Humanities

Centuries ago, writers depicted the natural world as terrifying and dangerous, no place for humans. But that fear, in the decades to come, gradually turned to appreciation, awe and joy, for poets and artists, sightseers and backpackers. This episode features Louisa Mackenzie, associate professor of Comparative History of Ideas.

The autobiography of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, was a standard bearer of the abolitionist movement. Having escaped slavery as a young man, Douglass became a famous activist, orator, statesman and businessman. But it is another aspect of his story that is just as intriguing to Habiba Ibrahim, professor of English at the University of Washington: Douglass never knew, nor is there an official record of, his exact age.

“Dover Beach,” a poem by 19th century British writer Matthew Arnold, can be read as both a romantic lament and, as many scholars have concluded, a dark, existential commentary on the loss of religious faith. Through close reading, a way of reading for insight, not information, English Professor Charles LaPorte dissects “Dover Beach.”

What marks the start of the Anthropocene – the geological epoch marked by human impact on the planet? The debate hinges, in part, on how we define “signature events,” the important information left behind as clues. But finding signature events transcends the study of the Anthropocene; it’s how we read to make meaning of a text, a collection of data, even a piece of art. This episode features Jesse Oak Taylor, associate professor of English.

The Mo Habib Translation Prize is bringing the work of Persian writers — and translators of Persian — to an English-language audience. 

Husky football players and other UW athletes explored Rome through a ten-day study abroad program led by Classics Professor Jim Clauss. 

A poem by alum Patricia Clark (BA, 1974), about a UW astronomy class she took 51 years ago, is now headed to the moon on a NASA flight. 

"The COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the deep need that people feel for human touch and connection in hospital settings. Having relatives peering through windows at their loved ones or unable to enter hospitals altogether exacerbated the lack of human intimacy that is all too common in health care settings" writes Marlaine Gray, affiliate assistant professor of anthropology at the UW.

Nazry Bahrawi, Assistant Professor of Southeast Asian literature and culture, inaugurates Asian Languages & Literature's quarterly column in the Northwest Asian Weekly.

In KUOW's new program, "Words in Review," host Bill Radke and Sarah Stroup, professor of classics at the UW, take a virtual trip to the rocky Mediterranean to learn why we say "governor," but also, "gubernatorial."

Congratulations to Brian Reed, Milliman Endowed Chair of Humanities, who has been reappointed for an additional three-year term as Divisional Dean of Humanities.

Is AI going to kill us? Or take our jobs? Or is the whole thing overhyped? Depends on who you ask. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Known to millions as Grammar Girl, successful author and podcaster Mignon Coughlin Fogarty got her start as a UW English major. 

"Americans spend more than half a billion dollars annually on 150 million units of imported Christmas lights. U.S. News & World Report ranks the best Christmas light displays. And ABC’s reality TV show “The Great Christmas Light Fight” recently premiered its 10th season. Christmas lights, in short, are not only ubiquitous but also central to American culture. But that has not always been the case. The man credited with popularizing Christmas lights in the early 20th century, Albert Sadacca, had never celebrated Christmas. In fact, he was a Jew from the Muslim world," writes Devin Naar, associate professor of history and Jewish studies at the UW.

Public Art is a tough genre, which might explain why most of it is so perfunctory, but a tour of Seattle's light rail stations unearths some striking artwork. School of Art + Art History + Design Assistant Professor Whitney and alum Mary Ann Peters are quoted.