Arts & Sciences

The timing, process and archaeology of the peopling of Europe by early modern humans have been actively debated for more than a century. Reassessment of the anatomy and dating of a fragmentary upper jaw with three teeth from Kent’s Cavern in southern England has shed new light on these issues. 

Distinguished Visiting Scholar Jock Soto leads a master class for advanced ballet students Oct. 26 in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio in Mallinckrodt Student Center. Soto, an internationally acclaimed former principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, was in residence with the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences Oct. 23-30.

Ekphrasis is the literary description of a visual work of art. It is also a key apporach underlying the poetry of Cole Swensen, a former National Book Award nominee and Guggenheim Fellow. In each of her 14 collections, Swensen selects a single theme or subject, generally drawn from the arts or history, then explores it through her own writing process. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, the poet will read from her work for as part of the Writing Program’s fall Reading Series.

Historian Iver Bernstein, PhD, takes an exhaustive, interdisciplinary approach to any topic he studies. Colleagues say he asks the questions that no one else thinks to ask and brings fresh perspectives to the long-ago past. Bernstein is passionate about revealing unspoken or unremembered history that is suppressed in national stories. His book on The New York City Draft Riots is considered by some to be “the gold standard” on the topic.

Against a backdrop of harsh partisan political rancor, Steven S. Smith, PhD, the Kate M. Gregg Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, will present a series of three lectures in November on “The Dysfunctional Senate.”

Amal Al-Lozi, senior environmental biology major in Arts & Sciences, presents her work on temperate Oak-Hickory forests to Kelsey Brod, a junior in printmaking and environmental studies, at the Fall 2011 Undergraduate Research Symposium Oct. 22. The event, showcasing the summer projects of more than 150 undergraduates, was held during Parent & Family Weekend.

“Remembering 9/11: International Scholars’ Perspectives,” is the focus of a roundtable discussion to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday Oct. 27 in the Mallinckrodt Multipurpose Room on the lower level of Mallinckrodt Center, 6445 Forsyth Boulevard, Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

At the bottom of plants’ ability to sense touch, gravity or the proximity of a nearby trellis are mechanosensitive channels, pores through the cells’ plasma membrane that are opened and closed by the deformation of the membrane. Elizabeth Haswell, PhD, a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, is studying the roles these channels play in Arabidopsis plants by growing mutant plants that lack one or more of the 10 possible channel proteins in this species.

A string quartet from the St. Louis Symphony will join pianist Seth Carlin, professor of music in Arts & Sciences, and mezzo-soprano Debra Hillabrand, teacher of applied music, for a free concert featuring the music of Johannes Brahms (1833-97). Sponsored by the Department of Music and the St. Louis Symphony Community Partnership program, the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall.

Visiting choreographer Ting-Ting Chang (in black, second from the front) leads a master class in modern dance for the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences Oct. 4 in the Ann W. Olin Women’s Building. Chang, artistic director of the company DreamDance, was in residence with the PAD Oct. 2-7. In addition to leading master classes, she worked with students to set a piece for Kinetic Field Work, the 2011 Washington University Dance Theatre concert, which takes place Dec. 2-4 in Edison Theatre.