Arts & Sciences

Experts weigh in on the definition and context of a popular term.

Schubert borrowed from Beethoven. Public Enemy sampled Isaac Hayes. Ice Cube quoted Kool and the Gang while Brahms let drop with “Variations on a Theme from Haydn.” Hip-hop and classical music: perhaps not as different as you think. Old news to Wilner “Wil-B” Baptiste and Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester, a.k.a. Black Violin.

WUSTL High School Summer Experiences offers students from the United States and around the world a chance to experience all facets of college life in both for-credit and noncredit options. Programs range from one to five weeks, with both residential and commuter options.

The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is today among the most recognized cancer programs in the U.S. The longstanding support of Alvin Siteman (left) and his wife, Ruth, whose $35 million gift named the center in 1999, has been critical. Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, director of the Siteman Cancer Center, is on the right.

Jean Allman, PhD, the J.H. Hexter Professor in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences and chair of the Department of History, recently was named director of WUSTL’s Center for the Humanities. Allman shares some thoughts on the center’s ever-growing importance and role in highlighting the rich diversity of the humanities.

The McDonnell Distinguished Lecture this year will describe current understanding of the formation of the solar system, particularly its mix of rocky planets, gas giants and icy planets. The part of the story we have not nailed down, says speaker Alex N. Halliday, PhD, of Oxford University, is the origin of Earth’s moon. The lecture, which takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, in Whitaker Hall, Room 100, is free and open to the public.

Washington University in St. Louis students joined Bon Appétit staff in preparing maple syrup and other locally collected foods for brunch this month at Ibby’s Bistro, all for their class with biology senior lecturer Stan Braude, PhD. The students tapped Danforth Campus maple trees and collected berries on the South 40 and acorns in nearby Forest Park.

Charlie Robin, director of Edison Theatre, recommends the dancer-athletes of Diavolo. Diavolo is performing at the Touhill Center this Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 1.

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson, PhD, a leading expert on the impact of practices such as meditation on the brain, will give the annual Witherspoon Lecture on Religion and Science. The Assembly Series address, “Change your Brain by Transforming your Mind,” will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, in Graham Chapel.

A great party is no easy feat. In “Chacun à son goût (To each his own),” the decadent young charmer Prince Orlofsky reveals the secrets to choreographing a successful evening. On Feb. 28, soprano Kelly Pappageorge and the Washington University Symphony orchestra will perform Strauss’ famous aria, along with music of Bernstein and Dvořák.