Social Sciences

Embracing the impact of Japanese pop culture

ASIAN STUDIES, JAPANESE — What makes Japanese popular culture so fascinating? How are cute characters like Hello Kitty — arguably the most recognized icon in the world — and games like Pokémon — the world’s highest grossing franchise — transforming global politics and the ways people construct their own identities? These are some of the questions students explore in ASIA 399: Japanese Popular Culture and the World.

Confronting complexity

ANTHROPOLOGY - CHC and College of Arts and Sciences senior Bella Albiani studies the link between homelessness and food insecurity. The work to understand one of society’s most intractable issues has no end, but that’s what compels Albiani to stay with it.

A prestigious Oregon arts award is powering this CAS prof’s vision

INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES - On Jan. 13, 2026, Ernesto Javier Martínez was awarded the two-year $150,000 Fields Fellowship from the Oregon Community Foundation in partnership with Oregon Humanities. The fellowship supports Oregon artists who use creativity and cultural expressions to address communities, such as Martínez's film stories that tell the experiences of queer Latinx youth and the immigrant experience in the US.
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From Oregon to the Amazon: Researcher is redefining "normal" anthropology

ANTHROPOLOGY - As a College of Arts and Sciences doctoral student, Theresa Gildner conducted research that led to publications and experience in conducting ethical field research. She continues the work she did at CAS as a faculty member at Washington University, whether she’s working on the Shuar Project or studying low-income regions of the southern US.
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Squatting toward housing policy change

SOCIOLOGY - New research by sociology Associate Professor Claire Herbert and doctoral student Amanda Ricketts examined three US case studies where squatting was used as a tool to influence local and state decision makers. The two CAS sociologists published their findings in the article “Resisting and Reclaiming: Squatting as Contentious Urban Politics in the US” n the November 2025 issue of Social Problems.
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Home Flight program sets Native students up for success

NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - Funded through federal, state and institutional grants, the University of Oregon Home Flight program provides financial support, academic advising and culture-rich activities for qualifying American Indian and Alaska Native undergraduates. Now in its fourth year, the program has more than tripled in enrollment, to 170-plus students, while increasing the number of Native graduates.

Fueling a career with meaning and impact

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Sarah Koski graduated with a degree in political science in 2006 from the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences and Robert D. Clark Honors College. To find her purpose and mission, Koski first had to break up with the notion that all success is a high-powered executive job. Now a community resource liaison for Lane Transit District, Koski works to help people feel seen and heard, and to make real change in the unhoused community.
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