The Department of English has introduced its new , a series of podcasts and YouTube videos in which UW humanities faculty discuss their research and teaching — “including the ways our work contributes to how we experience and seek to understand this time of global crisis.” Each presentation is available in both podcast and YouTube video formats.

In the first of so far, associate professor describes “what studying literature in what’s called ‘the environmental humanities’ teaches us about collectivity during events from Cyclone Amphan to COVID-19.” was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused damage in Eastern India in May.

The second episode features , senior lecturer and associate director of writing programs, on the topic, “What Asian American Studies, Literature and Art Teach Us During COVID-19.” Liu also discusses anti-racist pedagogical practices.

The third episode features associate professor on “Queer Care and Trans Literature During COVID-19.” With a focus on promoting a “politics of care,” key texts she covers in the talk include “” by Imogen Binnie to “,” by Kai Cheng Thom.

Public scholarship project director for the podcast/video series is lecturer and project manager is Jake Huebsch, coordinator of the department’s Expository Writing Program.

In other podcast news:

Sephardic Studies chair Devin Naar visits two podcasts

, UW professor of history and Jewish studies and chair of the Jackson School’s Sephardic Studies Program, was a guest on two podcasts in recently.

In May Naar discussed the history and cultural legacy of the Ladino language on a about Near Eastern history, language and culture produced by Foreigncy.US. He described the growing , in the Jackson School’s , gathering and digitizing documents pertaining to the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean world.

Naar also was a guest in September on a podcast called “Then and Now,” produced by the University of California, Los Angles, Center for History and Policy. The episode was titled “.” Naar discussed the topic from the perspective of Sephardic Jewish history.

“He challenges the imposed racial categorization of Jews in the United States, discusses the erasure and exclusion of Sephardic and Mizrahi identity in mainstream Jewish institutions,” program notes say, “and proposes a historical reclamation of Sephardic identity and a radical reimagining of community spaces.” This podcast was released on Sept. 8.

American Astronomical Society honors UW’s Emily Levesque for early career achievement

The American Astronomical Society has named , UW assistant professor of astronomy, recipient of its 2020 , given for outstanding early career achievement in observational astronomy.

Levesque was honored, more specifically, for her “breakthrough studies of massive stars and their explosive end states.

“Through observations of the host galaxy environments of long-duration gamma-ray bursts she has provided new insights into the stellar populations that create these extremely energetic events,” the AAS said in its . Levesque also led development of a new temperature scale for stars. She wrote a graduate-level e- on the subject in 2017, and is working on a new for the general public about observational astronomy, coming in August.

The is named for American astronomer . This is Levesque’s second honor from the AAS; in 2014 she received the for outstanding research and promise for future research by a postdoctoral woman researcher.

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Social work professor Karen Fredriksen Goldsen named to Washington state LGBTQ Commission

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee has named of the UW School of Social work one of 15 members to serve on the state’s new LGBTQ Commission.

Fredriksen Goldsen is a professor of social work and director of the at the UW.

All the commission members were chosen by the governor with input from members of the state House and Senate as well as from community stakeholders. The commissioners will serve three-year staggered appointments, and all are effective immediately. The was made Jan. 16.

The LGBTQ Commission was established by the state Legislature and signed into law by Inslee in April 2019. The commission is tasked with identifying the needs of the LGBTQ community and advocating for equity and inclusion throughout Washington state government.

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Information School professor Batya Friedman receives honorary doctorate from Delft University of Technology

, professor in the Information School, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from , in Delft, Netherlands.

The honor was one of two given to researchers who “symbolize new perceptions in design” during , the Dutch school’s 178^th anniversary celebration, on Jan. 10. Friedman gave a keynote lecture during the event’s Program Design for Values .

Friedman is founder and co-director, with iSchool colleague , of the UW’s . The two also co-wrote the 2019 book “.”

Value sensitive design, the two wrote, “brings together theory, methods and applications for a design process that engages human values at every stage.”

In the ceremony, Delft professor Ibo van de Poel praised Friedman as a pioneer: “In 1996, you for the first time used the term value sensitive design in a publication … Now, 20 years later the approach has been adopted world-wide.”

Watch a of the Dies Natalis event (Friedman appears at about the 55:35 mark).

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English Department’s Expository Writing Program wins national honor

The Department of English’s has been awarded a certificate of excellence by the nationwide .

The program is directed by , UW associate professor of English. Other associate directors and mentors, noted in the department , are , , , , and .

The awards committee wrote that they were impressed by the program’s “expansive” vision of writing, including its “attentiveness to the needs of diverse learners, including its support for multilingual writers, and its integration of anti-racism into professional development opportunities.”

The newsletter also noted the contribution former program directors, including , , and .