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.
Arabic Studies
Chinese
Cinema Studies
Classical Civilization
Classics
Comparative Literature
Creative Writing
Comics and Cartoon Studies
Digital Humanities
Disability Studies
English
Environmental Humanities
Ethics
News from Humanities
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World-Class Faculty in the Humanities
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).
Stacy 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
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.
Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages
At the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages (SGSL), 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.
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.
2024-2025 Sponsored Research in Humanities
Between July 2024 and June 2025, researchers in CAS received $83 million to fund 199 research projects, including $1.5 million for Humanities. The research projects, which span divisions and fields of study, represent CAS's commitment to curiosity, discovery, and innovation.
Explore Other Majors and Minors in the College of Arts and Sciences
Meet our Dean
Welcome to the humanities!
With the human condition as our starting point, and an orientation spanning the past, present, and far into the future, the humanities at the University of Oregon address society’s core human questions of meaning, making, communication, and understanding.
In the College of Arts and Sciences, humanities span disciplinary fields, such as literature and languages, folklore, theatre and cinema, philosophy, classics, and religious studies. Our faculty teach students key humanistic skills such as writing, critical analysis, logical reasoning, translation, and expression. Our programs emphasize the liberal arts through engaged student learning, and our students are trained by the UO’s world-class research faculty to be resilient thinkers, capable of bringing their humanistic insights to bear on a transforming world.
Like any other time of rapid change, whether the Industrial Revolution or the technological revolution, thinkers of the human condition reflect and analyze human experiences and make it possible to share them. Through its many disciplines, the humanities inspire communication, uniting diverse communities in a common path, helping us address some of our most pressing human concerns.
We hope you will explore the humanities at the UO.
Erica Bornstein
Divisional Associate Dean, Humanities
Happening at CAS
Career Tour - Tech + Design Edition
8:45 a.m.Oct
16
8:45 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Creativity and technology can go hand-in-hand! Let's meet some Oregon companies that are innovating across industries (tech, video game design, web/graphic design, UX, government, and more) AND explore Eugene all at the same time. 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 and 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 1pm 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. Learn about creative careers, project management, and see behind the scenes at one of the coolest workspaces in Eugene.
Avant Assessment builds and delivers ever more effective assessments of real-world proficiency. They’ve expanded their offerings to support all areas of language acquisition with professional learning for world language and dual language educators in addition to Mira, the newly released AI-based language learning app.
Lane County Government Technology Services: featuring Mark Davis for an inside scoop on the Eugene Tech community 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.
Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies: Welcome Event
3:30 p.m.Oct
16
3:30–5:00 p.m.
IRES is back, and we’re kicking things off with our welcome event!
Join your faculty and students from the Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies at our welcome event to kick off the academic year! Meet new people, reconnect with community, and learn what’s happening in IRES.
Light refreshments will be served.
Free and open to all IRES majors and minors.
Job Shadow Day Info Session
4:00 p.m.Oct
19
4:00–5:00 p.m.
Interested in exploring career possibilities? Join us to learn about Job Shadow Day. This unique opportunity connects students with local professionals for a day of workplace observation, career exploration, and networking.
At this info session, you'll learn:
- What Job Shadow Day is and how it works
- How to apply and get matched with a site host
- What to expect during your shadow experience
- Tips for making the most of your day
Whether you're exploring career options, curious about a particular industry, or looking to gain firsthand insight into the world of work, this session will help you take the next step with confidence.
Hosted by: CAS CareerLab Open to: All CAS undergraduates
✨ Spots are limited. Come find out how to apply and get matched!
Cinema Studies Fall Term Coffee Hours
9:30 a.m.Join the Department of Cinema Studies for a cup of coffee or hot apple cider every week on Tuesdays during fall term!
Oct
20
9:30–11:30 a.m.
Join the Department of Cinema Studies for a cup of coffee or hot apple cider every week on Tuesdays during fall term!