Social Sciences

Rediscovering Indigenous storytelling

ENGLISH, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES — As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an associate professor of English at the University of Oregon, Kirby Brown blends a deep commitment to preserving his family’s personal stories with a vision for fostering Indigenous research and archival storytelling. Through storytelling and literature, he seeks to highlight moments of love, joy, humor, resistance, desire, and futurity.

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

SOCIOLOGY - Hannah Waight, an assistant professor of sociology in CAS, and her collaborators found that the use of state-planted propaganda is on the rise in China. And it’s not just a tool for spreading ideological content. It’s also used to control and constrain other kinds of information beyond political ideals, including natural disaster and public health reporting in China.

UO chemist, paleoanthropologist named AAAS fellows

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY, ANTHROPOLOGY - Two University of Oregon faculty members have been named 2024 fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), joining 471 other newly elected members whose work has distinguished them in the science community and beyond. This year’s fellows and their areas of research are Darren Johnson, chemistry and biochemistry, and Stephen Frost, anthropology.

From Curiosity to Impact

Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences are on the frontline of addressing the world's most pressing issues, including AI, Alzheimer's, ice sheet loss in Greenland—and more. These are big problems, and our faculty members are relying on millions of dollars in grant funding to explore solutions for a better tomorrow. Read more in the 2023-24 annual report, out now.

Defying the odds

ECONOMICS, SPANISH - Adrianna Vaca-Navarro has spent her life fighting against a system that was built against people like her. Now, she is a law student working to help others in need. Vaca-Navarro graduated in 2021. Now, she's a law student at the University of California, Berkeley. She is working to leverage her identity to help communities in need, aiming to fill the gaps within the legal system that she is studying.

UO fellow is busy as a bee

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Nicholas Burns (class of 2025), isn’t afraid to stop and smell the roses. Burns is dedicated to finding and applying strategies to create new pollinator habitats and combat their decline. He studies the fitness of flowering plant species in response to neighboring competition and pollination alongside mentor and professor Lauren Hallett at the University of Oregon Hallett Lab.

Experts panel to discuss Octavia Butler, Afrofuturism

ENGLISH, WOMEN'S, GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES - From noon to 1:30 pm Monday, Feb. 17, experts will discuss on the works by Octavia E. Butler's work and her legacy, as well as Afrofuturism, and how her literature can inspire us to see new futures and view the past through a new lens. “Octavia E. Butler’s work remains as urgent and essential as ever,” said Kemi Balogun, one of the organizers and an associate professor in CAS.