Social Sciences Division

According to campaign finance records, many of the same people charged in the Capitol riot sent their own money to Trump’s reelection campaign. Even after his loss in November, they threw their cash behind his efforts to challenge the election as he touted the lie that it had been stolen. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Since the beginning of the year, Asian Americans have come increasingly under violent attack. Elders have been assaulted in Chinatowns across the country, from Oakland to San Francisco to New York City. In late February, Inglemoor High School Japanese teacher Noriko Nasu and her boyfriend were walking through Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and were attacked without provocation. Reuben Deleon, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.

Victor Fonseca is one of three detainees making great sacrifices to protest the conditions forced on them. ICE officials deny the strikes are taking place. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice at the UW and director of the UW Center for Human Rights, is quoted.

"The past week carried a heavy tone that continues to add to the incremental accumulation of collective psychological trauma. As news seeped into my digital media feeds, I prepared myself for that cyclical pattern that many of us undergo when we encounter repeated instances of violence. We are made aware of our otherness and, in turn, feel the paranoia that follows," writes Oscar Rosales Castañeda, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW.

The U.S. should consider leading a multilateral coalition with South American nations to push back against China’s illegal fishing and trade practices, a U.S. intelligence agency has recommended in a document obtained by Axios. Tabitha Grace Mallory, affiliate professor of international studies at the UW, is quoted.

“Creating and maintaining water infrastructure is expensive. Because governments work with limited budgets, they ration money to extend or improve infrastructure. And because water access is critical to human existence, politicians have control over a valuable resource," write Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, and Sijeong Lim of Korea University in Seoul.

Aseem Prakash, Walker Family Professor of Political Science and the founding director of the Center of Environmental Politics, explains the importance of access to safe water sources.

From Snohomish County to Congress, condemnations came swiftly. Anti-Asian acts are on the rise and were highlighted by Tuesday’s shooting deaths of eight people in Georgia. Local history shows how Asians were targeted long ago, by brutal attacks and through government actions, even as their toil helped build the Northwest. The UW Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest is mentioned.

USA Today examines coverage of COVID-19 in college newspapers. UW Daily staff Jake Goldstein-Street and Mac Murray are quoted.

Columnist Jamelle Bouie writes of Georgia's election legislation, "This is what it looks like when a political party turns against democracy. It doesn’t just try to restrict the vote; it creates mechanisms to subvert the vote and attempts to purge officials who might stand in the way. Georgia is in the spotlight, for reasons past and present, but it is happening across the country wherever Republicans are in control." Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

"If we can name physical attacks and deaths as racist violence, why can’t we name the system of racial capitalism that produces the economic precarity of living paycheck to paycheck an issue of violence, as well? Much of the mainstream focus on race and racial violence ignores the intersection of class," writes Linh Thủy Nguyễn, assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the UW.

"We are outraged and deeply saddened by the massacre of the eight people in Atlanta. We give our love, support and deep condolences to the victims and their families. We grieve for their loss and for the violence surging against Asian American Pacific Island communities, especially women, who make up 70% of those victimized in the 3,800 hate crimes reported between March 1, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021," write Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW; Sutapa Basu of the University of Washington Women’s Center; and Velma Veloria, a former Washington State Representative.

Assistant professor of American Ethnic Studies, Linh Thủy Nguyễn, is interviewed about the recent wave of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Although LGBTQ+ nightlife venues have existed in Seattle since the 1920s, many of them operated in the shadows amid threats from police and government, and bigoted strangers. Today, these spaces operate more openly but face new threats: increasing property taxes and rents, gentrification, a rise in hate crimes and now, of course, the closure of bars and restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kemi Adeyemi, assistant professor of gender, women and sexuality studies at the UW, is quoted.

This week at the UW, attend talks about museum curation and the history of the Pacific Northwest, visit the Burke Museum, and more.