UW Events Archive

You know when you get that unexpected text asking you to add something big to your already enormous to-do list, you start to feel sweaty palms and that empty, freaked-out sensation in your stomach? Then you know, it’s back again….. Anxiety. But what if anxiety isn’t always a bad thing? What if, by using tools from neuroscience and psychology, you could learn to turn down the volume on your anxiety and transform all that activation energy that’s making your mind race into something that’s actually helpful? That jiu-jitsu move of transforming anxiety into something productive and helpful is the topic of Dr. Suzuki’s talk.

This free, public lecture is made possible by a generous bequest from Professor Roger B. Loucks.

Professors Maly and Rajakovich will discuss the history, context, and future importance of the work that earned the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and moderate a Q&A session.

There are large and persistent health disparities in the United States among racial/ethnic groups. The extent of these patterns varies geographically at the local scale and it is not well understood. There is an urgent need to address the shared underlying factors driving these widespread disparities. In this lecture, the drivers of health disparities and the path forward to improve population health in the US.

It is well known that haiku are very brief Japanese poems, probably the shortest poems in the world. With their simple syllabic pattern and lack of rhyming, they are easy to write—even children can and do write beautiful haiku! Although they originated in Japan, many millions of haiku have been written in various languages in addition to Japanese. Today, haiku truly belong to the world. How and why did haiku come about? Why are haiku so short? Why do they include precisely 17 syllables in a 5-7-5 arrangement? This talk, which presumes no knowledge of Japan or the Japanese language, will answer these questions and more. In an engaging overview of this fascinating topic, Professor Paul Atkins will discuss the origins of haiku in medieval Japan, introduce the major classic poets, and explore the ways in which haiku is linked to other forms of Japanese literature and art. Haiku is not just a poetic genre—it is a way of looking at the world and, for many people, a way of life. This talk will be followed by a moderated roundtable discussion between Professor Paul Atkins, and haiku poets Scott Oki and Mitsuko Miller.

The notion that race is a social construct, rather than an objective physical reality, is widely accepted – except in areas that include biomedical research, debates about transracial identities, and sports. In this talk, Ann Morning will dissect the reasons we hold firmly to the 18th-century understanding of race in these domains.

Faced with countless environmental crises, it can be difficult to see a path to a better world — but change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We can find hope in the relationships we build, the communities we forge, and the power we share when we act together.

Join us for the University of Washington College of the Environment’s 2022 Doug Walker Lecture as we explore these topics and more with environmental advocate and educator Jamie Stroble ’10. This live discussion will be moderated by Maya Tolstoy, Maggie Walker Dean of the UW College of the Environment.

Join us online for an evening with Rena Priest, our Washington State Poet Laureate! University of Washington Libraries is proud to host her as the Maxine Cushing Grey Distinguished Writers Fellow this year. Priest has received numerous awards for her writing, including an American Book Award for her debut poetry collection, “Patriarchy Blues.” An enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation, Priest is the first Indigenous person to receive the Maxine Cushing Gray Visiting Writers Fellowship.

Rena Priest will share a reading followed by a conversation with UW Tacoma professor Danica Miller (Puyallup), with an opportunity for audience questions afterward. The emcee for the event will be Annie Downey and the discussion moderator will be Anne Jenner, ’93, both from University Libraries.

The Inaugural Sam Dubal Memorial Lecture on Racial Justice in Global Health. This talk draws on different moments, fictitious and non-fictitious, to explore our commitments to the anti-racist work needed to move towards health equity. It asks for an interrogation of what is meant by “health” and how that definition or those definitions inform/s what can be envisioned as health equity. By asking whether we are sure we want health equity is to invite reflection on our commitments and willingness to sacrifice over performative gestures and statements that often contradict stated goals.

The Henry is excited to welcome Paul Mpagi Sepuya as this year’s Monsen Photography Lecture speaker.

The master Javanese gamelan musician Heri Purwanto from Indonesia performs with his students in this evening of music from central Java, Indonesia.