Fall 2023 & Spring 2024 Events
Join Arts & Sciences in person or online for this series of events celebrating the power our disciplines have to transform thinking, spread new ideas, and create changemakers. All events are free and open to the public as we highlight the impact of Arts & Sciences among our worldwide network of alumni and supporters.
The Science of Cats and the Future of Nature with Jonathan Losos
Monday, December 11, 2023
5 - 6 p.m.: (CST) Lecture and Q&A
6 - 7 p.m.: Post-event reception
Wrighton Hall 300
Join us for this event co-hosted by the WashU Alumni Association and Arts & Sciences.
The domestic cat—your cat—has, from its evolutionary origins in Africa, been transformed in comparatively little time into one of the most successful and diverse species on the planet. Learn why Jonathan Losos, the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor and director of the Living Earth Collaborative, is teaching a course on cats and how this work relates to the university’s efforts to conserve biodiversity and sustain life on Earth. In his presentation, Losos offers key revelations from his recent book, "The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa," and explores how scientists are using all the cutting-edge tools of biodiversity science (GPS tracking, genomics, forensic archaeology) to understand where cats came from, why they do what they do, and what the future may hold.
All are welcome at this free lecture and post-event reception celebrating the Power of Arts & Sciences.
Introduction by Feng Sheng Hu, the Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences and Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor
This event will be held in person and livestreamed.
Inaugural Dean's Distinguished Lecture with Carl Phillips
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
4 p.m. (CDT)
Clark-Fox Forum, Hillman Hall
This Power of Arts & Sciences event presents the inaugural Dean's Distinguished Lecture with Carl Phillips, professor of English and winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.
The author of 16 books of poetry and a four-time finalist for the National Book Award, Phillips received the Pulitzer for his latest collection, "Then The War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020." The book has been described as "a masterful collection that chronicles American culture as the country struggles to make sense of its politics, of life in the wake of a pandemic, and of our place in a changing society."
Learn more about Phillips' writing and teaching in this recent Ampersand magazine Q&A
Introduction by Feng Sheng Hu, the Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences and Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor
This event will be held in person and livestreamed.
More details and registration information coming soon.