Humanities

The UW's new Global Literary Studies major encourages students to explore literary traditions from around the globe and all eras of human history.

In Singapore’s growing microcosm of modern multiculturalism, literary translators bridge people across walks of life. These skilled story-weavers shoulder the responsibility of making our far-reaching roots accessible to readers around the world. Nazry Bahrawi, Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Literature, is quoted.

"Interesting, frustrating, and necessary,” is how Sarah Levin-Richardson, professor of Classics, describes her research into the lives of enslaved individuals in the ancient world. 

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of HistoryLink.org, Pacific NW Magazine lists 10 key events in Seattle's history. Harold Tobin, professor of Earth and space sciences, and Josh Reid, associate professor of American Indian studies at the UW, are quoted, and the founding of the UW Black Student Union is mentioned.

Americans are moving within the country far less often than they once did. The peak of U.S. migration followed the end of World War II and lasted through the mid-1970s. But while overall migration is down, state-to-state moves are slowly on the rise again. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is quoted.

The Department of Health has received over 300 complaints from detainees about the facility’s conditions. A state law meant to give state agencies more oversight is tied up in court. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice and of international studies and director of the Center for Human Rights at the UW, is quoted.

A group of Arts & Sciences faculty known as the Dean’s Academy Futurists are  imagining what higher education might look like after 2050 and envisioning new models for the liberal arts

You don’t interrupt your quiet life in a Seattle suburb and book a plane ticket to war-torn Sudan unless you have a really good reason. Not right now, in the middle of a brutal conflict between rival forces that’s killed more than 12,000 people and displaced 7 million. Christopher Tounsel, associate professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

"Asian communities in Washington are changing, and our state’s century-old Asian languages department must change as well. Comparison of the U.S. 2020 Census results with the previous 2010 Census demonstrates that Asian demographics in our state and region are undergoing dramatic changes," writes Zev Handel, professor and department chair of Asian languages and literature at the UW.

“Almost 80 million people speak Telugu,” says Hanuma Kodavalla. “Not many people know its richness as a language and culture.” He and his wife recently established the Hanuma and Anuradha Kodavalla Endowed Chair in Telugu at the UW, providing an invaluable investment in the College of Arts & Sciences and Department of Asian Languages & Literature. 

In collaboration with the UW Polish Studies Endowment Committee, award-winning poet and UW assistant professor Piotr Florczyk dedicated an event to the reading and discussion of poetry in Polish and English. Contributing writer Avery Cook dives into the importance of bilingual writing and writers.

“Killers of the Flower Moon," the 2017 true crime book, and its new feature film adaptation, shine a light on the conspiracy to murder Osage people for their oil rights in early 1920s Oklahoma. Jean Dennison, associate professor of American Indian Studies at the UW, is interviewed.

When you hear a cover of a favorite song, comparisons are inevitable. There are obvious similarities – the lyrics, the melody – but there are also enough differences to make each version unique. Those deviations say more than you might expect. Maya Angela Smith, associate professor of French, introduces translation studies through the lens of the song "Ne Me Quitte Pas."

An empty wallet, a hairbrush, a diaper. These are just a few of the items left behind by migrants at the United States-Mexico border, photographed for a 2021 article in the Los Angeles Times. In this episode, Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Studies Diana Ruíz discusses how the same images can be used on both sides of the same debate. In this case, pro- and anti-immigration.

Who gets to be a superhero? What about a villain? It depends on where you look. In the 1940s, comic book villains were often distinguished from heroes through physical disability. That changed in the 1960s and 70s, when it became more common for heroes to be built around disability. In this episode, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures José Alaniz analyzes the physical depictions of superheroes and villains through the decades.