social responsibility. See what Corinna Treitel, associate professor of history in Arts & Sciences, has to say about “Frankenstein’s” continued power to challenge and inform.

The “self” part of self-control can be a new concept for many college students. For years, they had parents and teachers to keep them on track. Then college comes, with its many demands and distractions, and students find themselves baffled by their own mistakes. Todd Braver, professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, helps students understand the complicated brain basis for self-control.

As a foreign correspondent, alumna Robin McDowell and a team of investigative reporters exposed the widespread use of slave labor in the fishing industry in Southeast Asia. Unbeknown to many, this seafood could end up in your local grocery store or favorite restaurant.

Abram Van Engen, associate professor of English in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has won a prestigious Public Scholar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Laura Cobb was struck by a drunken driver during her senior year at Washington University in 2008. She was seriously injured and today has aphasia, which severely limits her ability to speak. But she battled back, returned to school and graduated in May. She now works as a research technician on campus.

Stanley Arthur Sawyer, professor emeritus of mathematics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017. He was 77.

University College is hosting a solar eclipse watch party and ice cream social next week. Gather with others in the university community starting at noon Monday, Aug. 21, on Mudd Field. Those who RSVP will receive viewing glasses.

Co-hosted by Elizabeth Haswell, associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, Taproot is a new podcast that takes listeners behind the the curtain to reveal what it was really like to do the work so opaquely described in journal articles.

University College, the professional and continuing education division of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is now offering a 50 percent discount to full-time employees of St. Louis, Clayton and University City and their school districts. Charter school employees also are eligible.

Letty Chen, associate professor of modern Chinese language and literature in Arts & Sciences, delivered a lecture titled “Technology of Memory: How We Remember and How We Forget” in late June at the University of Hong Kong.