Department of History

Happening September 18–27, 2024, Dawg Daze offers more than 500 events hosted by student organizations and UW departments. Kick off the fall quarter and celebrate a return to campus with these can’t-miss recommendations from the College of Arts & Sciences!

The new movie “AfrAId" is among two centuries of entertainment about malicious artificial intelligence. Why are we so obsessed? Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

"In the Old Town of Rhodes, a picturesque tourist destination in the Aegean Sea, stands a monument to a dark period in the island’s past. In the former “Djuderia,” the Jewish quarter, a marble obelisk commemorates the deportation of the island’s small but vibrant Sephardic Jewish community to Auschwitz-Birkenau on July 23, 1944," writes Devin Naar, associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at the UW.

Sudan has been at the center of a deadly and brutal war for over a year. It's the site of the world's largest hunger crisis, and the world's largest displacement crisis. Christopher Tounsel, associate professor of history at the UW, is interviewed.

"The first comprehensive federal immigration legislation in the history of the U.S., the 1924 law solidified features of the immigration system with us today: visa requirements, the Border Patrol, and the category of the 'illegal alien.' Even as the primary targets of immigration restrictionism have shifted over the century, the consequences for immigrants and their communities remain profoundly shaped by the system created in 1924," writes Devin Naar, associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at the UW.

In a survey conducted six months after San Juan County's 32-hour workweek’s October start date, 83% of employees said it had improved their work-life balance, and 78% their mental health. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

The story of how the USS Turner Joy ended up in middle of one of the defining events of the 20th century, starts deep in the heart of the ship — the Combat Information Center. Christoph Giebel, associate professor of history and of international studies, is quoted.

The College of Arts & Sciences celebrates undergraduate and graduate students from across all four divisions, who are recognized for making the most of their time at the UW. 

A program set to launch in July will enable families affected by housing discrimination to get financial assistance for home purchases. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is quoted.

“3 Body Problem,” a Netflix adaptation of the popular Chinese sci-fi novel by the same name, is causing controversy in China for its depiction of the Cultural Revolution. How do the Chinese people see this crucial period of their history? Madeleine Dong, professor of history at the UW, is interviewed.

The University of Washingtonâs graduate and professional degree programs were widely recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Reportâs 2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings released late Monday.

The 2024 presidential election will potentially trigger even more people to move both within and outside of the US. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is mentioned.

Last week, children's book author JK Rowling tweeted some more nonsense about transgender people. In this case, she disputed the fact that Nazis destroyed early research on the community. Laurie Marhoefer, professor of history at the UW, is featured.

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.