Social Sciences Division

Mark Smith, professor of political science at the UW, puts the rioting at the U.S. Capitol in historical context and calls it an attempted coup.

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. This week, join a drop-in meditation session, listen to a lecture on critical issues in contemporary art, and more.

Owen L. Oliver, senior studying American Indian Studies, has developed an Indigenous walking tour of the UW.

“Might a singular focus on zero emissions lead to the neglect of climate adaptation policies that have less media appeal? As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, climate policy should pay attention to two important but neglected issues: how the electric car industry will source inputs — such as copper, cobalt, nickel and lithium — and, because climate change is already underway, how prepared countries and cities are to adapt to different dimensions of climate change,” write Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs at the UW, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW.

The department of American ethnic studies (AES) takes pride in its strong focus on issues of social justice, equality, and civil rights — especially as it pertains to those U.S. groups that have been historically subjected to exclusion and marginalization. 

College of Arts & Sciences Dean Stacey explains that there is an important civic, political, social, and cultural element to an education and that you can get that in a wide variety of majors.

Interested in the College of Arts & Sciences but don’t know what to study? Here are six majors that you may not have discovered yet.

Glennys Young, professor of history and of international studies and chair of the Department of History, was featured in a Spanish TV documentary about Cold War-era interrogation program, and the new Burke Museum was honored.

Last year, Amazon surpassed Boeing as the state’s largest private employer, usurping a title the airplane manufacturer had likely held since the post-World War II era. The UW’s Margaret O’Mara, professor of history; Jeff Shulman, professor of marketing; and Andrew Hedden, associate director of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, are quoted.

“Humanities Washington convened an interesting and provocative online discussion about controversial public monuments and ways we might think about whether they remain as is, whether they should be reinterpreted given today’s understanding or whether there are cases in which they should be moved to private settings,” writes Rufus Woods, publisher emeritus of The Wenatchee World. Josh Reid, associate professor of American Indian studies at the UW, is quoted.

Department of Statistics faculty are featured in this article about their COVID-19 research.

The National Archives building in Seattle is slated for sale, a move that could deprive Indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest of access to critical documents. Josh Reid, associate professor of American Indian studies at the UW, is quoted.

Twenty moments from a year like no other — captured through the lenses of UW photographers.

Through hours of Zoom meetings, University of Washington vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Ed Taylor found himself nervously folding paper off screen. As he helped the university make high-stakes decisions about its pandemic future, his fingers kept busy shaping origami cranes. Taylor's collection of about 300 cranes tells the story of how he coped with this year, and they will constitute his entry to a virtual time capsule, the culmination of a class he led called "2020: The Course." Taylor; Kate Starbird, UW associate professor of human centered design and engineering; Theodore Myhre, UW assistant teaching professor of law; and Iisaaksiichaa Ross Braine, the UW’s tribal liaison, are quoted. Hilary Godwin, dean of the UW School of Public Health; Dr. Benjamin Danielson, UW clinical professor of pediatrics; Robert Stacey, dean of the UW College of Arts and Sciences; Alexes Harris, UW professor of sociology; Carolyn West, professor of social, behavioral and human sciences at UW Tacoma; and Megan Ming Francis, UW associate professor of political science, are mentioned.

An article by Margaret O’Mara, professor of history, is featured in this collection of New York Times articles.