Recent News
We are saddened by the loss of emeritus professor Richard S. Kirkendall, a historian of modern U.S. history, who died on August 26, 2024.
Kirkendall was born on April 11, 1928, in Spokane, Washington. After graduating from Spokane’s North Central High School, he studied at nearby Gonzaga University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1950.
Following graduation, Kirkendall served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before moving on to the University of Wisconsin, Madison,… Read more
The new movie “AfrAId" is among two centuries of entertainment about malicious artificial intelligence. Why are we so obsessed? Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.Featured
on The Washington Post
"In the Old Town of Rhodes, a picturesque tourist destination in the Aegean Sea, stands a monument to a dark period in the island’s past. In the former “Djuderia,” the Jewish quarter, a marble obelisk commemorates the deportation of the island’s small but vibrant Sephardic Jewish community to Auschwitz-Birkenau on July 23, 1944," writes Devin Naar, associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at the UW.… Read more
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.Featured
on NPR
"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… Read more
We recently caught up with PhD student Jess Cavalari, who is on a five-month research trip to Seville in southern Spain. With support from the David and Helen Pinkney and Costigan fellowships, as well as the Antoinette Wills Endowed Fund for Graduate Students through the UW College of Arts and Sciences, Jess is spending their days in the General Archive of the Indies looking for traces of the mule trains of sixteenth and seventeenth-century colonial Panama. In their research, Jess argues that… Read more
It is with great joy that we share some of the recent accomplishments of our history community.
Faculty
Liora Halperin has received one of two inaugural Linda and Stewart Rescnick Fellowships at the National Library of Israel. The award supports a period of in-person research at the library as well as remote support for digitization of materials. She will be working on her research over the diverse Jewish communities who lived in Palestine prior to the founding of the… Read more
Robert Nathane, Jr. (Class of 1971) is an ardent supporter of UW History. He has been an active member of the History Advisory Board for many years now, and he also established the Robert A. Nathane, Sr. Endowed Fund in History, which supports a wide range of critical departmental activities including faculty research and course development.
What brought you to the UW and what sparked your interest in history?
I was born and raised in Seattle and attended Franklin… Read more
In a survey conducted six months after San Juan County's 32-hour workweek’s October start date, 83% of employees said it had improved their work-life balance, and 78% their mental health. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.Featured
on The Seattle Times
Husky Giving Day was held on April 4. It is the one day each year in which Huskies from around the world come together to support the programs, activities, and units they love the most at the University of Washington. In the Department of History, we are fortunate to have so many active and generous alumni and friends who consistently show their love of UW History through giving. Because of this generosity, we are happy to report that we set a record with $33,000… Read more