Social Sciences

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.

SOCIOLOGY - Dwight and Sylvia Lang married just two years after they began dating and then pursued higher education together as first-generation, low-income students. In 1983, they graduated from the University of Oregon, each earning a PhD in sociology. “We’re Ducks,” Sylvia says. “So this is another way of saying ‘thank you, Oregon.’ What happened in Eugene between 1977 and 1985 was very significant for us. It shaped who we are in many ways.” 

GLOBAL STUDIES - Jennifer Esparza served in the Marines Corps for 11 years, earning the rank of staff sergeant and a half-dozen awards. In 2011 she enrolled at the UO, and in 2017 she earned a bachelor's degree in international studies and went to law school at Georgetown University. She worked for the Biden-Harris administration as a White House liaison and now is senior adviser to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher, the department’s second-highest official.

BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Ecologists from the University of Oregon have designed a soil health management system to strengthen the long-term vitality of the state’s hazelnut industry. Oregon produces 99 percent of the nation’s hazelnuts, but the escalation of global extreme heat, which brings dry soil and scalded plants, threatens the agricultural productivity of the region.

ECONOMICS - The cost of wildfire smoke could cost Oregon households $450 per day as they try to adapt by purchasing air purifiers, canceling trips and keeping children at home to minimize their exposure, according to a study led by a five-member nonpartisan group of economists and policy experts that includes economics researcher Keaton Miller from CAS. The Forum on Oregon Climate Economics, or FORCE, recently issued its first report, “The Economic Costs of Climate Change for Oregonians: A First Look.”

ECONOMICS - Rather than affecting workers for just a day or two, the adjustment to daylight saving time can affect worker productivity for up to two weeks, said Glen Waddell, a UO labor economist and co-author of new research in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. He collaborated on the paper with Andrew Dickinson, a doctoral student in economics at the College of Arts and Sciences.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Doctoral student Madison Schroder's work was extensively cited in a Bloomberg article. Her work shows the difference in ballot initiatives in states where either the Democratic or Republican Parties hold supermajorities in the Legislature.

GEOGRAPHY, GLOBAL STUDIES - A student in the College of Arts and Sciences and Clark Honors College, Charles Petrik was drawn to his opportunity with the mayor’s office of Medellin, Colombia, because he is passionate about cultural exchange. While interning, he lived with students from all over the U.S., but his work at the office was conducted entirely in Spanish. In addition to a language “crash course,” Petrik analyzed pothole and public space data, creating representations that city officials could use to identify areas for infrastructure projects.