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

The Judaic Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences recently acquired some important materials in Yiddish, including a complete and pristine set of the Soviet Yiddish journal, “Sovetish Heymland." Yiddish is a language originally spoken by Jews from Central and Eastern Europe and their descendants and combines elements of German, Hebrew, Aramaic and various Slavic and Romance languages.
THEATRE ARTS – At the North Pole, Victor Frankenstein has finally caught up with his Creature with the intent of killing him to right his wrong of creating him in the first place. Before he can, the Creature asks, “Why did you make me?” This simple question is the premise of the University Theatre's production of "Frankenstein: Playing with Fire," which opens Nov. 8 and plays for three weekends.
LINGUISTICS – A group of students in the University of Oregon's Department of Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences spent nine months in 2024 developing a unique set of open educational resources for language learning, available to the public for free. The book is in use in Linguistics 144 Learning How to Learn.

All news »

We Love Our Supporters

students walking and holding possessions during Unpack the quack day

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!

Give to CAS

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

Nov 4
HEDCO Institute Undergraduate Scholars Program Info Session 1:00 p.m.

The University of Oregon’s College of Education is inviting students to join a yearlong program designed to enhance their understanding of education research and its...
HEDCO Institute Undergraduate Scholars Program Info Session
November 4
1:00–2:00 p.m.

The University of Oregon’s College of Education is inviting students to join a yearlong program designed to enhance their understanding of education research and its practical application for education professionals.

The HEDCO Institute Undergraduate Scholars Program is open to all UO students, regardless of major, who are interested in developing skills in educational research, stakeholder engagement, and translating research for a general audience.

Running from January to December 2025, this program offers undergraduates the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience with real-world applications. Participants will also learn about education-related careers and best practices for research communication and engagement with educators, including presenting research findings.

Interested students can attend a virtual information session on November 4 by registering online. More details and the application form are available on the HEDCO Institute Undergraduate Scholars website.

Students accepted into the program will receive a $12,000 stipend distributed over the calendar year. The program is open to all University of Oregon sophomores, juniors, or seniors graduating on or after December 2025. Applications from all majors and areas of study are encouraged, and no prior research experience is required.

Applications are due by November 25 at 11:59 p.m. The college strongly encourages applications from women, racial and ethnic minorities, first-generation students, and other underrepresented groups.

Nov 4
Mastering the Art of a Humanities & Social Science 3MT Slide 2:00 p.m.

Graduate students! Perfect your skills in creating captivating and concise presentation slides tailored for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. This webinar will equip you...
Mastering the Art of a Humanities & Social Science 3MT Slide
November 4
2:00–3:00 p.m.
This is a virtual event.

Graduate students! Perfect your skills in creating captivating and concise presentation slides tailored for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. This webinar will equip you with the essential principles of slide design, enabling you to simplify complex ideas, integrate visuals effectively, and deliver your message within the strict time constraints of the competition. Whether you're a novice or an experienced presenter, don't miss this opportunity to learn the art of creating impactful slides that reinforce your research narrative and engage your audience. Register at https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/fd8c12e8356a478ca366996e2718cb42.

Nov 4
Physical Chemistry Seminar: Photo-scissile Ruthenium Compounds for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery 2:00 p.m.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Seminar Series Professor Teresa Rapp, University of Oregon Title: Photo-scissile Ruthenium Compounds for Tissue...
Physical Chemistry Seminar: Photo-scissile Ruthenium Compounds for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery
November 4
2:00 p.m.
Willie and Donald Tykeson Hall 140

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Seminar Series

Professor Teresa Rapp, University of Oregon

Title: Photo-scissile Ruthenium Compounds for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery

Biology is complex. Any biological process we may wish to replicate, modulate, or direct exhibits complexity in both space and time. Spatial gradients of soluble proteins direct cell migration and proliferation. Cell populations must increase and decrease over various timescales. Any disruption to this order leads to a disordered state which is indicated in various diseases, chronic wounds, or tumorigenesis. If we wish to study these disordered systems, we need a platform that affords us control over biological events in both space and time.

Light offers both the researcher and clinician control over biological events in space and time. We leverage the uniquely powerful photochemistry of ruthenium polypyridyl compounds to trigger complex events in biological systems, from changing material environments to releasing drug cargoes on demand.

In this presentation I will discuss how we design and leverage ruthenium's photochemistry and synthetic accessibility to produce the next generation of photodynamic biomaterials.

 

Nov 4
More than 2024:  Historians Pick the Craziest and Most Consequential US Elections 5:00 p.m.

Join the Department of History for a panel discussion on “More than 2024: Historians Pick the Craziest and Most Consequential US Elections” with history department...
More than 2024:  Historians Pick the Craziest and Most Consequential US Elections
November 4
5:00 p.m.
McKenzie Hall 375

Join the Department of History for a panel discussion on “More than 2024: Historians Pick the Craziest and Most Consequential US Elections” with history department faculty:  Steven Beda, Associate Professor; Kallen Kentner, Graduate Student; Lissa Wadewitz, Beekman Professor of Northwest  and Pacific History; and Tim Williams, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies

Cosponsored by Phi Alpha Theta. Light food and refreshments will be served.

5:00 pm Monday, November 4th McKenzie Hall 375 Free and open to the public