During winter quarter, Comparative History of Ideas’ (CHID)聽 study abroad program took students on a journey to Rome, Budapest and Istanbul to connect with Roma communities through experiential learning.
News and features
91探花Bothell hosts Middle East expert Lawrence Pintak
91探花Bothell’s American Muslim Research Institute is hosting a lecture by Middle East expert聽, director of the聽American Muslim Research Institute听补苍诲听a 91探花Bothell professor, will moderate. The talk will provide insight into “how Islam inside and outside of the U.S. affects the lives of American Muslims, and vice versa, with specific attention paid to U.S. foreign policy potential implications,” says Dana.
Michelle Obama praises 91探花student in Peking University speech
First Lady Michelle Obama praised 91探花senior Philmon Haile during聽a recent speech at Peking University, quoting聽from his remarks at a Washington D.C. event celebrating聽President Obama鈥檚 .
Philmon has studied abroad several times,听interning at the US Embassy Beijing, conducting field research in rural China and volunteering in Jordan. He was recently awarded the Rangel Graduate Fellowship, which supports graduate study and professional development in preparation for a career in the Foreign Service.
New 91探花course explores history, politics of global health intervention
A new Department of History course challenges students to explore the complicated history of health intervention. Through critical examination of case studies from the Middle Ages to the present day, Associate Professor Adam聽Warren聽hopes to empower and inspire students to take leadership and learn from history.聽
Should English be the ‘global language’ of science?
The journal Science recently reviewed Scott Montgomery’s book聽. Montgomery, a lecturer and consulting geologist the 91探花, explores in the book the use of English as a “global language” for scientific researchers.
‘Future of Ice’ initiative prepares students for leadership in the Arctic
Through the , the 91探花 is leveraging faculty expertise and making new investments to build a pipeline of thinkers, researchers and leaders focused on Arctic regional issues. Eight countries聽hold territory within the region, but a changing landscape due to rapidly melting sea ice is attracting attention from new international players.聽With its unique resources and interdisciplinary expertise related to the Arctic, 91探花is uniquely positioned it to make an impact through teaching, research and collaborative partnerships.
Undergraduates Garrett Knoll and Walter O鈥橳oole and graduate student Erica Escajeda are three of a growing group of 91探花students preparing for diverse leadership roles in the changing Arctic.
Unique resources
Erica is first-year graduate student conducting thesis research on the Polar Bears of Baffin Island, Canada. 91探花offers her the opportunity to be mentored by outstanding faculty and participate in specialized research.
“What really drew me to the 91探花was Dr. Laidre’s research at the . It鈥檚 an incredible resource, and the research is cutting edge.”
Without Dr. Lairdre鈥檚 connections in Canada and Greenland, she adds, 鈥淚 would not be able to travel to the Arctic at all during the course of my master’s research due to funding constraints.鈥�
An English major, Walter is expanding his understanding of the Arctic by studying Inuktitut, an Inuit language spoken in tribal communities in the Canadian Arctic. He and one other student 鈥� a Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellow in Inuktitut聽and aspiring environmental lawyer 鈥� study with two instructors, a language expert and a native speaker from Canada.
鈥淚nuktitut is quite different than any other class I’ve taken UW,” he says, “There are only two students, so that makes for a lot of interaction with our professors. It’s mostly done over Skype, which can be spotty at times, but without videoconferencing I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to learn Inuktitut. Both [instructors] are accomplished Inuktitut linguists.鈥�
An interdisciplinary approach
Through UW鈥檚 鈥淔uture of Ice鈥� course this winter quarter, led by instructors Nadine Fabbi and Eric Steig, Walter, Garrett and Erica are engaging with six Polar region experts, including scientists, political and indigenous leaders and wildlife photographers. Each guest provides a new and different perspective on changes facing northern regions.
鈥淚 really like how the class brings in the top people from a variety of fields all having to do with the Polar Regions,鈥� Garrett explains,
“An interdisciplinary perspective is essential to a topic like the Arctic because it involves so many different fields and ways of thinking. You have to have a grasp on all of them in order to understand the whole picture.”
Erica is excited to broaden her knowledge of the political, cultural and scientific issues surrounding the Arctic. 鈥淚nterdisciplinary courses like the 鈥楩uture of Ice鈥� instill a deeper sense of collaboration, and hopefully inspire students to think outside of their fields. The lessons I’ve learned from the course are readily connected to my own research and career goals.鈥�
Walter is pursuing the unique jointly offered by the and the . The interdisciplinary minor provides cultural, political and scientific perspectives on the rapidly changing region.聽“[My instructors鈥橾 enthusiasm for my studies in Inuktitut is wonderful; they each are incredibly knowledgeable in their fields, and they have been eager to share their knowledge with me, going out of their way to help me expand my awareness of the Arctic.”
Diverse directions
Walter plans to pursue graduate studies in English and make a career teaching and writing.聽鈥淭hrough the Arctic聽Minor, I hope gain understanding of the context in which Arctic and Inuit literatures are created, an understanding that could enable me to teach in those areas.鈥�
Erica鈥檚 career trajectory also points north. She is considering teaching or working as a research scientist and biological consultant on Arctic issues.
An Aquatic & Fisheries science major 鈥渉ooked on Arctic Studies鈥�, Garrett is using his science training to educate the public about a little known Arctic species, the Greenland shark. For his capstone project, Garrett designed an interactive game that teaches kids about the animal by inviting them to pick out plastic animals they think the shark would eat.
Garrett shared his game at the Pacific Science Center鈥檚 . His dedication won鈥檛 stop there. 鈥淎fter I graduate I hope to get involved with outreach programs that get kids interested in science by taking them out into the field and showing them the incredible animals that inhabit our world.鈥�
-Sara Stubbs
Cross-cultural study examines kids’ understanding of intellectual property
Children from the US, China and Mexico participated in a by 91探花 researcher Kristina Olson聽and colleagues from聽Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. The group examined children’s reactions to a video where puppets make their own drawing or copy a friend’s drawing. Despite cultural differences, 5 and 6 year-old children from all three countries viewed negatively the puppet who stole his friend’s idea.
Founded by 91探花alumni, Cairo tech start-up is acquired by NewsCorp
Alumni ,听听补苍诲听 met as majors. 聽A decade after graduation,听they reunited in Cairo to found CloudPress, an online platform that allows users to create and share content like cookbooks, catalogs and instruction manuals. Their venture may have been risky – they started up during the Egyptian Revolution with the help of a – but it has paid off immensely. CloudPress was recently acquired by NewsCorp.
Tribal leader to receive Odegaard Award
The 2014 Charles E. Odegaard Award will honor Denny Hurtado, a Skykomish tribal leader whose leadership has positively impacted the K-12 education system and the 91探花. Together with聽the聽w菨色菨b蕯altx史 (Intellectual House) Advisory Committee, Hurtado is working to build a longhouse on the 91探花campus.聽
Alumna makes a global impact with Starbucks
As a Manager of Global Responsibility for Starbucks,听Ann Burkhart ’90 ensures that the company’s international impact is positive.聽Her team develops strategies for the ethical sourcing of commodities from around the world. An international studies major at the 91探花, Burkhart particularly values the writing and research skills she gained here.聽