Seminars

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The West Coast Poverty Center Seminar Series on Poverty and Public Policy brings prominent national and local faculty to the UW campus to present their cutting-edge research on poverty and public policy.  Approximately five seminars are offered each quarter and are open to faculty and graduate students from all disciplines who are interested in research on issues of poverty and inequality and related public policies.

Seminars entail a generally brief (30 minute or so) presentation by the speaker, sometimes a formal response by a discussant, and in all seminars an extended open and lively dialog between the speaker and the seminar participants for the remaining time of the seminar. Particular emphasis is placed on illuminating the ways in which poverty knowledge is informed by a diversity of disciplinary perspectives. Most of the seminars occur on Monday afternoons from 3-4:30 PM in either the Parrington Hall Commons or the Forum (located on the third floor of Parrington Hall).

New this year will be an additional, student-oriented session each quarter for enrolled graduate students. These sessions will provide opportunities for students to network with other students and with U.W. faculty from a variety of disciplines who are working on topics relating to poverty and inequality.

Topical Areas: Seminars will be presented by faculty from a variety of disciplines addressing a diversity of topics that relate to the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality in the U.S. and to the development and evaluation of public policy responses.

Graduate students from all disciplines who have a substantive emphasis on poverty as a part of their individual program of study may receive 1 credit per term for attendance and participation in at least 3 of the seminars. Questions pertaining to graduate credit may be directed to Denise Novotny, WCPC Program Coordinator, at wcpc@u.washington.edu.