University of Washington

WHY RACE MAT TERS 2017: RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE In 2016, the Department of History's Diversity Committee successfully launched a new annual discussion series titled "Why Race Matters." Aimed primarily at an undergraduate audience, the event features a panel of 4 or 5 speakers, who each offer brief comments connecting their research or/ and teaching expertise to a topic of contemporary relevance to the UW's student body. The idea of organizing this event annually, according to Department of History faculty member Ileana M. Rodríguez-Silva, "emerged not only from a desire to showcase how History faculty address pressing current events, but also from a commitment to cultivate a historically- minded public, interested in crucial discussions about power, the making of social differences, and the production/ reproduction of structural inequities." The series also consciously seeks to engage in interdisciplinary conversations with colleagues across campus. This year, the Diversity Committee selected the topic "Resilience and Resistance." At this present moment of constant outrage in the face of heightened structural and interpersonal violence(s), but also of fatigue (and, at times, paralysis), the committee and the department seek to open a conversation about the challenges, limits, and successes of solidarity and anti-establishment mobilizations (now, or in the past, in the United States and beyond). As Ileana M. Rodríguez-Silva explains, "The word anti-establishment may not be the best, but it signifies mobilizations, often intersectional work, against colonialism, racism, homophobia, misogyny, capitalism, ableism, ageism, and/ or other structures and practices of oppression." Confirmed panelists are Dr. Stephanie Smallwood (History), Dr. Laurie Marhoefer (History), Dr. LaTasha Levy (American Ethnic Studies), Josué Estrada, (PhC, History), and Dr. Jean Dennison (Anthropology). The panel is scheduled for October 17, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m., at the Ethnic Cultural Center. L ABOR AND WORKING-CL ASS HISTORY ASSOCIATION HOLDS CONFERENCE AT UW For four days this summer, the University of Washington became the worldwide center for the study of labor and working-class history. More than 500 scholars, activists, community members, and labor organizers from around the globe came to campus to attend the Scales of Struggle conference, hosted by the Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA). The vibrant meeting, which stretched from June 22 to June 25, featured nearly 100 panels, workshops, films, and performances, along with five plenary sessions. The Department of History, as well as the UW Social Sciences Division, played a pivotal role in the planning and the execution of the event. Professor James Gregory, current LAWCHA president, coordinated the conference from start to finish. The Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, led by Professor Michael McCann of Political Science and associate director Andrew Hedden, a History doctoral student, served as conference host. Theresa Mudrock, the UW History Librarian, designed and produced the printed program. The History doctoral students Michael Aguirre, Josué Estrada, Andrew Hedden, Roneva Keel, and Michael Reagan presented papers. Professors Dan Berger, Susan Glenn, James Gregory, Moon-Ho Jung, Polly Reed Myers, and Ileana M. Rodríguez-Silva participated in panels and discussions. To find out more about LAWCHA, including a lively blog, resources for teaching labor history, and more, visit www.lawcha.org. THE PULITZER PRIZE–WINNING HISTORIAN HEATHER ANN THOMPSON IS SPEAKING WITH JULIE GREEN, CHELSEA NELSON, AND KELLY LYTLE HERNANDEZ ABOUT MASS INCARCERATION AND THE WORKING CLASS. CREDIT: HERMAN GILMAN. PROFESSOR ILEANA M. RODRÍGUEZ-SILVA SPEAKS AT THE 2017 WHY RACE MATTERS DISCUSSION PANEL D E P A R T M E N T O F H I S T O R Y   7

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