Arts & Sciences

The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Structural Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis is presenting a series of seminars and workshops on the topic of reducing the damage that would occur when a strong earthquake strikes the New Madrid fault area again.

Fatemeh Keshavarz, Ph.D., professor of Persian language and literature and chair of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages & Literatures in Arts & Sciences, will give the Assembly Series lecture at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 13, in Graham Chapel.

Courtesy photoKyôko Koizumi in *Hanging Garden* (2005).Washington University will host free screenings of two recent Japanese films at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15 and 16. The first, Hanging Garden (2005), explores the quirky soul of a dysfunctional clan struggling to survive amidst the pressures of the modern age. Linda Linda Linda (2005), which will be screened the following evening, traces the trials and triumphs of an all-girl band on the cusp of adulthood.

Author, environmentalist and multimedia artist Janet Kauffman, Ph.D., will read from her work at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 for the Writing Program in Arts & Sciences. The talk — part of The Writing Program’s spring Reading Series — is free and open to the public and takes place in Hurst Lounge, Room 201, Duncker Hall. […]

Courtesy photoFatemeh KeshavarzIn her most recent book, “Jasmine and Stars,” Keshavarz blends personal memoir with literary analysis and social commentary to break pervasive Western stereotypes of Iranians.

Image courtesy of NASA”How the Earth Works” is a boxed set of 48 30-minute video lectures developed and delivered by WUSTL’s Michael E. Wysession. The lectures explore every aspect of the Earth and are designed to appeal to the curious lay public.Videos have been the bailiwick of rock stars at least since the days of Bob Dylan. But now they’re spilling over into a new arena — academia. Michael E. Wysession, Ph.D., associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has 48 lectures on planet Earth coming out in a video format in February. It’s a sort of brainiac’s boxed set. Each 30-minute lecture focuses on an aspect of the Earth, from its origins and composition to its climate, orbit, pollution and relationship to human history.

Jane Maienschein, the Regents’ Professor and Chair of the Program for Science and Society at Arizona State University, will speak on “From Transplantation to Translation: Why History Matters in Stem Cell Research” at 4 p.m. Feb. 5 in Rebstock Hall, Room 322. Maienschein is the first of six speakers appearing this spring as part of the Center for the Humanities’ 2008 Faculty Fellows’ Lecture and Workshop Series. In addition, Maienschein will lead a workshop titled “Embryos in Context” at 12 p. m. Feb. 6.

Joseph Roach, Ph.D., former chair of the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences, will present the 2008 Helen Clanton Morrin Lecture at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, in the Ann W. Olin Women’s Building Formal Lounge. The lecture, titled “Shakespearean Romance & Epistolary Performances in the Age of Garrick,” is free and open […]

Commedia dell’arte was among the most popular entertainments of 16th- and 17th-century Italy and France, yet its slapstick humor, quirky costumes and use of improvisation have continued to influence performers from Vaudeville and Cirque du Soleil to television’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” This month, the Kingsbury Ensemble and Project Improv St. Louis will join […]

Acclaimed poet Erin Belieu will read from her work at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, for the Writing Program in Arts & Sciences. The talk — part of The Writing Program’s Reading Series — is free and open to the public and takes place in Hurst Lounge, Room 201, Duncker Hall. Belieu is the author […]