CHSS Western Today News

Western Washington University Assistant Professor of Modern & Classical Languages Sheryl Bernardo-Hinesley will present "Language Attitudes of Speakers of a Critically Endangered Philippine Creole Spanish" at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 via Zoom as part of the Linguistics Department's "Western Talks" lecture series.

Western Washington University’s Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity will host free and open streaming of Christian Petzold’s 2018 film “

The University of Minnesota Medical School's Jillian Fish, will present "The Ecology of Storytelling in Native America: Using Digital Stories to Examine Native American Identities Across Developmental Contexts" from 4-5 p.m. on Monday, May 10 via Zoom as part of Western's Center for Cross-Cultural Research (CCCR) Speaker Series.

This presentation is free and open to the public; email CCCR director Kate McLean at kate.mclean@wwu.edu for the Zoom link to the presentation.

Western’s faculty and students are engaged in exciting research and scholarship across a variety of fields. Each Friday, Western Today will share short summaries of the latest developments in scholarly work at the University.

Western Washington University Associate Professor of Journalism Maria McLeod has been named the winner of the 2020 WaterSedge Poetry Chapbook Contest, resulting in publication of her first book, “Mother Want,” to be released next month.

A second chapbook of McLeod’s poetry, “Skin. Hair. Bones.,” has also been accepted for publication and will be released by Finishing Line Press this fall.

The contest was judged by former Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford.

On March 11, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control officially declared the COVID-19 virus a pandemic outbreak. Institutions across the country had to make a quick and often clumsy transition to working remotely to abide by new safety restrictions. An entire year later, the world is still trying to regain its balance. 

While the shift to remote work had its faults, it also opened new doorways for work— distance, for some workers, is no longer an obstacle. 

Western Washington University's Latin American Studies and American Cultural Studies programs, in conjunction with the President's Office and Provost's Office, will host "Creating Bridges/Creando Puentes: Critical Conversations on Latinidades at Western and Beyond" on April 27 and 29. 

Creando Puentes/Creating Bridges is a cross-campus symposium to discuss and raise awareness of the diversity of Latinidades in our local communities and across borders.

Western’s Department of Linguistics is proud to announce a new student-produced podcast, The Podling! This podcast delves into the question "What is linguistics?" through interviews with professors in the department. Episodes will explore the academic and career paths linguists take, as well as the history and current vibe of the field.

The Pacific Northwest region (Region X) of the Society of Professional Journalists has announced the winners of its Mark of Excellence 2021 awards competition, and four Western student journalists have won top honors and will move on to the national awards competition. A number of WWU students were also named as finalists.

Winners (will move on to the national competition later this spring)

Leonard Michael Helfgott (Lenny), age 83, died in his home on April 8, 2021 with his wife, three children, and eldest grandchildren by his side following a nine-year struggle with bladder cancer.

Lenny was born in 1937 in Baltimore, Maryland to Anna Helfgott (Altshul) and Isidore (Isser) Helfgott. After attending public schools in Baltimore, Lenny enrolled at the University of Maryland, earning a B.A. and M.A. and later returning to earn a Ph.D. in history in 1972.

Western's English and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies departments will celebrate National Poetry Month with a virtual event featuring award-winning poet Anastacia-Reneé at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 22.

Western’s faculty and students are engaged in exciting research across a variety of fields. Periodically, Western Today will share short summaries of the latest developments in scholarship and research at the University.

Western's Linguistics Department will host 'Talking About Kin in Tiwa,' presented by Assistant Professor of Linguistics Virginia Dawson, at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 4 via Zoom.

This event is free and open to the public, and connection information is below.

Languages vary widely in how they express kinship relations. The Boro-Garo languages of northeast India in particular are known to have complex and typologically unusual systems of kinship reference, but have received relatively little attention in the broader literature (Bouchery and Longmailai 2018).

Western's College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the WWU Alumni Association will present "Curating and Presenting Lasting Literature: WWU's Bellingham Review" at noon on Wednesday, March 10 via Zoom as part of the CHSS Dean's Lecture Series.