Sociology

Governments influence AI results by shaping the online environment they train on

SOCIOLOGY - Ask an AI model the same political question in two different languages and you may get two very different responses. Research co-led by College of Arts and Sciences sociologist Hannah Waight suggests one reason why: Governments can indirectly influence large language models by shaping the online media environment, thus the text those systems learn from.

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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Field school blends archaeology, ecology and tribal sovereignty

SOCIOLOGY - As part of the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History summer field school, the students are spending a month immersed in Indigenous cultural landscapes while studying archaeology, history and ecology and, at the same time, helping restore oyster beds. They’re learning vital career skills while helping usher in a new era of archaeology with Gabe Sanchez, a CAS assistant professor of sociology.

New book explores how everyday experiences are shaped by race

SOCIOLOGY - Professor Jessica Vasquez-Tokos' new book "Burdens of Belonging: Race in an Unequal Nation" explores how race shapes the everyday experiences of individuals and what it means to be a “so-called problem” in the predominantly white state of Oregon in the 21st century. "How does racial status inflect one’s sense of belonging in the nation?” Vasquez-Tokos said.
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A new study shows that fear of deportation changes with age

SOCIOLOGY - Fear of deportation among people in the United States without permanent legal status declines with age, according to a study recently published by University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences researcher Isabel Garcia Valdivia. The project is the first to examine how those concerns diminish after age 50 because relationships, families, work and communities change with time.

Turning College Inside Out

HISTORY, SOCIOLOGY - For some CAS students, a class inside Oregon’s prisons is helping them find meaning and purpose after college. And it’s helping people who are incarcerated. Founded in 2007, the Prison Education Program (PEP) takes UO classes to two Oregon state men’s prisons: Oregon State Penitentiary and the Oregon State Correctional Institution, both in Salem.
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