Department of History

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.

For several months between the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023, two or three researchers at the UW headed to the Puget Sound Regional Archives in Bellevue and spent each Friday digging into Kitsap County deed books — specifically, around 300 bound volumes and 520 documents between 1921 and 1948. The purpose was to identify and map neighborhoods marked by racist deed provisions and restrictive covenants across the state before 1968. Sophia Dowling, project coordinator with the UW Racial Restrictive Covenants Project, is quoted, and team members Erin Miller and Samantha Cutts are mentioned.

Historically, presidential candidates and their teams have weighed a number of factors — including public opinion and political experience — before making a decision on the number two slot sometime around the party conventions. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

Boeing is still a force locally, both in influence and sheer numbers. The company still receives very generous tax benefits from Washington, notes Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW. Yet its presence in the region isn’t top of mind for many anymore.

In the first of the history department’s annual History Lecture Series, Professor Emeritus John Findlay presented “City and Citizens: Seattleites and Their Rights, 1850-2000,” reflecting on different groups that have immigrated to Seattle.

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.

According to a 2021 survey by Vox and Data for Progress, 37% of Americans think billionaires are terrible role models, and 49% said they have overall negative feelings towards them. And the heat is felt most prominently by the big-name tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

After internal chaos earlier this month, OpenAI replaced the women on its board with men. As it plans to add more seats, Timnit Gebru, Sasha Luccioni and other AI luminaries tell WIRED why they wouldn't join. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

"Often, we use social media as a link — this incredible resource to connect us to the people and places we love. As disinformation, decontextualization, and propaganda increase across X, TikTok, and other sites, users need to assess what the sources are for the information they are consuming," writes Danielle Marie Holland. Liora Halperin, professor of history and international studies, is quoted.

Tech welcomes big characters, and many successful founders become synonymous with their brands. The incentive structures of Silicon Valley — and the huge sums that can be gained from selling stories rather than functional products — mean that the door remains open for other people to follow in Bankman-Fried's tracks. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

Police facing criminal charges for deaths caused on duty are exceedingly rare. Over the past century, just six deaths at the hands of police have resulted in criminal charges in Washington state. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is quoted.

Sam Altman thinks the technology underpinning his company’s most famous product could bring about the end of human civilization. The UW's Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics, and Margaret O'Mara, professor of history, are quoted.

"You belong here. This place will change you and you will change it. I belong here, too, and I am forever grateful for the ways I’ve been changed by the students, staff, and faculty in my part of the UW community." - Andrea Woody, Divisional Dean of the Social Sciences

Israeli strikes on Gaza continue as the conflict between Hamas militants and Israel enters its eleventh day. The Israeli Defense Force now says more than 1,400 people were killed in the Oct. 7 massacre, where Hamas fighters targeted families in their homes, young people at a dance music festival and several Israeli military border bases. Hamas also captured nearly 200 hostages. The dead include Hayim Katsman, who studied at the UW Jackson School of International Studies. The UW's Liora Halperin, professor of history and international studies, and Smadar Ben-Natan, postdoctoral fellow in Israel studies, are quoted.

"My parents had always encouraged me to go to college but as an Autistic kid from the middle of nowhere, I thought I wouldn’t be able to succeed in higher education and was destined for a small-town life. It wasn’t until Mr. Sugitan, my 10th grade English teacher, pushed the class to consider college and took our class on a field trip to UW that I could see myself succeeding in a big university like UW. Thanks to his encouragement, I dedicated myself to going to a university, preferably UW." - Sariah Burdett (B.A., History, Korean, and Asian Languages & Cultures, 2022), Program Coordinator, Department of French & Italian Studies