Anthropology

Learning from Aliens

ANTHROPOLOGY - Professor Phil Scher uses science fiction and alien cultures to teach anthropology—and to challenge college students’ assumptions about humanity. In Anthropology and Aliens, a 100-level course in the Department of Anthropology, students examine speculative and science fiction to learn how societal structures influence behavior and culture—similar to how anthropologists study real-world societies.

The Ducks can dig it

ANTHROPOLOGY - Meet Gabi Gauthier, a UO student with a passion for Oregon history who studied at Connley Caves Field School this past summer under the mentorship of UO alum and Professor Katelyn McDonough. As a freshman, Gauthier was considering a STEM field. However, after taking classes with McDonough, BS ’14 (anthropology), Gauthier knew she wanted to officially major in anthropology with a focus on archaeology.

Meet the Latinx Cluster Hire: Ramón Resendiz

ANTHROPOLOGY - The College of Arts and Sciences is investing in its Latinx studies courses by hiring nine new tenure-track faculty members. Ramón Resendiz is one of the faculty members hired as part of this initiative. He joins CAS in fall 2025. Coming from Indiana University, Bloomington, Resendiz’s research investigates the relationship between historical institutions, visual culture, and documentary media in the process of seeing and imaging the history and citizenship of Latinx and Indigenous Peoples in the US.
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Recognizing outstanding research

ANTHROPOLOGY, HISTORY, LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation announced this year's Outstanding Research Awards, many of which went to College of Arts and Sciences faculty members: Professor Carlos Aguirre (history and Latin American studies) and Assistant Professor Gabriel Sanchez (anthropology).

CAS Researchers Studying Health Impacts of Homelessness

ANTHROPOLOGY, GLOBAL STUDIES - Led by Jo Weaver, a global studies associate professor, the study is focused on health among people experiencing housing insecurity in Lane County and how it drives health inequity. The research team, which includes Department of Anthropology faculty members Zachary DuBois and Josh Snodgrass, is collecting data from people living on the street, in short-term shelters, in encampments and in more permanent supportive housing arrangements.

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.