Social Sciences Division

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend gallery exhibitions, watch recorded events, and more.

Twenty-seven years to the day after founding Amazon in a Bellevue garage, Jeff Bezos has relinquished control of his company. Bezos’ trusted deputy, Andy Jassy, steps into his new role as Amazon’s CEO Monday. The UW's Margaret O'Mara, professor of history, and Jeff Shulman, professor of marketing, are quoted.

Most Americans who turned to the internet for financial help during the pandemic failed to raise much. Of the more than 175,000 GoFundMe campaigns that were started in the first half of 2020 and that cited COVID-19, 43% received no donations at all and 90% did not reach their stated goal. Nearly a quarter of all funds raised through the platform went to the top 1% of campaigns. Mark Igra, a graduate student in sociology at the UW, is quoted.

Records recently obtained by Oregon Public Broadcasting show Clark County Sheriff’s Office continues to share inmates’ personal information — particularly that of Latinos — with ICE. As recently as February, the jail and federal agents communicated almost daily. The UW’s Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice and of international studies and director of the Center for Human Rights, is quoted.

"On the last day of its current term, the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts continued its war on voting rights with its decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee ... It is clear that this court will smile upon even the worst vote suppression efforts being undertaken by Republican legislatures in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen," writes Scott Lemieux, assistant teaching professor of political science at the UW.

Michael Pearce, a UW doctoral student in statistics, and Adrian Raftery, a professor of sociology, discuss the results of their new study.

“Despite nearly four decades since the documentary [‘Streetwise’] first moved audiences with its portrayal of kids in crisis, the dismissive attitude of some to the film suggests why the crisis of homelessness has yet to be redressed, and why punitive responses only further contribute to the crisis itself,” writes Andrew Heddon, a doctoral student in history and associate director of the UW’s Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies.

Mika Ahuvia, associate professor in the Jackson School, discusses her new book.

This week, watch a UW alum on NBC’s Making It, attend a discussion hosted by the Henry Art Gallery, and more.

Researchers warn that phony satellite imagery could become a common and dangerous mode of disinformation. Bo Zhao, assistant professor of geography at the UW, is quoted.

New updates to the Sephardic Studies Digital Collection, a "virtual bookshelf" with more than 140,000 pages of published Ladino works.

"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.