University of Washington Press

Background[edit]

The University of Washington Press was established in 1915, as a division of the University of Washington. The publishing house is a nonprofit corporation whose primary function focuses on advancing cultural understanding through the research, development, and publication of academic work, considered to be of historical value. The first book published was Governors of Washington, Territorial and State, written by Edmond Meany. The first book published under the University of Washington Press imprint was a 1920 edition of The Poems of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey edited by Frederick M. Padelford.^[1]


The organization is the largest Pacific Northwest-based scholarly publisher. Their initial focus and geographical scope encompassed Northern California to the northernmost point of the state of Alaska and from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean. In the 1960s, they began publishing works on Asian culture and history. In 1969, they established the Asian Law Series, which served to assist the Asian Law Center at the university. In the early 2000s, they increased their expansion efforts beyond the Pacific Northwest to include the Pacific Rim and Asia and embarked on publishing historical and cultural series through formal affiliations with facilities and departments of the University of Washington, as well as editors from prominent educational institutions from around the world. As of 2013, over 20 volumes have been published, including the 2005 translation of Da Ming lü (translated: The Great Ming Code); 2007's Writing and Law in Late Imperial China: Crime, Conflict, and Judgment; and Law in Japan: A Turning Point, published in 2008.^[2]


The Korean Studies of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies series was established in 1988. As of 2013, eight monographs have been published, including Marginality and Subversion in Korea: The Hong Kyangmae Rebellion of 1812, written by Sun Joo Kim. In 1994, they published the Studies on Ethnic Groups in China series, which focused on the examination of individual ethnicities, as well as relationships between various peoples in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. As of 2013, over ten volumes have been published in this series, including Thomas Heberer's Doing Business in China: Liangshan's New Ethnic Entrepreneurs, published in 2007.^[2]


In 1999, the University of Washington Press published Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhāra: The British Library Kharosthī Fragments, written by Richard Salomon, who teaches Asian languages and literature at the university. As of 2013, he continues to oversee the Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project, which encompasses research and analysis of ancient birch bark scrolls, which were discovered in the Gandhāra region of western Pakistan. Preserved in clay jars and buried in ancient monasteries, analysis is being done to determine if the scrolls are the oldest surviving Buddhist texts ever discovered. Known as Wiigwaasabak, the scrolls have been attributed to the Dharmaguptaka sect. Since the initial publication, the press has released five volumes in the Gandhāran Buddhist texts series.^[2]


The Critical Dialogues in Southeast Asian Studies series was established in 2004. The series is edited by members of the university's history and anthropology faculty. Works are published which focus on historiography; critical ethnography; colonialism, nationalism, and ethnicity; gender equality and sexuality; science and technology; political science and sociology; and the arts encompassing literature, drama, and film. As of 2013, the press has publishes six volumes, including Love, Passion, and Patriotism: Sexuality and the Philippine Propaganda Movement, written in 2008, by Raquel A.G. Reyes.^[2]