News

HISTORY - The federal government is ramping up domestic computer chip production, with roughly $106 billion in funding allocated by the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act for semiconductor research and production. PhD student Adam Quinn offers four lessons the semiconductor industry should learn from its past.
GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL STUDIES - Associate Professor Jo Weaver published research in the December 2023 issue of SSM-Mental Health that examines the mental health needs of women in India. Because of the gaps in mental health care that emerge from cultural mismatch, Weaver and her research team urge health workers to prioritize culturally informed methods of distress management and address the social and structural causes of suffering rather than delivering standardized clinical mental healthcare.
HISTORY - Financial crises are somewhat regular occurrences today. But what can we learn from the first-ever stock market crash in 1720? On March 6, Daniel Menning, an associate professor at the University of Tübingen in Germany, will discuss in a lecture for undergraduate students about the South Sea Bubble and how people make decisions during financial crises.
NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - A three-year endowment fund is supporting Kirby Brown's work on his family’s Cherokee oral history and material archives to better understand Cherokee Nation literature, history, intellectual production, and lived experience in the 20th and 21st centuries. Brown is an associate professor of Native American and Indigenous literary and cultural production in the Department of English and the director of Native American and Indigenous studies.
POLITICAL SCIENCE - Chandler James and Neil O'Brien, both political science assistant professors, write in a Feb. 21 article in The Conversation about the White House race. The authors cite a recent poll they conducted that found mixed evidence that undecided young Democrats would be persuaded to vote for Biden based on any new information.
POLITICAL SCIENCE - Immigration is already a major polarizing issue in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico reached an all-time high in December 2023, and cities like New York and Chicago are struggling to provide housing and basic services for tens of thousands of migrants arriving from Texas. Department of Political Science Professor and Philip H. Knight Chair of Social Science Dan Tichenor writes about immigration reform in The Conversation.
NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - It is with a heavy heart, but with an enormous sense of gratitude and love, that we send prayers for a good journey for Átway Tuxámshish/Dr. Virginia Beavert (Yakama Nation), who walked on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. She was 102. During her life, she co-founded the Northwest Indian Language Institute, earned a PhD in linguistics at 90 years old, was an instructor and founder of the Ichishkíin language classes at UO—and more.
JAPANESE, LATINX STUDIES, LINGUISTICS, SPANISH - The Latinx Studies Experiential Learning Program offers funding for a limited number of undergraduates to conduct research or pursue creative projects under the supervision of a faculty member. At a Feb. 13 forum, four undergrads showcased their research, which includes language revitalization, preservation and environmental justice radio reporting.
GEOGRAPHY, PHILOSOPHY, ROMANCE LANGUAGES - Three CAS faculty members—Mark Carey, Diana Garvin, and Colin Koopman—were awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
FOOD STUDIES, GLOBAL STUDIES - 'Up on the Mountain' follows Southeast Asian refugees, Latino immigrants, and rural Americans on a year-round migration to harvest and sell wild mushrooms. The film screening is 4pm Thursday, Feb. 15 in McKenzie 229.
HISTORY - Led by UO history professor Arafaat Valiani, a research team studied the historical experiences of people of color with medical and genetic research and developed new guidelines to ensure that people of color are included in such studies on terms that are equitable. Known as precision health equity, the recommendations call on geneticists and biomedical researchers to embrace a different approach to their work.
SOCIOLOGY - Read about what some of the faculty, graduate students and undergraduates in the Department of Sociology have been working on.
GLOBAL STUDIES - Kathryn Desvignes Holder (MA, '17) earned her global studies master's degree, specializing in cross-cultural communication and Africa, which she said provided her with the experience and skills to speak and communicate with a diversity of stakeholders. She is now the public affairs officer and public engagement lead for the Umatilla National Forest.
SOCIOLOGY - Professor Ben Johnson, Jr., was an influential figure at the University's Department of Sociology, as well as the field of sociology. His colleagues remember him and the influence he had in their lives and professional careers. Johnson died Jan. 8 in his home. His memorial is 1:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 27, at Cascade Manor Auditorium.
INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES - Edited by Lana Lopesi, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, the book shows a mosaic of narratives that delve into the complex and unique history of Aotearoa New Zealand. “What’s unique about this book is that it includes the artists' voices themselves. With this diversity of voices and perspectives, you get a truer understanding of the range and complexity of the voices presented," Lopesi said.