Humanities

Man stands on stage and performs during a theatre play.

 

 

The departments and programs of the Humanities Division are committed to the study of human meaning as it is expressed in diverse languages, explained in diverse literatures, and reflected upon from diverse philosophical and religious perspectives. Students seek to understand the values and purposes that make practices and systems worthwhile. In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to critically consider how individuals and communities make sense of their world is an essential skill. Explore majors, minors, concentrations, and academic programs in the humanities.

 


News from Humanities

WRITING, PUBLIC SPEAKING AND CRITICAL REASONING – Alum Irisa Mehta '23 wanted to be a voice for others, to be a representative for those who face the educational barrier of understanding our criminal justice system. She took on two majors and two minors to make sure she was prepared for anything. She learned a lot academically and about how to have fun.
CINEMA STUDIES, MATHEMATICS - Abby Lewis, a fourth-year mathematics and cinema studies major, hopes to address the divide between mathematics vs. arts students in her second children’s book, Moose and the Math Fairy, earlier this year. “Math is in patterns, and it’s all around us in the world," Lewis said.
ROMANCE LANGUAGES, WOMEN'S AND GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES - Oregon Ducks come from all over the world, including the Basque Country, a small region carved out of northern Spain on the border with France. Meet Nagore Sedano Neveira and learn about her life's journey that brought her to University of Oregon.

All news »

We Love Our Supporters

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Your Gift Changes Lives

Gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences can help our students make the most of their college careers. To do this, CAS needs your support. Your contributions help us ensure that teaching, research, advising, mentoring, and support services are fully available to every student. Thank you!

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World-Class Faculty in the Humanities

headshot of Stephen Shoemaker

Stephen Shoemaker

Professor of Religious Studies

Stephen Shoemaker teaches courses about Christian traditions and is a prolific contributor to research related to ancient and early medieval Christian traditions in early Byzantine and Near Eastern Christianity. 

Shoemaker has received research fellowships over the years and received two in 2024 to complete the translation of the earliest surviving Christian hymnal from sixth-century Jerusalem, which is in Old Georgian. The fellowships include one from the National Endowment for the Humanities for 2024–2025 and a Senior Fellowship funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation).  

He recently published The Quest of the Historical Muhammad and Other Studies on Formative Islam (2024) and is the co-author of The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 CE (2024).

Portrait image of Stacy Alaimo

Stacey Alaimo

Professor of English

Stacey Alaimo’s research explores the intersections between literary, artistic, political, and philosophical approaches to environmentalism. She has published three books and more than 60 scholarly articles, on such topics as toxins, gender and climate change, environmental justice, queer animals, Anthropocene feminisms, marine science studies, the blue humanities, and new materialist theory. 

Her concept of trans-corporeality has been widely taken up in the arts, humanities and sciences. She has been interviewed many times in print and podcasts. Her work has been translated into at least 12 languages and has inspired several art exhibitions. 

Her fourth book, The Abyss Stares Back: Encounters with Deep Sea Life (2025), explores the science and aesthetics of deep-sea creatures since the 1930s. Alaimo currently serves as the English department’s director of graduate studies and is a core faculty member in the Environmental Studies Program.

 

Lowell Bowditch

Lowell Bowditch

Professor of Classics

Lowell Bowditch is the head of the Department of Classics. Her research explores the interface between the literature and socio-political relations of Augustan Rome. 

Her newest project addresses issues of free speech and censorship in the early imperial age. She explores this through the work of Ovid in the context of the growing authoritarianism of the Augustan regime, with the planned book to draw comparisons with the contemporary political landscape. 

Her previous work focused on love elegy and Roman imperialism from postcolonial perspectives. Along with multiple articles and research papers, she is the author of two books and a commentary, including the most recent, Roman Love Elegy and the Eros of Empire (London and New York 2023). 

Bowditch came to the UO in 1993 and particularly enjoys mentoring classics undergraduates and master’s students. 

Paris, France cityscape at night

School of Global Studies and Languages

At the School of Global Studies and Languages (GSL), UO students engage with diverse cultures, languages, histories, and lifeways across the world. Students of the humanities, from Cinema Studies to Religious Studies, will broaden and deepen their education in their field by viewing it—and experiencing it—through a global lens. GSL prepares our graduates for life after college with an interdisciplinary curriculum, innovative language teaching, abundant learning opportunities outside the classroom, and paths of study that lead to many options for real-world careers.

Explore the GSL

Research in the Humanities

Inquiry in humanities fields centers around our collective human experience. Our stories are told in many forms, be it a script, a screenplay, a religious text, in literature or in folktales. Researchers in the humanities employ tools of analysis to explore the long history and rapidly changing landscape of ideas, values and beliefs that coalesce in a different sort of knowledge about reality and human life.

Explore Other Majors and Minors in the College of Arts and Sciences

 

Meet our Dean

The departments and programs of the Humanities Division share a commitment to the study of human experience as it is expressed in diverse languages and cultures throughout history and across the world. A Humanities education encourages students to think creatively, independently, and critically about the human past, present, and future. Whether they choose to focus on cinema, classical languages, or philosophical ideas, Humanities students learn to reason, to build arguments, to write and communicate with confidence and conviction, and to view the world and its challenges from multiple perspectives.

Our College of Arts and Sciences is committed to providing students with a genuine liberal arts education, which means that we strive to expose students to more than one way of knowing. We want our students to appreciate the profound differences—and the no-less profound similarities—in the way a philosopher, a biologist, and a political scientist approach the same questions about the human condition. The unique lens provided by the Humanities departments and programs at UO is an essential part of that liberal arts education, which we believe prepares students to live meaningful lives in the world.

Harry Wonham   
Divisional Associate Dean, Humanities

harry wonham

Happening at CAS

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

UO College of Arts & Sciences (@uocas) • Instagram photos and videos

Oct 17
Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies PhD Information Session 3:00 p.m.

Courtney Cox, Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies IRES Director of Graduate Studies, will host a virtual informational session where she will provide an overview of the PhD...
Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies PhD Information Session
October 17
3:00 p.m.

Courtney Cox, Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies IRES Director of Graduate Studies, will host a virtual informational session where she will provide an overview of the PhD program, the application requirements, and answer any questions attendees may have about the process.

Prospective students can register for the Zoom informational session using this link

The session will be recorded for those unable to join and available immediately on YouTube.

Oct 17
2025 Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program Info Session 5:00 p.m.

TEACH ENGLISH IN JAPAN 2025! The JET Program is a competitive employment opportunity that allows young professionals to live and work in cities, towns, and villages throughout...
2025 Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program Info Session
October 17
5:00–6:30 p.m.
Fenton Hall 110

TEACH ENGLISH IN JAPAN 2025! The JET Program is a competitive employment opportunity that allows young professionals to live and work in cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan. Being a JET is a chance to teach English and represent the United States and other participating countries as a cultural ambassador to Japan. Most participants serve as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) and work in public and private schools throughout Japan; some work as Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs) as interpreters/translators.

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree in any field by the time of departure for the program and Coordinators for International Relations must also have a high level of proficiency in the Japanese language.

Before attending the info session please watch an important video on how to write a great JET Statement of Purpose at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eaq-rxLLUg4

Connect with Matt Turner on the UO campus for his in-person JET Program info session. For more information contact Matt Turner at: matthew.turner@se.mofa.go.jp or visit https://jetprogramusa.org

Oct 17
Women in Economics Club 6:00 p.m.

Join the UO Women in Economics Club at our weekly meeting! We host faculty talks and guest lectures, provide career development opportunities, as well as peer support. All are...
Women in Economics Club
October 10–September 18
6:00–7:00 p.m.
Allen Hall 140

Join the UO Women in Economics Club at our weekly meeting! We host faculty talks and guest lectures, provide career development opportunities, as well as peer support. All are welcome, regardless of major, minor, or gender identity!

The UO Women in Economics Club (WiE) was established in 2023 to support and meet the unique needs of women and gender-diverse individuals in the male-dominated economics field. WiE strives to build community, empower, and increase participation in economics through academic and social events. The club hosts guest speakers, roundtable discussions, professional development workshops, and more. Students undergraduate through PhD are welcome.

Meetings: Thursdays from 6-7pm in Allen 140. Hope to see you there!

Oct 18
Career Tour-Tech 9:00 a.m.

Want to see what it's like to work for some of the most innovative tech companies in Oregon AND explore Eugene all at the same time?! Have we got a Friday morning for you! Hop...
Career Tour-Tech
October 18
9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Want to see what it's like to work for some of the most innovative tech companies in Oregon AND explore Eugene all at the same time?! Have we got a Friday morning for you! Hop on the bus and let’s go explore!

Students will have the opportunity to tour local companies passionate about creating innovative solutions for complex problems, and helping YOU learn more about all the different types of job functions needed to keep this growing industry booming. They are excited to introduce you to careers and internships at their companies, meet alumni and leaders, and show off some of their innovations in action! This event is FREE, open to all majors, faculty/staff, and bring a friend! Register on Handshake to save your spot & get updates! Our last tour had a waitlist, so sign up today!

OUTLINE OF TOUR:

Meet at Ford Alumni Center Lobby (near Matt Knight Arena Duck Statue) NO LATER THAN 9am; We'll walk over to the bus stop (Agate) to catch the EMX to downtown Eugene. All our sites are within walking distance of one another, so be prepared to get some exercise! While at the stops, you'll get an opportunity to tour their facilities as well as meet with leaders in the field. At 1 we'll be done with the tour and you can stick around downtown to keep exploring and grab lunch OR a group will be getting on the bus to head back to campus you can join.

ABOUT OUR TOUR STOPS:

Pipeworks Studios Video Game Developers of awesome apps and well-known video games like Madden 24 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 

Nexus Business Lounge Tech Coworking Space 

Twenty Ideas: Software Dev for Health tech, Med ted, Ed tech 

Code Chops Tech coworking space located in Nexus Business Lounge  

Technology Association of Oregon: Non-profit focused on the regional tech industry, empowering entrepreneurs and fostering connections to position the Northwest as a global innovation hub. 

Open Eugene: community connectors providing access and opportunities to create, collaborate and innovate to solve problems and invest back into the community 

NOTE: make sure you have your FREE LTD bus pass loaded on your phone https://transportation.uoregon.edu/bus

questions, email htate@uoregon.edu for more info or if you don't have a Handshake account and want to join us!