Recent News
After internal chaos earlier this month, OpenAI replaced the women on its board with men. As it plans to add more seats, Timnit Gebru, Sasha Luccioni and other AI luminaries tell WIRED why they wouldn't join. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.Featured
on Wired
Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region are home to millions, but what first drew people to this area? How did they adapt to this new place? What about the Native population who was already here? In this year's History Lecture Series, UW History faculty will examine the historical demographics of the region's population through the lens of groups that have come to inhabit the area over the decades.
The Department of History invites you to join us for the 49th History Lecture Series,… Read more
We recently caught up with UW History alumna Debbie Galuska (class of 1973). Debbie has been an ardent supporter of the department and history in general since her student days. She serves as the chair of the History Advisory Board and is an advocate for history education within the state.What brought you to the UW and why did you choose to study history?
I entered the UW as a freshman in the fall of 1969 interested in languages and teaching. My brother had received his PhD in… Read more
Emeritus Professor John Findlay is a familiar member of the UW History community, having spent over thirty years teaching courses in the history of the American West and the Pacific Northwest. Although he grew up in Seattle, his journey to studying the history of his hometown is full of surprises. As an undergraduate student at the University of Puget Sound, Findlay was initially interested in European history. He only shifted his focus to the American West as a graduate student at the… Read more
"Often, we use social media as a link –– this incredible resource to connect us to the people and places we love. As disinformation, decontextualization, and propaganda increase across X, TikTok, and other sites, users need to assess what the sources are for the information they are consuming," writes Danielle Marie Holland. Liora Halperin, professor of history and international studies, is quoted.… Read more
History faculty continue to excel in their respective fields of study. We are proud of the accomplishments of each of our faculty and hope you'll join us in celebrating the following achievements:
Professor Emeritus Frank Conlon was presented with the Distinguished Service Award by the South Asian Studies Association of Australia.
Hannah Frydman (Assistant Professor of French Studies, Adjunct Assistant Professor of History) was recently awarded the Bailey… Read more
Tech welcomes big characters, and many successful founders become synonymous with their brands. The incentive structures of Silicon Valley – and the huge sums that can be gained from selling stories rather than functional products – mean that the door remains open for other people to follow in Bankman-Fried's tracks. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.… Read more
Police facing criminal charges for deaths caused on duty are exceedingly rare. Over the past century, just six deaths at the hands of police have resulted in criminal charges in Washington state. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is quoted.
Featured
on The Seattle Times
Sam Altman thinks the technology underpinning his company's most famous product could bring about the end of human civilization. The UW's Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics, and Margaret O'Mara, professor of history, are quoted.
Featured
on CNN
The days are getting shorter and nights longer, and, once again, we are decorating our windows and doors with spooky ghosts and scary creatures. With Halloween around the corner, Prof. Charity Urbanski’s new book, Medieval Monstrosity: Imagining the Monstrous in Medieval Europe, couldn’t be more on topic. To understand the origins of contemporary… Read more