Social Sciences Division

"As the first few days of the new year plopped themselves on my calendar, echoes from last year emanated, as if refusing to relinquish its grip on a twisted, telenovela-esque reality," writes Oscar Rosales Castañeda, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW.

This week at the UW, attend virtual Meany on Screen events, a lecture in the History Lecture Series, and more.

This week at the UW, attend the History Lecture Series, Meany On Screen events, and more.

Scientists are pioneering novel technology to help ailments of the brain and nervous system. The UW’s Sara Goering, professor of philosophy, and Chet Moritz, associate professor of rehabilitation medicine and of electrical and computer engineering, are interviewed about the ethical concerns of neurotechnology. [This is the second segment of “The Record”]

Ancient food scraps found at Australia’s earliest site of human occupation, in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, are helping researchers generate rainfall records dating back 65,000 years. A new study led by the University of Queensland and involving the University of Washington provides a glimpse into the region’s climate at the time when people first entered the Australian continent from the north.

James Long, associate professor of political science at the UW, explains how the delay in the impeachment trial in the Senate will benefit both Democrats and Republicans and answers other questions about the impeachment.

In response to the question of whether Twitter damaged free speech by suspending Donald Trump, the UW's James Long, associate professor of political science, and Victor Menaldo, professor of political science, write "As critics of 'cancel culture' and similar attempts to stifle dissent and debate, as well as experts on liberal democracy and electoral integrity, we offer a simple, if surprising, answer: No."

Robert Crutchfield, an emeritus professor of sociology and co-author of a new study has found that Black youth who have police contact at a young age may be more likely to have more contacts with police later in life.

We have a new President, and he’s betting big on our ability to work together. The “Seattle Now” podcast digs into the tricky parts of uniting the not-so-United States with Christopher Parker, professor of political science at the UW.

A book co-edited by Robert Pekkanen, Professor of International Studies, is available soon in paperback and is now available online through the UW libraries.

For six minutes on Wednesday at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, all eyes were on Amanda Gorman. The 22-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate combined a message of hope and promise as she read, “even as we grieved, we grew.” Hanson Hosein, co-director of the UW’s Communication Leadership program, is interviewed.

President Joe Biden acknowledged the “uncivil war” festering in the United States in his first address Wednesday, but did so in a way that largely avoided the pessimism of his predecessor’s “American carnage.” That was the assessment of political scientists, former speech writers, language and history experts who took in Biden’s speech. Margaret O’Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

Concerned it would threaten their cultural preservation, history and treaty rights, 40 tribes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska joined a Jan. 4 lawsuit with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson to stop the federal government from selling the National Archives facility in Seattle and shipping its millions of boxes of records to California and Missouri. Alexandra Harmon, professor emerita of American Indian studies and of history at the UW, is quoted.

Steve Herbert, the Mark Torrance professor with the department of law, societies, and justice, discusses his podcast "Making Amends," in which he speaks with men from the Oregon State Penitentiary.

Many professors addressed the recent coup in their class, including assistant professor of political science Jake Grumbach.