Arts And Science

A brain-mapping study has found that people's ability to make decisions in novel situations decreases with age and is associated with a reduction in the integrity of two specific white-matter pathways. Read More

Amy-Jill Levine explores the shared heritage of Christianity and Judaism Amy-Jill Levine (Daniel Dubois/Vanderbilt) Amy-Jill Levine was always fascinated by Christianity. She recalls singing Christmas carols in public school in North Dartmouth, Mass.; joining friends to trim Christmas trees and hunt for Easter eggs. Then a schoolmate accused her,… Read More

More than 150 professors and graduate students from across the nation with expertise in Southern writing and related topics will gather in Nashville March 29-31 for the Society for the Study of Southern Literature’s biannual conference. Read More

Watch video of the most recent presentation in the Berry Lectures in Public Philosophy that took place on March 15 with Jeffrey Tlumak, associate professor of philosophy. He discussed “Do We Have Free Will? Why Does It Matter?” “The Berry Lectures in Public Philosophy provide a wonderful opportunity to… Read More

Vanderbilt physicists report that they have nailed down the source of the interference inhibiting the rapid flow of electrons through graphene-based devices and found a way to suppress it. Read More

Because racial identification is much more fluid in Latin America and the Caribbean than it is in the United States, researchers with Vanderbilt’s Latin American Public Opinion Project used actual skin color rather than racial identity to examine the effect of ethnicity on equality issues like class and educational attainment. Read More

Teach Twice shares stories from other cultures to create opportunities for change L-r: Whitley O’Connor, Grace Appert, David Schroeder, Trevor Burbank, Dan Litzow, Grace Stearns and Caroline Martin are members of the Teach Twice team. (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt) What do those in developing countries – where poverty is widespread and… Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case this fall that could put new limits on the ability of colleges and universities to use race as a factor in admissions decisions. Legal and African American Studies experts from Vanderbilt are available to speak with media about these issues. Read More

Rebecca Traister, a Salon.com senior writer who covered the 2008 presidential race from a feminist and personal perspective, will speak at Vanderbilt University’s Stevenson Center at 7 p.m. Feb. 22. Read More

Meet sociology professor Laura Carpenter, Vanderbilt's resident "sexpert." Her research interests include virginity loss and how chronic illness affects the sex lives of patients. Read More

Vanderbilt psychologist David Schlundt weighs in on the issue of whether or not cutting calories is bound to lead to binge eating and explains why we need to "personalize" our diets. Read More

Nuclear physicist Joseph Hamilton (Daniel Dubois / Vanderbilt) The year has gotten off to a good start for modern-day alchemists like Vanderbilt physicists Joe Hamilton and A.V. Ramayya who are engaged in the extremely challenging scientific endeavor of extending the periodic table by creating new… Read More

Watch video of María Elisa Velásquez delivering the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities’ 2012 Black Atlantic Lecture Feb. 2. Renowned experts on preservation of African and Afro-descended slave records gathered at Vanderbilt Feb. 2-4 to launch the university’s new Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies digital archive and… Read More

Watch video from the December 7 Thinking Out of the Lunchbox event featuring Robert Talisse, professor of philosophy, speaking on “Faith in Democracy.” Citizens in a democratic society share political power as equals. This equality entails that the exercise of political power is legitimate only when it can be justified by… Read More

Every day, Vanderbilt students head into the university’s libraries to conduct research toward their degrees. For some of these students, the chance to do research in the library opens doors for their careers. That doesn’t surprise Carolyn Dever, dean of the College of Arts and Science. “Students benefit from their… Read More

Watch video of a forum discussing a new nominating process for 2012 presidential election. Americans Elect is providing voters the opportunity to directly nominate a presidential candidate outside the two-party system for the 2012 presidential election. Through AmericansElect.org, every registered voter can sign up to become a delegate and participate. Read More

Professor of Astronomy David Weintraub wanted his students to remember more of what they learned in his introductory class than the answers to typical questions on a quiz show. That was a strong impetus for his book How Old Is The Universe? It strives to make astronomy understandable… Read More

Watch video from the October 5 Thinking Out of the Lunchbox event. David Hess, professor of sociology, spoke on “Building the Local Living Economy.” Two of the great problems facing our 21st-century world are the economic and environmental crises. Increasingly we see that proposed solutions link economic development with the… Read More

Astronomer David Weintraub has given introductory astronomy a “CSI” format by following the scientific evidence that gives us the age of the universe and has put this in a popular science book. Read More

New center director explores connections between humanities and medicine Jonathan Metzl (John Russell/Vanderbilt) Jonathan Metzl was born into medicine but is drawn to the humanities. He’s still insisting on having it both ways. The new director of Vanderbilt’s Center for Medicine, Health and Society is the son… Read More