The Common Reader

The Common Reader is published online and in print to further the intellectual reputation of Washington University in St. Louis as an international thought leader. Through freshly conceived, smartly written and rigorously argued articles, reviews and creative non-fiction drawn from diverse perspectives The Common Reader will engage the scientific and artistic ideas, social issues and current controversies of our time.

Posts by The Common Reader

Integrating the FBI

One of the first African American special agents for the FBI, and a veteran of the bureau’s Hoover years, reflects on the past and future of law enforcement’s engagement with minority communities. “The practice of community policing has, I believe, been a factor in the improvement of relations, but there is still a continuing battle to establish trust,” says retired agent Wayne Davis.