News from the School of IAS
MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics students and alumni interview recently-published authors
Since 2018, the MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics has collaborated with Essay Press on the annual publication of a work or works of innovative prose. The first two books in the series were published this summer, and MFA students and alumni have come together to interview the authors to gain deeper insights into their work and poetics. Stephanie Segura (2020), N. L. Sweeney (2020) and Scott Bentley (2021) interviewed Katherine Agyemaa Agard about their book of colour, an experimental essay about color, hybridity, and art-making that provides a memoir of Agyemaa Agard’s coming to North America and encountering binaries of black and white within global anti-blackness. Cliff Watson (2021), Annika Bunney (2021), and Sabina Livadariu (2020) spoke with Kaia Preus about ...
October 2, 2020
Abigail Echo-Hawk fights for the inclusion of Indigenous people in COVID-19 data
IAS alum Abigail Echo-Hawk has been working for years with Indigenous people, mostly in cities, across the United States to collect data about their communities. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic takes a disproportionate toll on many Indigenous communities, Echo-Hawk’s work takes on more urgency. Science magazine recently featured Echo-Hawk’s ...
September 28, 2020
Margaret Redsteer receives the Distinguished Alumni Award
IAS faculty member Margaret Redsteer received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Oregon State University’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. She will be giving a virtual talk there next month on "A Record of Climate Change: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Conventional Science,” ...
September 28, 2020
Shauna Carlisle, Ching-ln Chen, and S. Charusheela receive Diversity and Inclusion Seed Grant
IAS faculty members Shauna Carlisle, Ching-ln Chen, and S. Charusheela have received a Diversity and Inclusion Seed Grant from the UW Diversity Council to launch a diversity and inclusion graduate student questionnaire to be sent to alumni who graduated between 2015 and 2020. Survey will assess perceptions of ...
September 25, 2020
IAS alumni, faculty member, and student serve on UWAA Board of Trustees
The University of Washington Alumni Association (UWAA) has been the foundation of the UW alumni community for more than 125 years, and the UWAA Board of Trustees is a vital body of committed individuals responsible for setting the association’s tone and direction. IAS alumni serving on the Board of Trustees for the 2020-21 term include: At-large Trustee Emily Anderson (’09), University Representative Trustee David Hernandez (’03), and Geographic Trustee Tanya Kumar (’18) ...
September 24, 2020
Jennifer Atkinson speaks to international audiences on climate change and mental health
IAS faculty member Jennifer Atkinson spoke to audiences in the U.S., Germany, and Canada as part of a 2020 speaking series on climate change and mental health. Her talks were featured at the Festival of Live Digital Art in Toronto, the Aspen Institute's Future Leaders Climate Summit, the Rachel Carson Center in Munich, the City of Bellevue's virtual Earth Day event, and Edmonds Community College's 2020 Triton Talk series. Atkinson's presentations highlighted ...
September 23, 2020
Kristin Gustafson publishes “Reporting today, with yesterday’s context”
IAS faculty member Kristin Gustafson, along with co-authors Nicholas Hirshon (William Paterson University) and Lori Amber Roessner (University of Tennessee), published “Reporting today, with yesterday's context” in the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR). The article addresses the role of historical reporting and "turning to history for perspective" in covering today's news. CJR is a magazine for journalists and ...
September 22, 2020
Meshell Sturgis reviews The Rachel Divide and Fearing the Black Body
M.A. in Cultural Studies alum Meshell Sturgis ('17) studies representations of difference and identity in the media using Black feminist critical-cultural communication theories and methods. A Ph.D. candidate in the UW Department of Communication, Sturgis recently published reviews of the documentary film, The Rachel Divide, with co-author Victoria Thomas, and the book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, by Sabrina Strings.
September 17, 2020
Alka Kurian: Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, and model minority discourse
IAS faculty member Alka Kurian had a busy summer! She gave virtual lectures in June and September on "Youth, Education, Gender, and Human Rights in India" to students of the Foreign Services Institute, and presented a virtual paper entitled “Growing Up South Asian in America Today” at the University of Lucknow, India. She also participated in virtual ...
September 16, 2020
Cinnamon Hillyard connects student success programs
IAS faculty member Cinnamon Hillyard, who had been serving as associate vice chancellor for undergraduate learning, took on an expanded role this summer as associate vice chancellor for student success. Hillyard’s position was created to center on the academic life cycle of students, align resources, and ensure a consistent vision of student success.
September 14, 2020