UW News

Politics and government


September 15, 2020

UW political scientist Megan Ming Francis named one of 12 grant-supported ‘Freedom Scholars’ for work on economic and social equity

Megan Ming Francis, University of Washington associate professor of political science, has been named one of 12 grant-supported “Freedom Scholars” in a new $3 million initiative by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and Group Health Foundation, working together.


September 9, 2020

English Department discusses coronavirus, ‘politics of care’ in ‘Literature, Language, Culture’ podcasts, videos — plus Devin Naar of Sephardic Studies interviewed on two podcasts

The Department of English has introduced its new “Literature, Language, Culture” Dialogue Series, a series of podcasts and YouTube videos — and Devin Naar of Sephardic Studies is interviewed on two podcasts


August 18, 2020

Data omission in key EPA insecticide study shows need for review of industry analysis

For nearly 50 years, a statistical omission tantamount to data falsification sat undiscovered in a critical study at the heart of regulating one of the most controversial and widely used pesticides in America. Chlorpyrifos, an insecticide created in the late 1960s by the Dow Chemical Co., has been linked to serious health problems, especially in children….


July 29, 2020

UW Libraries publishes new online research guides on racial justice, African American experience in Pacific Northwest

UW Libraries has published timely new online guides to help researchers studying the Black experience in the Pacific Northwest and the broader topic of racial justice.


July 7, 2020

History of Duwamish River, its people, explored in new book ‘The River That Made Seattle’

book cover on wood

BJ Cummings,community engagement manager for the Superfund Research Program at the UW, discusses her book “The River that Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish,” published in July by UW Press.


June 29, 2020

UW Tacoma’s Eric Madfis explores curbing school violence in new book

A talk with Eric Madfis of UW Tacoma about his new book “How to Stop School Rampage Killing: Lessons from Averted Mass Shootings and Bombings,” published this spring by Palgrave MacMillan.


April 20, 2020

A conversation with Dan Chirot about his new book ‘You Say You Want a Revolution,’ exploring radical idealism

book on table

A conversation with international studies professor Dan Chirot about his new book, “You Say You Want a Revolution: Radical Idealism and its Tragic Consequences.”


April 1, 2020

Jodi Sandfort named dean of the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance

Jodi Sandfort has been named the next dean of the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington, Provost Mark Richards announced April 1.


March 31, 2020

Republican governors delayed key COVID-19 social distancing measures

Digital sign says Save Lives Now Stay Home COVID-19

New research by the University of Washington examines factors that contributed to decision-making by governors in all 50 states to combat the novel coronavirus.


February 20, 2020

New, UW-developed data tool tracks state legislative process, from first draft to final law

A new, University of Washington-developed data visualization tool draws on bill information made available by the Washington State Legislature to enable students, journalists and voters to visually explore the lawmaking process.


January 16, 2020

Mobile protected areas needed to preserve biodiversity in the high seas

black bird with blue sky

Leaders are updating the laws for international waters that apply to most of the world’s ocean environment. This provides a unique opportunity, argues a UW Bothell marine scientist, to anticipate new techniques that allow protected zones to shift as species move under climate change.


December 9, 2019

Jackson School researcher explores nexus of politics, religion in new podcast, ‘ReligioPolitics’

Randy Thompson, postdoctoral researcher with the Jackson School, is producing the new ReligioPolitics podcast

Randy Thompson, a postdoctoral researcher with the UW Jackson School of International Studies will explore the nexus of religion and politics in a new podcast, “ReligioPolitics.”


October 29, 2019

UW book notes: Political scientist Megan Ming Francis to edit new series on race, ethnicity, politics

Megan Ming Francis, UW political science professor, who will edit a new book series on race, ethnicity and politics

University of Washington political scientist Megan Ming Francis says there is a dearth of academic book series being published on topics of race, ethnicity and politics. Now, she will start to change that. An associate professor of political science, Francis will be the editor of a new series of books from Cambridge University Press called…


October 8, 2019

New paper explores race, representation in campaign finance

Jake Grumbach, UW political science professor with new research on race and campaign giving

In American politics, the question of “Who donates?” is linked to the crucial question of “Who governs?” Most campaign donations historically have come from white voters. But new UW-led research indicates that if more candidates of color ran for office, donations from individuals of color would likely increase as well.


September 25, 2019

Joel Migdal, founder of International Studies Program, to mark UW retirement with public lecture, workshop, Oct. 3

Joel Migdal retiring Jackson School professor founded the UW international studies program

Joel S. Migdal, professor in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, will celebrate retirement after 39 years at the UW on Oct. 3 with a daylong workshop featuring current and former students, followed by a lecture on “State and Society: Then and Now.”


August 22, 2019

UW books in brief: Tribal sovereignty and the courts, mentoring through fan fiction, UW Press paperback editions

Recent notable books by UW faculty members explore the legal history of Indigenous nations and the mentoring benefits of fan fiction. Plus, a UW anthropologist’s book is honored, a former English faculty member is remembered in a biography, and UW Press brings out paperback editions of three popular titles.


July 16, 2019

8 UW professors elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2019

Suzzallo Library at night

Eight scientists and engineers from the University of Washington have been elected this year to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.


July 11, 2019

National attention, praise for new Silicon Valley history ‘The Code’ by UW historian Margaret O’Mara

Margaret O'Mara's history of Silicon Valley was published in July by Penguin Press.

Her sweeping new book about the history of Silicon Valley has UW history professor Margaret O’Mara on a busy national book tour this summer. The book, “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America,” was published this month by Penguin Press and is receiving many positive reviews.


July 5, 2019

UW books in brief: US credit markets in history, ‘value sensitive’ design, the lasting effects of reproductive slavery, and more

Recent notable books by UW faculty members explore how the U.S. government has historically used credit to create opportunity, how “reproductive slavery” has left lasting ramifications and how technology design benefits from human values.


June 3, 2019

Documentary films by UW faculty members Jeff Shulman, David Shields to screen

Two films by UW faculty members — business professor Jeff Shulman and English professor David Shields — will have screenings in Seattle in coming days — both with strong connections to the city.


May 30, 2019

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things among topics at May 31 xTech + Impact Summit

Academics will gather May 31 at the UW with policymakers, entrepreneurs, and representatives of corporations, foundations and nonprofits for The xTech + Impact 2019 Summit, a daylong seminar exploring the role of exponential technology and its impact on society.


May 1, 2019

US public support for undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship stronger if pathway includes military service, UW research shows

Americans appear more willing to support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants if that path includes serving in the United States military, according to new research from UW political scientists Sophia Jordán Wallace and Geoffrey Wallace.


April 19, 2019

New space race: Essays from Jackson School symposium explore changing law, policy

Saadia Pekkanen, UW professor of international studies

A new space race is underway, characterized by the intersecting trends of democratization, commercialization and militarization. Saadia Pekkanen, UW professor of international relations, is lead guest editor for a group of essays addressing such issues and more published online this month in the American Journal of International Law.


April 11, 2019

A timely new ‘Documents that Changed the World’ podcast episode: IRS tax Form 1040

Joe Janes of the UW Information School presents a timely installment of his Documents that Changed the World podcast series, about the most infamous tax form of all — IRS Form 1040.


March 18, 2019

Information School to welcome high school students March 19 for ‘MisInfo Day’ – from ‘Calling BS’ faculty duo

The UW Information School is taking a leading role in helping people better navigate this era of increasing online fakery and falsehood. On March 19, the school will welcome 200-some Seattle-area high school students for “MisInfo Day,” a daylong workshop on how to navigate the misinformation landscape, from Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom, the faculty duo behind “Calling BS in the Age of Big Data.”


March 14, 2019

Jackson School’s Devin Naar featured in documentary premiering March 24 at Seattle’s Jewish Film Festival

Professor Devin Naar of the UW Jackson School and Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, right, talks with Joseph F. Lovett, director of the documentary "Children of the Inquisition." The film, which Naar consulted on and appears in, will premiere at the 2019 Seattle Jewish Film Festival.

Devin Naar, UW professor of international studies and history, is featured in “Children of the Inquisition,” a new documentary film about descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions discovering their Sephardic Jewish heritage. The film will premiere March 24 as part of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival.


February 19, 2019

Video: The UW’s annual budget explained

This video takes a look at the UW’s revenue and operating budget from the 2018-2019 academic year. We explain where the money comes from and how it is spent.


Climate change and national security: Jackson School to hold public discussion March 6 featuring Gov. Jay Inslee

What geopolitical challenges is global climate change creating for the national security of the United States and throughout the world? The UW’s Jackson School of International Studies will host a public panel discussion of these issues on March 6, featuring Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.


February 6, 2019

UW Libraries is new home for decades of KIRO-TV news video

A screen shot from a KIRO-TV news story among those given to UW Libraries recently. The entire donation included local news footage from 1975 to about 2001. The cameraman's pants seem to indicate this footage is from the 1970s.

Last year, local station KIRO-TV donated thousands of hours of old news videotapes of its news broadcasts from the 1970s through about the year 2000 — about 15,000 videotapes in all — to UW Libraries.


January 28, 2019

UW’s Stroum Center affiliates present on Holocaust, Ladino archives and more at 50th anniversary Jewish studies conference

The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, was well represented at the 50th annual conference of the Association for Jewish Studies Dec. 16-18 in Boston.


January 22, 2019

UW books in brief: Healthy travel, Hebrew in America, principals supporting teachers and more

  Recent notable books by University of Washington faculty members explore the importance of Hebrew to modern America, remember the 1919 Seattle General Strike and look at issues in education, among other topics. Practical advice for healthy travel, near or far A new book by Dr. Christopher Sanford offers simple, practical recommendations for those traveling…


January 14, 2019

Labor Archives of Washington, partners, to celebrate centennial of 1919 Seattle General Strike

The Labor Archives of Washington, housed in UW Libraries, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Seattle General Strike with a series of events in coming weeks, as well as a new library exhibit on campus.


January 10, 2019

Evans School researchers study options for possible Washington public bank

Justin Marlowe, professor in the UW Evans School and co-author of new state-commissioned study about possibility of a cooperative state bank in Washington.

If Washington state were to establish a public bank, what type of bank might work best? One that can provide targeted products and services to local governments across the state, says a new report by UW researchers from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.


December 17, 2018

UW Evans School study of Fauntleroy ferry service proposes improvements to technology, engagement

Suggested upgrades to technology, training and communication — and funding them appropriately — lie at the heart of recommendations to the state from UW Evans School researchers after a study of service at the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal in West Seattle.


November 19, 2018

UW political scientist Mark Smith asks: How do we know what’s true?

People walking in a crowd, looking at their phones.

A timely new University of Washington political science class asks: How do we separate fact from fiction these days? How do we know what is true?


November 13, 2018

UW communication professor Ralina Joseph’s new book navigates minefield of ‘postracial racialism’

"Postracial Resistance: Black Women, Media, and the Uses of Strategic Ambiguity," by UW communication associate professor Ralina Joseph, was published in October by New York University Press.

Ralina Joseph, associate professor of communication, discusses here new book “Postracial Resistance: Black Women, Media, and the Uses of Strategic Ambiguity,” published this October by New York University Press.


November 7, 2018

UW Evans School, Harvard, Northeastern study: State governments’ internet footprints reveal what they do — and how and why they differ

To better understand how state governments across the United States execute their diverse responsibilities, look at their internet footprint, says a new study by researchers at the University of Washington, Harvard University, and Northeastern University.


October 29, 2018

UW books in brief: Postwar Japan, American Indian businesses, dictatorship to democracy — and more

Collage illustration for UW Books in Brief, Oct. 29, 2018

Recent notable books by UW faculty members study politics and culture in post-World War II Japan, explore regime change, nonprofit management, documents from the ancient world and more.


October 16, 2018

Once there were camps: New book by UW historian Jordanna Bailkin remembers Britain’s ‘forgotten’ 20th-century refugee camps

Today, Britain is not known as a land of camps, but through much of the 20th century — from after World War I to the 1980s —  the country was home to dozens of refugee camps housing thousands of Belgians, Jews, Basques, Poles, Hungarians, Anglo-Egyptians, Ugandan Asians and Vietnamese. As University of Washington history professor…


October 8, 2018

Race, empire, agency explored in UW history professor’s book ‘Risky Shores: Savagery and Colonialism in the Western Pacific’

A new book by University of Washington history professor George Behlmer seeks to improve understanding of the British colonial era by “reconsidering the conduct of islanders and the English-speaking strangers who encountered them.”



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