Social Sciences Division

Identity - including race, sexual orientation, gender - have become lightning rod subjects of hundreds of bills in state legislatures across the country as Americans across the political spectrum seek to define the nation's values. Christopher Parker, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

The decades-old government housing discrimination program commonly called redlining continues to shape which of Seattle's streets are most dangerous for pedestrians. James Gregory, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

Three graduate students who earned doctoral degrees in spring 2023 received the Graduate Medal from the College of Arts & Sciences. 

As the world's best-known fictional archaeologist goes after what may be his last ancient mystery in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," new generations of real-life archaeologists are ready to dig in with 21st-century technologies and sensibilities. Sara Gonzalez, associate professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted. Peter Lape, professor of anthropology at the UW, is referenced.

An analysis of foraging societies from around the world has found that women hunt in the vast majority of those looked at, confirming that the idea of gender division in providing food is a myth. Cara Wall-Scheffler, affiliate assistant professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted.

Three new faculty books from the University of Washington cover wide-ranging topics: oysters, the moral contradictions of religion, and Cherokee creature names and environmental relationships.

The four new graduates honored as College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Medalists for 2023 are all working to improve our world, in different ways. 

"The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a lavish welcome by the Biden Administration during his recently concluded U.S. visit. He spoke to the U.S. Congress, making him the sixth individual ever to address the U.S. Congress more than once...Why this courtship? For the U.S., India is critical to counter China," write the UW's Nives Dol?ak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

No one can really describe what milk is -- least of all the people who think most often about it. Melanie Martin, assistant professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted.

As a candidate, Joe Biden called himself a climate change pioneer. He promised a green energy revolution. More renewables, way less fossil fuels, and a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. So two years in, how's he doing? Outside/In host Nate Hegyi speaks with Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, to figure out where Biden has pushed his climate agenda, where he hasn't, and whether he's an octopus or a bighorn sheep.

"Early this month, Quebec forest fires caused severe air pollution on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. Although subject to some debate, many blamed climate change for these fires," write the UW's Nives Dol?ak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

"The COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the deep need that people feel for human touch and connection in hospital settings. Having relatives peering through windows at their loved ones or unable to enter hospitals altogether exacerbated the lack of human intimacy that is all too common in health care settings" writes Marlaine Gray, affiliate assistant professor of anthropology at the UW.

Brain-computer interface technology can benefit people with disabilities by restoring mobility and communication. Sara Goering, professor of philosophy at the UW, says it also allows potentially monetizable access to the center of our thoughts and feelings.

"In the fall of 2022, a German court heard an unusual case. It was a civil lawsuit that grew out of a feud on Twitter about whether transgender people were victims of the Holocaust. Though there is no longer much debate about whether gay men and lesbians were persecuted, there's been very little scholarship on trans people during this period," writes Laurie Marhoefer, professor of history at the UW.

Sapna Cheryan, professor of psychology at the UW, and her colleagues want U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to consider not telling grads to, "Follow your passions," in his commencement address on Saturday. Instead, in this interview Cheryan shares alternative advice for graduating students.