The Jackson School of International Studies Director and Jackson School Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has issued a statement in response to Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict on April 20, 2021, noting, in part: “Through teaching, research, administration, scholarship, and service, the Jackson School strives to better understand how historically produced and intersecting inequalities are perpetuated.”

In this Feb. 2021 New Books Network podcast episode, Makena Mezistrano, assistant director of the Sephardic Studies Program, Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, interviews scholar and upcoming Jewish Studies speaker Dina Danon, discussing her book, “The Jews of Ottoman Izmir.” 

Dr. Alex Kocar, UW Comparative Religion alumnus (2009) and current lecturer at Princeton University, has recently published a new book, Heavenly Stories Tiered Salvation in the New Testament and Ancient Christianity, with University of Pennsylvania Press. Salvation is often thought to be an all-or-nothing matter: you are either saved or damned. Paul the Apostle, John

In professor Naomi Sokoloff’s recent talk, “Jewish Dogs and the Nazi Beast,” she explored the fascinating intersection between animal studies and Holocaust literature, focusing on memoirs by two Hebrew authors. Alona Frankel and Aharon Appelfeld were Jewish survivors who both spent part of the war years as hidden children. Fleeing human cruelty, seeking refuge in

The latest Jackson Report – an annual sampling of JSIS activities; new offerings; and student and faculty research, honors, and awards – is now available online. From Leela Fernandes, JSIS Director and Stanley D. Golub Endowed Chair: “The first six months of my Directorship took place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a sharply contested election and

  Recorded September 20, 2020. How can people of all faiths and none in Seattle collaborate on our most pressing challenges—from Covid-19 to racial justice? 2020 presented extraordinary challenges and possibilities, from a pandemic to a mass movement against anti-Black racism and police violence. In order to move forward, each of us must have the

Taso Lagos, JSIS lecturer in Hellenic Studies, has recently published his new book, Charisma and Religious War in America: Ministries and Rivalries of Sister Aimee and “Fighting Bob” (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020). The book explores spiritual innovation in 1920’s Los Angeles through the biographies of two key Protestant figures –and rivals– in the movement:  Sister Aimee

Students will explore religion’s role in resisting the status quo and seeking justice for all, including the natural world. Current global events continue to expose deep cultural divides in regards to views on race, gender, and environmental threats. In response, Professor James Wellman is offering a new course, RELIG 490: Religion and Resistance. Students will examine Christian theologies

“Truth is the highest of virtues, but higher still is truthful living.” -Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib So goes one of Dr. David Fowler’s favorite quotes from the Sikh tradition, one of just a few religions he will be exploring with students this fall in his course, RELIG 202 – Introduction to World Religions: Eastern

In her opinion piece for the Huffington Post, affiliated Comparative Religion professor Radhika Govindrajan analyzes how the colonial narrative of “cruel” natives vs. “innocent” animals persists in modern-day Kerala.