Jason Young (UW Information School) is now the project lead for the scholarship-to-policy initiative for the Arctic Studies minor, part of the Jackson School’s International Policy Institute. In winter quarter 2020 he worked with Robert Pavia (Marine and Environmental Affairs) to mentor several students in transitioning their research papers into policy papers.
According to Jason, “the Arctic has exploded onto the global stage, in areas of significance ranging from climate change to globalization and Indigenous diplomacy. International relations in the region are rapidly evolving and involve a wide range of actors across many scales. It is therefore vital that we, as a university, are producing new scholars ready to provide creative, interdisciplinary, and ethically-minded policy solutions that are responsive to emerging threats and opportunities. The scholarship-to-policy program has provided me with an incredible opportunity to work with emerging young scholars as they begin to engage Arctic policy in these ways.”
Bob Pavia, who taught the course ARCTIC 391: Climate Change and International Perspective, explored the science of climate change in the context of social and political constraints. He notes that “a major obstacle to collective action on climate change mitigation is bridging the gap between scientists and the broader public.”
One of the papers looked at how Tribes in Alaska and First Nations in Canada are leading the way when it comes to climate change.
The course is supporting by funding from UW Honors Program, and the Canadian Studies Center and Center for Global Studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.
To view the course and student papers, please visit our Scholarship-to-policy website.