Education & Society

Throughout her long tenure in the Jackson County prosecutor’s office, Baker has served in nearly every unit. In 2012 she was elected as its leader.

A brief rundown of Adam Foss’s early years shows a trajectory that aligns with his choices as an adult: Born in Columbia and adopted by an Irish-American family from Massachusetts; experienced childhood as one of color in a small town; arrested at age 19 for marijuana possession but got off easy because his father was a white police officer; was a first-generation college student; took a class on restorative justice which inspired him to seek a law degree; interned at a small municipal court in an impoverished and dangerous Boston neighborhood.

Through his several books on the growth, preparation and consumption of food, Michael Pollan has shown us the way toward food enlightenment. Now with his 8th book, he is leading us on another enlightened journey, one that holds the promise of peace of mind for millions suffering from serious mental disorders such as PTSD.

The proliferation and popularity of podcasts — especially among millennials — have created many new media stars, but few are shining as brightly as Barbaro, the host of The Daily, the New York Times’ entry into the podisphere with millions of devoted listeners. It was the most-downloaded new show on Apple Podcasts last year, with five million listeners a month at last count, and will more than one million tuning in each day.

It may seem as though the #metoo hashtag campaign came out of nowhere; in fact, it was 25 years in the making, built on the back of Tarana Burke’s lifelong dedication to developing support structures for young women of color who survived sexual violence. Burke was lifted from relative obscurity at the January 2018 broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards when she joined actresses Michelle Williams and Reese Witherspoon on stage to announce the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund for victims of sexual violence and inequality in the workplace.

Novelist and filmmaker Dai was born in Chengdu, Sichuan in 1954. He moved to France in 1984 on a scholarship to study art, then turned to filmmaking. Before writing “Balzac,” in French, he made three critically-acclaimed films.

For her dedication as a judge, Van den Wyngaert, a native of Antwerp, Belgium, was ennobled in 2013 as a baroness by King Albert II of Belgium.

In 1987, Washington University welcomed its inaugural class of 11 John B. Ervin Scholars. Thirty years on, more than 600 Ervin Scholars have graduated, and many of them will converge on campus to attend the 30th anniversary conference.

Christopher Newfield says America is undergoing an educational crisis. He claims that for the first time in our history, we are graduating a generation that is less well educated than the one that preceded it.

British archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson and his research team had unprecedented access to Stonehenge and its surroundings, and his research findings are replacing centuries of speculation with facts. He will share them at an Assembly Series program at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium.

“The anthropological concept of culture is extremely important and often misunderstood because many of the things that are assumed to be biologically determined, like criminality or homosexuality or IQ, are really behaviorally and societally defined.” This quote from Robert W. Sussman, PhD, professor of physical anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, forms the basis for his Phi Beta Kappa/Sigma Xi Lecture. “The Importance of the Concept of Culture to Science and Society,” part of the university’s Assembly Series, will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium.

In Stephen Prothero's talk, "Why Liberals Win: America's Culture Wars from the Election of 1800 to Same-Sex Marriage," he asserts that religion lies at the heart of our American identity and, unless we become religiously literate, it will continue to divide us as a nation.

The James E. McLeod Memorial Lecturer, Roderick Ferguson, discussed “The University and the Combinations of Heart and Mind” on September 29, 2014, in Umrath Hall Lounge. The McLeod Lecture is presented annually by the Center for the Humanities and addresses topics concerning diversity and higher education.

On April 14, 2015 at 5 p.m. in Umrath Hall Lounge, veteran journalist Carla Power talked about "Reading the Quran at Starbucks: An American Secular Feminist and a Traditional Muslim Scholar Find Commonalities."

Eddie Huang's story is at once singular and universal, for many children of immigrants must find their own way within two often conflicting cultures, but he forged his own path to success. Now he tells his own story: The story of a bright, brash and ambitious Taiwanese kid who never allowed anyone to define him.

Melvin Oliver’s long and distinguished career has been devoted to understanding and addressing the complex factors that contribute to deep racial disparities in wealth. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, he will give a talk on “Income and Wealth Inequality.” The lecture will be held at 4:30 p.m. in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom.

On February 26, 4:30 p.m. in Graham Chapel, Radiolab hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich talked about "Celebrating Curiosity - Celebrating Arts & Sciences."

On February 17, 2015 at 6 p.m. in Graham Chapel, Reza Aslan, delivered the Washington University Foreign Policy Engagement Lecture on faith, extremism and democracy.

On September 30, 2014, Ruth Simmons, the 18th president of Brown University and the first African-American president of an Ivy League university, talked about "The State of Conscience in University Life Today."