Arts & Sciences

You wouldn’t know it by current world events, but humans actually evolved to be peaceful, cooperative and social animals. In a new book, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis goes against the prevailing view and argues that primates, including early humans, evolved not as hunters but as prey of many predators, including wild dogs and cats, hyenas, eagles and crocodiles. Despite popular theories posed in research papers and popular literature, early man was not an aggressive killer, argues Robert W. Sussman, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences.

A Missouri mathematician believes that the state’s moniker has great bearing on the status of modern mathematical proofs: Show Me. Steven Krantz, Ph.D., professor of mathematics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, said that it is becoming more difficult to verify proofs today and that the concept of the proof has undergone serious change over the course of his 30-plus years career,

It is very common for cities to declare their intent to become the next telecommunications corridor, biotechnology hub, or some other kind of technological center. But what often goes unexamined is how the human resource development strategy aligns with the economic goals of the municipality. Building civic capacity to support the learning of science and mathematics is vitally important for St. Louis and other cities. To this end, partnerships between schools and universities to advance human development are critical, says William Tate, Ph.D., Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and Director of the St. Louis Center for Inquiry in Science Teaching and Learning.

“Improving Women’s Participation in Elected Office” will be the topic of discussion as women representing Missouri’s Republican and Democratic parties visit Washington University’s Hilltop Campus for a public forum at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in Room 201, Rebstock Hall.

Garber has authored four books devoted to the Bard; the most recent, Shakespeare After All, makes him more accessible to the common reader.

“Like all Shakespearean comedy, Much Ado deals with love and marriage,” says director Henry I. Schvey “But it’s also about misunderstanding, misinterpretation and disguise.”

The 70-plus-member orchestra will perform music of Ernest Bloch, Peter I. Tchaikovsky and Gay Holmes Spears at 3 p.m. Feb. 19 in Graham Chapel.

She’s the author of three collections of poetry: Fire in the Conservatory (1982); The Woman Who Died in Her Sleep (1996); and Waterborne (2002).

“30 Years of Sisterhood,” a documentary film on the 1970s genesis of Japan’s women’s liberation movement, will be in the campus spotlight Feb. 28 as Washington University hosts a group of Japanese activists, filmmakers and scholars now touring the nation to promote the project. Plans call for a special screening of the film at 3 p.m. Feb. 28 in Room 201, Crow Hall, followed by a panel discussion and reception. Sponsored by the Visiting East Asian Professionals (VEAP) program and the Women and Gender Studies program, both in Arts & Sciences.

In just six months of collaboration, a Department of Energy grand challenge led by Washington University in St. Louis has resulted in the sequencing and annotation of a cyanobacterium that could yield clues to how environmental conditions influence key carbon fixation processes at the gene-mRNA-protein levels in an organism.