During Winter Quarter 2016, the UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies will host three scholars who represent new approaches in the growing field of Israel Studies.
The lecture series is entitled “Beyond the Binary: Israel Studies Today” to reflect the fact that these researchers are going beyond standard divisions in the field. Their work, ranging from disability studies to sociolinguistics and the history of medicine, offers alternative perspectives on the region’s history. All lectures are free and open to the public.
The Race & Equity Initiative builds on the University of Washington’s longstanding commitment to inclusion and social justice. The Initiative centers on creating an inclusive experience for students, faculty and staff, addresses institutional bias and racism, and engages our communities to help us work through our shared challenges for a world of good.
Experts from the University of Washington are set to engage in next week’s Arctic Encounter Symposium. The largest annual Arctic policy event in the United States, the Symposium confronts the leading issues in Arctic policy, innovation, and development. It aims to raise awareness, engage challenges, and develop solutions for the future of a region and a people.
As a response to the ongoing migration crisis, the University of Washington Department of Philosophy is offering a campus discussion forum every Wednesday. One crucial question is the nature and extent of our ethical obligation to help people in need. UW philosophers in our department would like to stimulate discussion about this important topic.
Entrepreneur Week is an annual window into the world of entrepreneurship, around the corner and across the globe.
This year, from October 13-17, the Buerk Center will host events featuring Seattle’s high-profile thinkers, dreamers, innovators and doers. There’s something for everyone: die-hard entrepreneurs, students interested in working for a startup and those who just want to learn more.
Presenting at last week’s Global Honors Spring Colloquium, Noelle Gichohi started by thanking her mentors and supporters. “I stood in front of the audience and said, ‘I grew up in a village in Kenya, and it took a village to get me here’”. Her ‘colloquium village’ included UW Tacoma professors and librarians, a Highline Community College professor, fellow students and family.
Graduating seniors at the Global Honors Colloquium Photo: Cody Char UW Tacoma Creative Services
For Noelle and 12 other graduating seniors in UW Tacoma’s Global Honors program, the colloquium was a chance to share and reflect on their capstone research projects. They will now apply their learning as community leaders heading toward jobs and graduate school.
The students presented before audiences of 40 to 60 faculty, staff, community members and fellow students. Diverse in terms of discipline and geography, their projects exemplify UW Tacoma’s emphasis on student-led, use-inspired research.
Kristie Weisert Photo: Cody Char
Inspired by her work with State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Williams during a Legislative Internship, Kristie Weisert’s thesis examines sex trafficking in the U.S. and India. Human trafficking is a pressing issue locally and internationally, and Kristie pointed out Washington state’s efforts to address the problem through new legislation.
Brandon Napenias Oreiro’s research project explores the development of Filipino American identity in the context of a globalized culture. A leader in UW Tacoma’s Filipino American Student Association, Brandon paired his research findings with examples of the group’s efforts to create a sense of identity and community on campus and in the region.
Noelle Gichohi Photo: UW Tacoma
Noelle Gichohi’s research project was inspired by her study abroad to Italy. “We were studying preschools, and I saw that [Italian schools] had kitchens right next to the classrooms and served the kids three-course meals on real plates. It was totally different from the U.S., where my kids went to preschool, and Kenya, where I grew up.”
She began thinking about how place influences the food children are served at school, and how parents’ perceive the healthfulness of school meals. For her thesis, Noelle surveyed Kenyan and U.S. parents about their children’s school meals, and their perceptions of the meals.
“Carrying out a research project and presenting at the colloquium “was enriching for me personally and as a scholar,” Noelle reflects. The experience gave her new confidence about her ideas and ability to communicate. “I won’t be afraid to stand up and give my opinion in the workplace,” she says, “I’ll think, ‘I’ve done Global Honors, I can do anything.’”
Chancellor Kenyon Chan Photo: UW Tacoma
During his remarks at the colloquium, UW Tacoma Chancellor Kenyon Chan underscored the local relevance of the students’ research and the urgency of the issues addressed. Echoing Noelle Gichohi’s recognition of her village, Chancellor Chan also emphasized the students’ important roles as leaders – locally and globally.
Ceremonial drummers at the tree dedication ceremony Photo: Todd Gardiner for Team PhotogenicUW President Michael K. Young and Japanese Consul General Masahiro Omura Photo: Todd Gardiner for Team Photogenic
Japanese General Consul Masahiro Omura spoke today near Drumheiller Fountain today to celebrate a recent gift of cherry trees to the UW American Ethnic Studies department from the people of Japan.
Also speaking at the ceremony were former congressman and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and UW President Michael K. Young.
The new cherry trees, installed on central campus overlooking Drumheiller Fountain, were presented in honor of longstanding relations between the U.S. and Japan. They also honor the many Japanese and Japanese American students who have attended UW since 1894.
This Friday, undergraduate researchers, faculty mentors and community members will converge in Mary Gates Hall for the 17th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Over 1,000 undergraduates will present their research work at the event, and many of their projects address pressing global issues.
Here are four exciting examples of globally-relevant undergraduate research projects:
Through the unique medium of students’ letters to Things, Ideas and People (TIPS), the book “offers a simple method to help travelers- students and tourists alike- reflect on how moving from one culture to another sparks questions about identity, society and the meaning of travel itself.”
Professor Taranath’s unique approach to teaching abroad integrates on-campus classroom learning with international immersion. Students participate in quarter-long seminars on campus before and after the study abroad to allow time for in-depth preparation for and reflection on the experience. TIPS to Study Abroad is the culmination of the group’s experience and learning.
Community members are welcome at the book launch party at 7pm on Monday, May 12. The event will be held at University Temple.
