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Social sciences provide an analytical approach to society’s problems. As a result, faculty and students in the social sciences often focus on complex and intersectional issues such as racism, international conflict and war, climate change, and poverty. Through an objective and empirical approach to these issues, the goal is to generate genuine passion and equip future leaders with the skills they need to address the world’s challenges. Explore majors, minors, concentrations, and academic programs in the social sciences. 

 


News from Social Sciences

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Years before Sravya Tadepalli started working as a senior legislative advisor at the Oregon Employment Department, she was a Clark Honors College student studying political science and journalism. As a UO student, she received some of the highest honors for an undergrad, including being a Truman Scholar and Rhodes Scholar finalist. After the UO, Tadepalli went to graduate school at Harvard University to earn a master’s degree in public policy.
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.
SOCIOLOGY - After spending decades in the professional world, this sociology major has finally found his path—and he’s helping other students find theirs.

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Your Gift Changes Lives

Gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences can help our students make the most of their college careers. To do this, CAS needs your support. Your contributions help us ensure that teaching, research, advising, mentoring, and support services are fully available to every student. Thank you!

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World-Class Faculty in the Social Sciences

a headshot of Ashley Cordes

Ashley Cordes

Assistant Professor of Indigenous Media in Environmental Studies and Data Science

Ashely Cordes is an academic expert in Indigenous data sovereignty, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. Her research explores how Indigenous communities can leverage technological utilities—such as cryptocurrency and AI—for Tribal economic independence, representational and data sovereignty, and preservation of knowledge systems. 

Her book Indigenous Currencies: Leaving Some for the Rest in the Digital Age (MIT Press) challenges settler economics and currencies and argues that Indigenous currencies—from wampum and beads to the cryptocurrency MazaCoin—transcend economic value and possess a cultural, social and political context. The book has a publish date of April 2025.Cordes is a recent American Council of Learned Societies Fellow and an enrolled citizen of the Coquille Nation. She serves on the Tribal Resilience Taskforce and previously severed as Chair of the Culture and Education Committee of the Kōkwel/Coquille Nation. 

Political Science faculty member Neil O'Brien stands outside smiling with arms crossed

Neil O'Brian

Assistant Professor of Political Science

Neil O’Brian is an academic expert in U.S. politics focusing on public opinion, political parties, and polarization. His recent work has focused on how people’s perceptions of politics and current events affect their political attitudes. He’s recently published the book The Roots of Polarization: From the Racial Realignment to the Culture Wars (University of Chicago Press). 

O’Brian is the second UO researcher to receive an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. O’Brian is using the fellowship to further explore what he calls the “doctor’s project.” The start of this research began when he identified a partisan divide in the trust people have in their physicians; those on the political right expressed less trust in their doctors than those on the left. This is a recent phenomenon, as data showed no difference in trust in one’s doctor until a shift in 2020-21, during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. O’Brian argues the partisan divide over public health measures—such as masking and vaccines—led to less trust in the medicine industry.

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Melissa Graboyes

Associate Professor of History, Global Health Program

Melissa Graboyes is a historian of modern Africa and a global health specialist whose research focuses primarily on medicine and science in the East African region. 

Graboyes’ current research projects have been supported by major research funds. Her work on the history of malaria elimination on the African continent is funded by a five-year National Science Foundation CAREER award. A three-year collaborative research project on returning research results from social science disciplines to African participants—removing costly barriers to make findings more accessible—is funded with a three-year NSF award. She is also working on global health research at the local Eugene level through her project on aspects of care for people who inject drugs. 

As a mentor, Graboyes works with undergraduate students in research groups. She leads the Global Health Research Group, which helps students gain skills and tools for conducting undergraduate research. The group consists of students interested in global health-related topics, as well as students majoring in a STEM field who are interested in ethics, history and the processes of science.

 

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School of Global Studies and Languages

At the School of Global Studies and Languages (GSL), UO students engage with diverse cultures, languages, histories, and lifeways across the world. Students of the social sciences, from Anthropology to Sociology, will broaden and deepen their education in their field by viewing it—and experiencing it—through a global lens. GSL prepares our graduates for life after college with an interdisciplinary curriculum, innovative language teaching, abundant learning opportunities outside the classroom, and paths of study that lead to many options for real-world careers.

Explore the GSL

Research in the Social Sciences

Research in the social sciences investigates human behavior and the motivations that influence it. Although some of our research occurs in the lab, much of it is conducted out in the field using a variety of methodological approaches, from exploratory to experimental. The results of our research often carry societal-level implications and may point to solutions for addressing local, national, or global challenges.

Explore Other Majors and Minors in the College of Arts and Sciences

 

Meet Our Dean

Welcome to the social sciences division of the College of Arts and Sciences. Within our community, we address some of the world’s problems—big or small—through interdisciplinary research and critical thinking. What drives us is a passion for exploring human behavior and society.

The social sciences provide the necessary foundation for any academic inquiry, from the creative arts to the natural sciences. Inside the classroom, we lead courses that are engaging and thought-provoking, inspiring students to become better citizens of our world and work toward a more inclusive future.

We also believe real-world experience offers some of the most impactful learning opportunities. From internships to study abroad trips that offer new cultural experiences, our students regularly engage in hands-on learning work that reaches across social, disciplinary, and geographic boundaries, allowing them to forge new connections and spark new ideas.

We look forward to changing the world with you.

Bruce McGough    
Divisional Associate Dean, Social Sciences

Bruce McGough

Happening at CAS

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

UO College of Arts & Sciences (@uocas) • Instagram photos and videos

Feb 14
Organic/Inorganic/Materials Seminar Series – Third Year Talks 3:00 p.m.

Organic/Inorganic/Materials Seminar Series Third Year Graduate Student Talks – Winter 2025 3:00pm – Andrew Lee Crown Ether Self-Assemblies, and Aqueous Anion...
Organic/Inorganic/Materials Seminar Series – Third Year Talks
February 14
3:00 p.m.
Willamette Hall 110

Organic/Inorganic/Materials Seminar Series Third Year Graduate Student Talks – Winter 2025

3:00pm – Andrew Lee Crown Ether Self-Assemblies, and Aqueous Anion Supramolecular Chemistry

3:30pm – Victor Salpino Accessing Novel Carbon Materials using Post-Functional Transformations of [n]Cycloparaphenylenes Derivatives

 

Feb 14
POTUS or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive 7:30 p.m.

by Selina Fillinger Directed by Tricia Rodley One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a...
POTUS or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
February 7–23
7:30 p.m.
Miller Theatre Complex Hope Theatre

by Selina Fillinger

Directed by Tricia Rodley One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.

Selina Fillinger’s brilliant, all-female farce took Broadway by storm in a star-studded production that earned three 2022 Tony nominations.

Synopsis courtesy of Concord Theatricals

Feb 15
POTUS or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive 7:30 p.m.

by Selina Fillinger Directed by Tricia Rodley One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a...
POTUS or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
February 7–23
7:30 p.m.
Miller Theatre Complex Hope Theatre

by Selina Fillinger

Directed by Tricia Rodley One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.

Selina Fillinger’s brilliant, all-female farce took Broadway by storm in a star-studded production that earned three 2022 Tony nominations.

Synopsis courtesy of Concord Theatricals

Feb 16
POTUS or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive 2:00 p.m.

by Selina Fillinger Directed by Tricia Rodley One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a...
POTUS or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
February 7–23
2:00 p.m.
Miller Theatre Complex Hope Theatre

by Selina Fillinger

Directed by Tricia Rodley One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.

Selina Fillinger’s brilliant, all-female farce took Broadway by storm in a star-studded production that earned three 2022 Tony nominations.

Synopsis courtesy of Concord Theatricals