Joy Connolly Lecture "Parable of the Scholar: The Humanities in Conditions of Abundance"
Registration recommended.
We humanists are hoping for, and many of us are fighting for, a new day in the United States when the production and circulation of knowledge are understood as keystones of democracy and of human thriving – and thus as deserving of substantial public investment. Having worked so long in the spirit of doing a lot with a little, how do we envision the humanities in conditions of abundance? What shifts in traditional academic culture and policy will help us meet those conditions? In the spirit of Octavia Butler’s future-oriented thinking, this talk draws together many threads of contemporary thinking to sketch a future where American universities center the values and practices of liberal arts-grounded humanistic inquiry.
Joy Connolly has served as President of the American Council of Learned Societies since 2019. Previously, she was Provost and Interim President of The Graduate Center at the City University of New York and Dean for the Humanities at New York University. She has a…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Communications Building (CMU). Campus room: 202. Accessibility Contact: Simpson Center for the Humanities, 206-543-3920, humanities@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Tuesday, November 17, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM.
Pseudoprofessional Advice: Misinformation, Professional Regulation, and the First Amendment
Please join the UW Law Interdisciplinary Health Law & Policy Program and the UW Center for an Informed Public for a presentation by Claudia Haupt of Northeastern School of Law,
Pseudoprofessional Advice: Misinformation, Professional Regulation, and the First Amendment.
Why are licensed professionals constrained in the advice they provide within professional relationships, yet free to offer potentially harmful advice to millions of people through social media, television, books, and advice columns? This gap stems from the structure of First Amendment doctrine: within the professional relationship, the First Amendment protects good advice, while outside that relationship, good and bad advice are generally treated equally.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: William H. Gates Hall (LAW). Campus room: Room 138. Accessibility Contact: lawconf@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars. Workshops. Conferences.
Tuesday, November 17, 2026, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
For more info visit forms.cloud.microsoft. Distinguished Lecture Series: Léon Bottou (Flatiron Institute) - The Fiction Machine
Abstract:
Imagine a machine that can read a story and generate a meaningful continuation, that is, one that complies with the narrative demands of the story and makes sense to a meaningful fraction of the readers. Because what is true in the world of the story needs not be true in our world, this machine cannot be expected to say the truth. It only knows narrative necessity. This machine is of course an idealized model of modern AI systems, from language models and chatbots to movie generation. It is also an opportunity to formulate important questions and sometimes catch a glimpse of their answers. How can we define such a machine more rigorously? What can it compute? How does it compare to logic and mathematical reasoning? Can it be used to make inferences about our world even though its output is not constrained by what is true in our world? Such questions are not only relevant to artificial intelligence, but also useful to understand certain aspects of human intelligence and society.
Bio:
Léon Bottou…
Event interval: Single day event. Accessibility Contact: dso@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, November 19, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. HCDE Research Speaker Series: Jin Yu, "Thinking Through Making: Tangible Tools for Youth Building Interactive Devices"
Join the UW Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for a research talk with Dr. Jin Yu, Postdoctoral Fellow at Simon Fraser University, as part of the HCDE Research Speaker Series.
Thinking Through Making: Tangible Tools for Youth Building Interactive Devices
Youth bring perspectives shaped by their everyday lives, identities, and cultural contexts. Yet youth co-design of interactive technologies often stops at early ideas. Without accessible tools to go further, young participants rarely build or test what they imagine. Their needs and values stay abstract and are seldom expressed through concrete design decisions. In this talk, I will share how I design tangible tools that help youth carry their own ideas forward, moving back and forth between imagining, building, and evaluating interactive devices. I will present three lines of work with middle-school youth and educators. My:Talkies is a craft kit that introduces communication-technology concepts through expressive, story-driven making.…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Campus room: 134 Sieg Building. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, November 19, 2026, 4:30 PM – 5:20 PM.
For more info visit www.hcde.washington.edu. First Book Manuscript Panel with Diana Flores Ruíz, "Borders, Surveillance, and Solidarity: Critical Studies of Media Infrastructures Now"
In what ways might critical studies of media infrastructures expand our understanding of border regimes? How can analyses of the materialities, sites, practices, and labor of media infrastructures inform strategies of resistance to state surveillance? Join feminist media and science and technology scholars Lisa Parks (UCSB), Felicity Amaya Schaeffer (UCSC), and Diana Flores Ruíz (UW) for a panel discussion on the sociotechnical relations of borders, surveillance, and solidarity.
Lisa Parks is a Distinguished Professor of Film and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara, where she serves as Director of the Global Media Technologies and Cultures Lab, and a 2018 MacArthur Fellow. She is a media scholar whose research focuses on satellite technologies and global media cultures; critical studies of media infrastructures; environmental media; and media, militarization and surveillance.
Felicity Amaya Schaeffer is Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. Her research and…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Communications Building (CMU). Campus room: 202. Accessibility Contact: Simpson Center for the Humanities, 206-543-3920, humanities@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, November 20, 2026, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM.
HCDE Research Speaker Series: Sean Munson
Join the UW Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for a research talk with Professor Sean Munson as part of the HCDE Research Speaker Series.
Additional details about the talk will be added as they become available.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Campus room: 134 Sieg Building. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, December 3, 2026, 4:30 PM – 5:20 PM.
For more info visit www.hcde.washington.edu. First Monday STSS Reading Group [Online]
What is First Monday?
First Monday is a participant-led, interdisciplinary, online STSS reading group.
When is the meeting?
The first Monday of each month. The meeting time changes quarterly, reach out to the organizers to get the most updated time.
Where is the meeting?
Via Zoom. Email mmjones@uw.edu to request an invitation.
What is the goal of the reading group?
We seek to foster and deepen an intellectual community amongst STS-curious faculty, students, and staff at the University of Washington’s three campuses and the School of Medicine. Anyone at the UW who is STS-curious is welcome to join.
Who hosts the meetings?
Anyone who participates in the group can volunteer to host. We have a rotating host model. Every month, someone new chooses an article, book chapter, or publication in the STS field. In the event no one volunteers, the facilitators may select an article and/or invite a host.
Who facilitates?
The First Monday facilitators are Monika Sengul-Jones, Director of Strategy and Operations for Society…
Event interval: Single day event. Accessibility Contact: mmjones@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars. Target Audience: Tri-campus science, technology, and society studies faculty, students, researchers, and staff.
Monday, December 7, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit depts.washington.edu. STSS in Good Company | Graduate Student Intros, Snacks, and Socializing
Join us for an informal gathering to meet the fifteen graduate students from across the campus who are currently pursuing the STSS Graduate Certificate! Faculty and students involved in the STSS program or curious about STS are warmly invited. Enjoy introductions, conversation, and snacks. Afterward, we'll head to the Ave for a no-host happy hour!
https://depts.washington.edu/stsst/students/.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: CMU 126 | 2023 King Ln NE, Seattle, WA 98105. Accessibility Contact: mmjones@uw.edu. Event Types: Academics. Target Audience: STSS grad students, faculty, staff interested in STSS.
Wednesday, December 9, 2026, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM.
HCDE Research Speaker Series: Mark Zachry
Join the UW Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering for a research talk with Professor Mark Zachry as part of the HCDE Research Speaker Series.
Additional details about the talk will be added as they become available.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Sieg Building (SIG). Campus room: 134 Sieg Building. Accessibility Contact: hcdehelp@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, December 10, 2026, 4:30 PM – 5:20 PM.
For more info visit www.hcde.washington.edu. First Monday STSS Reading Group [Online]
What is First Monday?
First Monday is a participant-led, interdisciplinary, online STSS reading group.
When is the meeting?
The first Monday of each month. The meeting time changes quarterly, reach out to the organizers to get the most updated time.
Where is the meeting?
Via Zoom. Email mmjones@uw.edu to request an invitation.
What is the goal of the reading group?
We seek to foster and deepen an intellectual community amongst STS-curious faculty, students, and staff at the University of Washington’s three campuses and the School of Medicine. Anyone at the UW who is STS-curious is welcome to join.
Who hosts the meetings?
Anyone who participates in the group can volunteer to host. We have a rotating host model. Every month, someone new chooses an article, book chapter, or publication in the STS field. In the event no one volunteers, the facilitators may select an article and/or invite a host.
Who facilitates?
The First Monday facilitators are Monika Sengul-Jones, Director of Strategy and Operations for Society…
Event interval: Single day event. Accessibility Contact: mmjones@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars. Target Audience: Tri-campus science, technology, and society studies faculty, students, researchers, and staff.
Monday, January 4, 2027, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit depts.washington.edu. Doing Science on a Burning Planet – What Does It Feel Like? with Cristina Mejia Visperas
Climate data is everywhere — so why isn't enough changing? USC's Cristina Visperas explores the raw, urgent emotions of scientists grappling with a crisis that accelerates faster than our response to it.
Event interval: Single day event. Accessibility Contact: lectures@uw.edu. Event Types: Diversity Equity Inclusion. Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, January 28, 2027, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM.
Seattle Town Hall - Forum.
For more info visit www.washington.edu. First Monday STSS Reading Group [Online]
What is First Monday?
First Monday is a participant-led, interdisciplinary, online STSS reading group.
When is the meeting?
The first Monday of each month. The meeting time changes quarterly, reach out to the organizers to get the most updated time.
Where is the meeting?
Via Zoom. Email mmjones@uw.edu to request an invitation.
What is the goal of the reading group?
We seek to foster and deepen an intellectual community amongst STS-curious faculty, students, and staff at the University of Washington’s three campuses and the School of Medicine. Anyone at the UW who is STS-curious is welcome to join.
Who hosts the meetings?
Anyone who participates in the group can volunteer to host. We have a rotating host model. Every month, someone new chooses an article, book chapter, or publication in the STS field. In the event no one volunteers, the facilitators may select an article and/or invite a host.
Who facilitates?
The First Monday facilitators are Monika Sengul-Jones, Director of Strategy and Operations for Society…
Event interval: Single day event. Accessibility Contact: mmjones@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars. Target Audience: Tri-campus science, technology, and society studies faculty, students, researchers, and staff.
Monday, February 1, 2027, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit depts.washington.edu. Katz Distinguished Lecture: Benjamin R. Teitelbaum, "Limitless: Silicon Valley and the Dream of Apocalypse"
Registration required. Link coming soon.
Based on years of ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists like Peter Thiel and Bryan Johnson, Benjamin R. Teitelbaum argues that renegade leaders in Silicon Valley are crafting a theory of time. In a reversal of the right-wing populist playbook, the tech right dreams not of recovering a golden age of order, but of summoning a world without limits or responsibilities from the future. In this lecture, Teitelbaum shows how tech leaders convey this vision through the languages of religion, physics, and geography. One refrain sounds throughout: that humanity's fate is not to reform, but to transcend, society and politics.
Benjamin R. Teitelbaum is an associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. An award-winning expert on the radical right, he is author of War for Eternity and Lions of the North. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Wall Street Journal, The New Statesman, The…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Kane Hall (KNE). Campus room: 210. Accessibility Contact: Simpson Center for the Humanities, 206.543.3920, humanities@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Tuesday, February 9, 2027, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.