Social Justice

  • Throughline: The Creeping Coup

    Sudan has been at the center of a deadly and brutal war for over a year. It's the site of the world's largest hunger crisis, and the world's largest displacement crisis. Christopher Tounsel, associate professor of history at the UW, is interviewed.
    07/18/2024 | NPR
  • Opinion: If Israel-Hezbollah war escalates, I fear antisemitism will, too

    "While the war between Hamas and Israel dominates the news, the growing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is far more dangerous. Since Hamas attacked Israel last Oct. 7, Hezbollah — far larger and better armed than Hamas — has been waging a less-publicized war on Israel from southern Lebanon, attacking with rockets, artillery, drones, antitank missiles and other weapons, forcing Israel to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians living near the border. Hezbollah could initiate full-scale war at any moment. Its goal: The destruction of Israel," writes Paul Burstein, professor emeritus of sociology and adjunct professor of political science at the UW.
    07/15/2024 | The Seattle Times
  • Analysis: Behind America’s first comprehensive federal immigration law

    "The first comprehensive federal immigration legislation in the history of the U.S., the 1924 law solidified features of the immigration system with us today: visa requirements, the Border Patrol, and the category of the 'illegal alien.' Even as the primary targets of immigration restrictionism have shifted over the century, the consequences for immigrants and their communities remain profoundly shaped by the system created in 1924," writes Devin Naar, associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at the UW.
    07/09/2024 | TIME
  • New Faculty Spotlight: Oliver Rollins

    "I am a qualitative sociologist who works on issues of race/racism in and through science and technology. Specifically, my work is situated within a growing new area of inquiry, the sociology of the neurosciences." Oliver Rollins, assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is featured.

    06/28/2024 | UW Research
  • 'Vietnam is more than just a war': How Kieu Chinh helped evolve the Hollywood war machine propaganda

    From "Hamburger Hill" to "The Sympathizer," veteran actor Kieu Chinh discusses how her career shaped Vietnam War memories. Linh Thủy Nguyễn, assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.
    06/10/2024 | Salon
  • Q&A: Microinclusions improve women’s workplace belonging and commitment

    New research from the University of Washington published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, shows how “microinclusions” — brief instances of positive treatment, especially from members of the dominant group — help women feel valued at work. UW News talked with lead author Gregg Muragishi, a UW postdoctoral scholar of psychology, to learn more about this research.

    06/03/2024 | UW News
  • Analysis: Why is ‘moral equivalence’ such a bad thing? A political philosopher explains

    "As a political philosopher, I am interested in how concepts like moral equivalence are used in political discussions. Those who use this concept generally do so as a way of asserting that someone is at best deceived – and, at worse, deliberately deceptive – about the moral wrongs done by one side in a conflict," writes Michael Blake, professor of philosophy and of public policy and governance at the UW.
    05/31/2024 | The Conversation
  • ICE deportee alleged ongoing threats over false sex crime charge

    Immigration officials corrected his record, but the Tacoma center detainee warned of continued risks to himself and his family back in Micronesia. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies, and justice and of international studies, as well as director of the Center for Human Rights at the UW, is quoted.
    05/29/2024 | Crosscut
  • A Voice for Undocumented Students

    Edgar Quiroz Sanchez, graduating with two bachelor's degrees, has been a powerful voice for the needs of undocumented students at the UW.

    June 2024 Perspectives
  • Washington seeks to fix discrimination from racially restrictive property deeds

    A program set to launch in July will enable families affected by housing discrimination to get financial assistance for home purchases. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is quoted.
    Washington State Standard
  • ICE releases report on Tacoma detainee death but leaves out key detail

    More than a month after a man died at an immigrant detention center in Tacoma, federal officials released a report, as required by Congress. The report lacked one key detail: a cause of death. The UW's Phil Neff, project coordinator at the Center for Human Rights, and Angelina Godoy, professor of both international studies and law, societies and justice and the director of the Center for Human Rights, are mentioned.
    The Seattle Times
  • China’s divided memory of the Cultural Revolution

    “3 Body Problem,” a Netflix adaptation of the popular Chinese sci-fi novel by the same name, is causing controversy in China for its depiction of the Cultural Revolution. How do the Chinese people see this crucial period of their history? Madeleine Dong, professor of history at the UW, is interviewed.
    WBUR
  • Immigrant rights activist Catalina Velasquez on her life and work

    The Standard spoke to Catalina Velasquez, a doctoral student at the UW, about being one of the few trans, queer people leading the immigrant rights movement in Washington.
    Washington State Standard
  • AAPI voter turnout involves many unseen obstacles

    You are voting for the first time. Your ballot arrives. But you can’t read it. The text is too small. And when you come to the candidates’ names, they look something like this: T *&%$@(“&^, T>>%@)%|\^^. Such was the experience—more or less—of many older residents of the Chinatown International-District (CID) before the Nov. 2023 elections, according to multiple organizations sponsoring a get-out-the vote event. Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.
    Northwest Asian Weekly
  • Yes, JK Rowling, the Nazis did persecute trans people

    Last week, children's book author JK Rowling tweeted some more nonsense about transgender people. In this case, she disputed the fact that Nazis destroyed early research on the community. Laurie Marhoefer, professor of history at the UW, is featured.
    The Stranger