Humanities Division

As we approach the first COVID-19 winter in Seattle, a city with deep Scandinavian roots, a Scandinavian concept known as friluftsliv may also be a helpful model for continuing to spend time outdoors during the coldest, darkest time of the year. Andy Meyer, assistant teaching professor of Scandinavian studies at the UW, is quoted.

“You face failure every day as a writer,” says writer and professor Shawn Wong. In this wide-ranging conversation, Wong cracks open the door to the creative process and lets us peek in to understand the importance of representation in literature and why he teaches his students to tell the truth, not the facts.

Concerned about the lack of health coverage for undocumented individuals, UW senior Marium Raza is taking action.

Alumna in Gemanics Elisabeth Cnobloch and Professor Emeritus of Germanics Manfred Bansleben discuss their experience teaching German in prison.

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. 

Jennifer Bean, UW associate professor of cinema studies, suggests a few silent film viewing opportunities this fall.

A $500,000 grant from Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute to the University of Washington establishes the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Professor of Persian and Iranian Studies, named in honor of Dr. Mir-Djalali, the scholar and philanthropist who founded the Institute in 2000. 

UW Press looks back on a century of publishing, featuring works by Quintard Taylor and Bill Holms. George Behlmer’s 'Risky Shores’ honored.

The Southeast Asia Center will spearhead a new initiative to explore the effects of authoritarianism in Southeast Asia and on Southeast Asian American communities in the United States.

Shawn Wong is longtime University of Washington professor of English, but he is also an editor, novelist, screenwriter and activist on behalf of Asian American writers whose voices have been forgotten or marginalized by history.

The Department of English has introduced its new "Literature, Language, Culture" Dialogue Series, a series of podcasts and YouTube videos, and Devin Naar, UW professor of history and Jewish studies and chair of the Jackson School’s Sephardic Studies Program was a guest on two podcasts.

The Department of English has introduced its new “Literature, Language, Culture” Dialogue Series, a series of podcasts and YouTube videos in which UW humanities faculty discuss their research and teaching — “including the ways our work contributes to how we experience and seek to understand this time of global crisis.”

UW students, alumni, and faculty explain how COIVD-19 has disrupted Black life.

Emily M. Bender, a professor of computational linguistics explains virtual learning algorithms.

Anu Taranath, principle lecturer in the departments of English and Comparative History of Ideas, has received or been nominated for several awards for her book "Beyond Guilt Trips."