Arts & Sciences

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has appointed two new deans, according to Richard J. Smith, PhD, dean of the graduate school and the Ralph E. Morrow Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology. Rafia Zafar, PhD, has been named associate dean for diversity and inclusiveness, and Jacaranda van Rheenen, PhD, is assistant dean for graduate student affairs.

The following are among the new faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis: Parag Banerjee, PhD; Danielle Dutton, PhD; Josh Jackson, PhD; Kristina Kleutghen, PhD; Charlie Kurth, PhD; Zhao Ma, PhD; Paulo Natenzon, PhD; Jay Ponder, PhD; Elizabeth Quinn, PhD; and Lucia Strader, PhD. Others will be introduced periodically.

Is it a comic book? A radio play? A conquering sludge monster from outer space? Yes! The Intergalactic Nemesis: Live-Action Graphic Novel is all that and more. Follow intrepid reporter Molly Sloan, her trusty assistant Timmy Mendez and mysterious librarian Ben Wilcott as they race against time and fight to save humanity from impending invasion. The resistance begins at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19, as part of the Edison Ovations Series at Washington University.

Washington University in St. Louis recently was named one of the top producers of U.S. Fulbright students, based on outcomes of the 2011-2012 competition. The Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, recently announced the complete list of top-producing colleges and universities in the Oct. 24 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

“Well, Anatol,” says Max, “I envy you.” And what’s not to envy? Anatol is young, rich and good-looking, blessed with charm and taste and a hedonistic nature, unencumbered by family, scruple or employment. Later this month, Washington University’s Performing Arts Department will present an original adaptation of Anatol, Arthur Schnitzler’s strikingly modern deconstruction of a dapper but self-deluding would-be Don Juan.

In American Romances, her 13th book and first collection of essays, Rebecca Brown bobs and weaves though 300 years of American history, mixing social and literary critique with pop culture, autobiography, playful fantasy and misremembered movie plots, riffing on the stories we tell and the stories we don’t. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, Brown will read from her work as part of The Writing Program’s fall Reading Series.

Greece’s government is teetering on the brink of collapse, backing away Nov. 3 from a referendum on staying in the Euro. While events continue to evolve and change rapidly, Greece is likely to default on its entire debt, says an economist at Washington University in St. Louis.

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.