Social Sciences News

Nayantara Arora
UO senior is named the UO’s first Rhodes Scholar since 2007
GLOBAL HEALTH - University of Oregon senior Nayantara Arora has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford, making her the first Duck to earn the prized award in more than 15 years. Arora is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in global health and chemistry. At Oxford, Arora plans to pursue two master’s degrees, one in modeling for global health and the other in international health and tropical medicine.
three women posing
Three UO students named finalists for Rhodes scholarship
GEOGRAPHY, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Three current UO students have been selected as finalists for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, the oldest international fellowship award in the world.
Miss Indigenous UO, Keyen Singer, modeling the Home Flight Blanket from 8th Generation
UO celebrates Native American heritage through November
INDIGENOUS, RACE, AND ETHNIC STUDIES; NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES--Native American Heritage Month is being celebrated all through November on the UO campus with a series of events, including Native-themed films, speakers, and more.
a truck drives through cargo
Economics faculty featured in Wall Street Journal
ECONOMICS - A column in the Nov. 3 edition of the Wall Street Journal features work by University of Oregon Department of Economics Assistant Professor Woan Foong Wong. Wong's study explores that more goods are traveling greater distances than ever before.
women historical scientists
History Symposium to Highlight Role of Women in Science
HISTORY - The History of Women in Science Symposium will highlight the role of women in science for the past 600 years. It is one of the events marking the 50th anniversary of the UO’s Center for the Study of Women in Society. The event is from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13.
Routledge Handbook Cover_Brown Book Award Feature
Kirby Brown Wins Modernist Studies Association Book Award
INDIGENOUS, RACE, AND ETHNIC STUDIES; NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - Kirby Brown, along with co-editors Stephen Ross and Alana Sayers, win the Modernist Studies Association award for Best Edited Collection for the "Routledge Handbook of North American Indigenous Modernisms."
Don Van Houten
In Memory of Don Van Houten: A bridge-builder connecting several generations of sociologists
SOCIOLOGY - Don Van Houten is remembered by his colleagues for his time as a sociologist at the UO, and his impactful work. Van Houten previously served as department head and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. His memorial service is 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12.
Valley of the Gods, Bears Ear National Monument, Utah
Sociology PhD Student Publishes Work in Academic Journal
SOCIOLOGY - Doctoral student Amanda Ricketts' research on settler colonialism narratives used by media outlets regarding the Bears Ears National Monument was published in the October issue of the journal Environmental Sociology.
Ducks at Autzen Stadium
In Their Own Words: New Ducks Sample the FIGs
BIOLOGY, CINEMA STUDIES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, GEOGRAPHY - From animals to adhesives to DJ food stamp, students in First-year Interest Groups follow their fascinations and create community.
Carbon Sequestration: UO/Coquille Tribe Collaboration, NSF Grant
Accounting for carbon from forest to estuary

INDIGENOUS, RACE, AND ETHNIC STUDIES; NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES-The issue of climate change is so large it’s easy to feel powerless. How can any one person, community, or institution tackle a problem global in scale, in which the unintended consequences of choices made on one side of the globe affects people on the other? The short answer is, they can’t. But by mitigating the effects of a changing climate in a local area, groups of people can have an impact and provide an example for other communities to do the same.

Michelle Jacob, professor of Indigenous studies and director of the Sapsik’ʷałá (Teacher) Education Program in the Department of Education Studies.
Placing kinship traditions at the center of research with the Yakama Nation
INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - Michelle Jacob, professor of Indigenous studies and director of the Sapsik’ʷałá (Teacher) Education Program in the Department of Education Studies  at the UO, has received an award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine how kinship, as practiced in Indigenous communities, can inform research and evaluation as practiced more broadly in the US.
A mural of comic panels by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Speakers will explore Indigenous comic art over the coming year
INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES- Three Indigenous artists whose work deals extensively with environmental questions will take part in the Indigenous Comics Speaker Series over the coming academic year. The series begins with Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, an award-winning visual artist and author, at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, in the Knight Library Browsing Room.
aerial view of Eugene campus
University makes steady gains in annual U.S. News rankings
ECONOMICS - The University of Oregon jumped to a tie for 98th in the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings for best national universities. The College of Arts and Sciences landed at 71st in computer science, 88th in economics and 51st in psychology.
hazelnuts on a tree
Hazelnut researchers cover new ground with sustainable method
BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - The Hallett Lab is collecting samples to test a new, more sustainable way to farm hazelnuts. Steve Haring, a postdoctoral researcher in the Hallett Lab, is studying what happens when cover crops, such as native wildflowers, are used as beds around the trees.
Econ classroom
UO Economics Degrees Awarded STEM Designation
ECONOMICS - The department's undergraduate and master's degrees in economics are now designated as STEM degrees.