Social Sciences Division

"Trees can cushion urban areas from heat waves … This also means that trees reduce energy costs for running fans and air conditioners, a crucial issue for poor households that tend to spend a higher share of their household budgets on energy," write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

Jana Mohr Lone, Director of the UW Center for Philosopy for Children, discusses her new book.

“Falling fertility and rising longevity are neither accidents nor the inevitable result of personal choice. They are the signs of the multifactor, multiform advances that reflect the beneficial side of modernization. A good deal of this represents the investment wealthier countries have made in scientific knowledge, its applications to medicine and public health, and over time (and with delays), making this available to the rest of the world,” writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW.

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis and the coalition behind him believes he’s found the right formula to take on the city’s homeless crisis. That formula is the JustCare program, a collaboration between the city and a coalition of businesses, service providers and outreach teams that work together to get the unsheltered into housing while also keeping public spaces clear without the need to involve police. Katherine Beckett, professor of sociology at the UW, is referenced.

Mark Igra, graduate student in sociology, explains the results of his new study on digital fund-raising equality.

Mesopotamians turned a community tomb on the Euphrates into a battle monument. Stephanie Selover, adjunct assistant professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted.

Online charity drives help some in need, but don’t expect them to fill the gaps in the social safety net. Mark Igra, a graduate student in sociology at the UW, and Nora Kenworthy, an associate professor of nursing and health studies at UW Bothell, are quoted.

This week, attend several museum exhibitions, the Indigenous walking tour, and more.

House Bill 1016 will make Juneteenth a legal Washington state holiday starting next year. This Saturday, June 19, will mark the first Juneteenth since Gov. Jay Inslee signed the bill into law. Work by Quintard Taylor, professor emeritus of history at the UW, is quoted.

This week, President Biden signed a law making Juneteenth a national holiday. But there are myths and omissions surrounding the telling of this day and that period in history, according to LaTaSha Levy, an assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the University of Washington, and it’s critical to understand the past and present need to fight for, and celebrate, Black freedom.

Amazon wants to cut carbon emissions by 2040 through its no-strings-attached pledge program. The UW’s Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science, are quoted.

During the first several months of the pandemic — when communities locked down, jobs were lost, PPE was scarce and store shelves were cleared — thousands of people turned to online crowdfunding to meet their needs. But a new University of Washington analysis of requests and donations to the popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe, along with Census data, shows stark inequities in where the money went and how much was donated.

“As an increasingly vaccinated world emerges from lockdowns, lots of people are talking about whether the fight against the pandemic was too strong or too weak. Some people argue restrictions did not go far enough; others maintain the attempted cures have been worse than the disease. One reason for these conflicting views is that the answer depends on both facts and values,” writes the UW’s James Long, associate professor of political science; Mark Smith, professor of political science; and Victor Menaldo, professor of political science.

For more than 50 years, the UW Awards of Excellence have celebrated outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni whose achievements exemplify the University’s mission. This year, 20 people were honored with the new Together We Will award, which celebrates outstanding staff contributions made during the challenges of 2020.

Vicky Lawson, Professor of Geography and Director of the UW Honors Program, teaches a class on understanding the sources of poverty and houselessness in Seattle.