Brian Nosek
It’s become commonplace to hear reports on new research study findings, especially if they may apply to large groups of people. The majority of study results that are produced by researchers throughout the sciences and the social sciences and enter the media stream are conducted by distinguished academics and published in prestigious scholarly journals. The resultant findings become part of the core knowledge base by which we as a society advance our understanding of the world.
Richard Davidson
On March 5, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. in Graham Chapel, Richard Davidson, neuroscientist and one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of contemplative practices such as meditation on the brain, talked about “Change Your Brain by Transforming Your Mind.”
Thomas Maier and Michelle Ashford
A half-century ago, American societal beliefs about sex, and the medical establishment’s understanding of the term and all it implies, were changed forever with the publication of “Human Sexual Response.”
The findings, based on the unique methodology of two Washington University researchers — William Masters and Virginia Johnson — sent shock waves through the nation and provided impetus for the cultural upheaval begun in the 1960s and which continues today.
“Contagion and Culture: A Conversation about Ebola”
On March 4, 2015, Shanti Parikh moderated a panel discussion on the cultural implications of an ebola outbreak, featuring: Adia Benton, Steven Lawrence, Corinna Treitel, and Priscilla Wald.
Susannah Cahalan
On February 18, 2013 at 5p.m. in Simon Hall, alumna Susannah Cahalan talked about her book “Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness.” The book chronicles her ordeal with a rare medical condition.
Carl Hart
On October 10, 2014 Carl Hart, neuropsychopharamacologist at Columbia University, delivered the annual Chancellor’s Fellows Lecture on “Demystifying the Science of Drug Addiction: Neuroscience, Self-discovery, Race and U.S. Drug Policy.”
Catharine MacKinnon
On November 14, 2013 at 12 p.m. in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom, Catharine MacKinnon, a principal architect of landmark sex equality laws in the United States, talked about “Trafficking, Prostitution, and Inequality.”
Ellen Gustafson
On September 23, 2011 food activist Ellen Gustafson talked about “A New Understanding of Hunger, Obesity and the Food System.”
Eric Kandel
On October 28, 2014 at 5 p.m. in Graham Chapel, Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel talked about “The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind and Brain from Vienna 1900 to the Present.”
Luke Dittrich
Before joining Esquire and The New York Times Magazine as a contributing editor, Dittrich wrote for Atlanta magazine, The Oxford American, and Egypt Today. In 2012, he won the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing for his Esquire story covering the Joplin, Missouri tornado.
Sandra Fluke
Attorney and women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke, who last February testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on the need to provide access to contraception, will kick off the spring lecture series sponsored by the Danforth Center on Religion & Politics.
Helen Fisher
On April 4, 2014 anthropologist Helen Fisher gave a talk on “Lust, Romance, Attachment: The Drive to Love and Whom We Choose.” Her investigations of romantic love, its evolution, biochemical foundations and importance to human society are informing and transforming the way we understand ourselves.
Dan Ariely
In Dan Ariely’s first two books, both New York Times bestsellers, Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality, the behavioural economist shows how, despite best intentions, we often fail to act in our own best interests.With his third book, The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone – Especially Ourselves, Ariely has turned his attention to studying dishonesty in American culture. He has some surprising findings to share at an Assembly Series presentation at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, in Graham Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.
Rachel Pruchno
Rachel Pruchno, the distinguished developmental psychologist and expert on aging, knows all too well how mental illness not only ravages the sufferer, it also devastates their families. For her, the tragic effects of mental illness on a family were experienced not once but twice: first when her mother’s battle with manic depression ended in suicide; and again as a mother with a deeply troubled daughter whose mental afflictions led to her death.
Jennifer Eberhardt
Psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt investigates how subtle racial biases are interpreted in the brain.
Jeremy Courtney
On September 19, 2011 at 5 PM at the May Auditorium in Simon Hall, storyteller Jeremy Courtney talked about “Reconciliation through Healing.”
Jonathan Gruber
On October 4, 2013 at 6 p.m. in Brown Hall, Jonathan Gruber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist and renowned health care expert, talked about “Health-care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works.”
Michelle Oberman
Michelle Oberman, the Katharine and George Alexander Professor of Law at Santa Clara University, presented on the battle over abortion law.
Ericka Hart
Ericka Hart, social justice advocate and sexuality educator, delivered the 2019 Masters and Johnson Annual Lecture. Hart’s practice is rooted in radical thought around human sexual expression as inextricable to health and its intersections with race, gender, chronic illness and disability.
David J. Morris
In David Morris’ influential book, “The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” the former infantry officer turned journalist embedded with U.S. military forces during the Iraqi War relives his struggle for survival in an attempt to understand and recover from the debilitating mental injury known as PTSD, so that others can understand and get help.