Severyns Ravenholt Seminar in Comparative Politics: "No Way Out: Governance Fragmentation and the Limits of Financial Statecraft in the Global South"
Aditi Sahasrabuddhe, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Brown University.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: The Olson Room, Gowen Hall 1A. Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
Katz Distinguished Lecture: Emily M. Bender, "Resisting Dehumanization in the Age of "AI": The View from the Humanities"
The production and promotion of so-called "AI" technology involves dehumanization on many fronts: the computational metaphor valorizes one kind of cognitive activity as “intelligence,” devaluing many other aspects of human experience while taking an isolating, individualistic view of agency, ignoring the importance of communities and webs of relationships. Meanwhile, the purpose of humans is framed as being labelers of data or interchangeable machine components. Data collected about people is understood as "ground truth" even while it lies about those people, especially marginalized people. In this talk, Bender will explore these processes of dehumanization and the vital role that the humanities have in resisting these trends by painting a deeper and richer picture of what it is to be human.
Emily M. Bender is the Thomas L. and Margo G. Wyckoff Endowed Professor in Linguistics and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Computer Science and the Information School at the University of Washington, where she has…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Kane Hall (KNE). Campus room: 210. Accessibility Contact: Simpson Center, 206.543.3920, schadmin@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
“Human-Wildlife Coexistence”
Amanda Stronza
Professor, Associate Department Head for Graduate Programs
Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology
Co-founder of the Applied Biodiversity Science Program
Texas A&M University.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: Olsen Room (GWN 1A). Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, February 20, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Lecture: Heng-hao Chang, "Post-Colonial Reflections on International Disability Rights: Adaptation and Localization in Taiwan"
Taiwan is a unique site of innovation in disability rights. Despite being barred from becoming a States Party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) according to the diplomatic exclusion faced by Taiwan, it has become a model for the localization of the CRPD through its use “domestic review mechanisms.” Furthermore, Taiwan demonstrates the ways in which fundamental divides within human rights discourse, such as Western individualism and East Asian familialism, can be bridged using strategic adaptation that reimagine disability rights as a post-colonial hybrid.
Heng-hao Chang is a Professor of Sociology and former Dean of the College of Social Sciences at National Taipei University. A dedicated advocate for disability studies and the disability rights movement, Chang is a co-founder and past Chairman of the Taiwan Society for Disability Studies and currently serves as the Executive Editor of the International Journal of Disability and Social Justice.
Event made pos…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Communications Building (CMU). Campus room: 120. Accessibility Contact: Simpson Center for the Humanities, 206-543-3920, schadmin@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, February 26, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM.
RSVP to Lunch Workshop Series with Yulenni Venegas-Lopez
Yulenni Venegas-Lopez, UW Political Science
Our Lunch Workshare Series (formerly known as our Brown Bag Series) consists of discussions of work in progress by University of Washington graduate students and faculty.
The paper and RSVP link will be circulated in advance.
Questions? Reach out to
yvenegas@uw.edu.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: The Olson Room, Gowen Hall 1A. Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, February 27, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit depts.washington.edu. Severyns Ravenholt Seminar in Comparative Politics: "Negotiating Justice and Decarbonization: Community Resistance Dynamics in Emerging and Established Mining Frontiers"
Elizabeth Echavarria, Ph.D. Student, University of Washington.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: The Olson Room, Gowen Hall 1A. Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, February 27, 2026, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
“New Directions for International Law of the Sea”
Elizabeth Mendelhall
Associate Professor, Joint appointment
Department of Marine Affairs; Political Science
University of Rhode Island.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: Olsen Room (GWN 1A). Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, March 6, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
UW International Security Colloquium presenting Jessica Stanton
Jessica Stanton
Associate Professor of Political Science, Temple University.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: The Olson Room, Gowen Hall 1A. Accessibility Contact: jihyeonc@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, March 6, 2026, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
For more info visit sites.uw.edu. WISIR and PT Colloqium Present Dr. Cristina Beltrán
Dr. Cristina Beltrán
Associate Professor at New York University.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: The Olson Room, Gowen Hall 1A. Accessibility Contact: yvenegas@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, March 12, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit depts.washington.edu. Political Theory Colloquium presents Dr. Elisabeth Anker
Elisabeth R. Anker is Professor of American Studies and Political Science at George Washington University, and Director of the Film Studies Program. Her research and teaching interests are at the intersection of political theory and cultural criticism, with a focus on expressions of freedom, violence, and power in US politics and culture. She is the author of Ugly Freedoms (Duke, 2022) and Orgies of Feeling (Duke, 2014), both recognized with honors. Anker currently serves as co-editor of the interdisciplinary journal Theory & Event.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: The Olson Room, Gowen Hall 1A. Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
“Making Better Decisions about Sustainability”
Thomas Dietz
Michigan State University
Professor of Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy
Founding Director of the Environmental Science and Policy Program.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: Olsen Room (GWN 1A). Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, April 3, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
“Carrots and Sticks: Variation In Emotional Valence in International Human Rights Monitoring”
Ji Hyeon Chung, PhD student
University of Washington
“Carrots and Sticks: Variation In Emotional Valence in International Human Rights Monitoring”.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Smith Hall (SMI). Campus room: Smith Hall 40A. Accessibility Contact: jihyeonc@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, April 10, 2026, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
For more info visit sites.uw.edu. Severyns Ravenholt Seminar in Comparative Politics: "Can Authoritarian States Credibly Deliver? Housing Financialization, Inequality, and State Credibility in China"
Tongtian Xiao, Ph.D. Student, University of Washington.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: The Olson Room, Gowen Hall 1A. Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, April 17, 2026, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
“Local Climate and Sustainability Policy: A Focus on Implementation”
Rachel Krause
University of Kansas
Professor University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Gowen Hall (GWN). Campus room: Olsen Room (GWN 1A). Accessibility Contact: polisci@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, May 1, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
RSVP to Lunch Workshop Series with Anna Nguyen
Anna Nguyen, UW PHD Student
Our Lunch Workshare Series (formerly known as our Brown Bag Series) consists of discussions of work in progress by University of Washington graduate students and faculty.
The paper and RSVP link will be circulated in advance.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Smith Hall (SMI). Campus room: Smith 40A. Accessibility Contact: yvenegas@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, May 1, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit depts.washington.edu.