In 2017, an all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan captured international attention as they fought for a chance to compete on the world stage. Now their story is on the big screen in "Rule Breakers," brought to life by Jason Brown, a creative writing professor and director of the program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The perpetrators of World War II left mass destruction in their wake across much of Europe, physically and culturally. A new book, co-edited by Miriam Chorley-Schulz, assistant professor and Mokin Fellow of Holocaust Studies, examines cultural activities, the political engagement and the work of cultural activists who remained in Eastern Europe after the war, specifically related to Yiddish language and culture. 

PHILOSOPHY - Pigeons and AI share something in common: They can’t care about patients. In Ramón Alvarado’s latest paper published in the American Journal of Bioethics, he and co-author Nicolae Morar, a bioethicist and environmental philosopher at the UO, underscore that health care isn’t just about finding results. It's about actually caring for patients. That’s a level of engagement from providers not easily replicated by a machine.

ENGLISH - Courtney Thorsson was named an honorable mention for the 2024 MLA’s William Sanders Scarborough Prize for her 2023 book The Sisterhood: How a Network of Black Women Writers Changed American Culture. The prize was awarded in December for “outstanding scholarly study of Black American literature or culture.”

SPANISH – Cissy Jones, BA ’02 (business administration, Spanish), is an award-winning voice actor and a fierce advocate of protection for voice actors in the wake of generative AI. In March 2024, she became the CEO of ETHOVOX, a company she co-founded to develop an ethical AI voiceover dataset that collaborates with artists and ensures fair compensation.

LINGUISTICS – Linguistics scholars from all over the world are invited to Eugene this summer to immerse themselves in the study of linguistics at the annual Linguistic Society of America’s Summer Institute. Registration is now open for the five-week summer school, hosted — for the first time — by University of Oregon’s Department of Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences.

LINGUISTICS - We’re entering a new phase in the digital revolution, one in which scientists are stretching the capabilities of digital technologies to solve some of society’s largest and most complex problems. Read more in the Annual Research Report, out now.

CREATIVE WRITING - The faculty in the Creative Writing Program are filling the shelves in local bookstores with tantalizing reads for every interest, from poetry to memoirs and graphic novels to speculative fiction. As creatives and teachers, they practice what they preach.  

THEATRE ARTS – Olga Sanchez has dedicated her career to creating, directing and teaching theatre that amplifies underrepresented voices. After 20 years working in theatre, she wanted to share her work in an academic setting. She found her place in the doctoral program in University of Oregon's Theatre Arts department and is now a professor at Middlebury College.

ENGLISH, WOMEN'S, GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES - From noon to 1:30 pm Monday, Feb. 17, experts will discuss on the works by Octavia E. Butler's work and her legacy, as well as Afrofuturism, and how her literature can inspire us to see new futures and view the past through a new lens. “Octavia E. Butler’s work remains as urgent and essential as ever,” said Kemi Balogun, one of the organizers and an associate professor in CAS.

CREATIVE WRITING – Creative writing professor Mat Johnson's new graphic novel, "Backflash," deals with loss and grief in a wild, time-traveling thriller where nostalgia is a superpower. Portland-based artist Steve Lieber provided the illustrations that mix humor and heart.

CLASSICS - After more than two decades of digging in the volcanic ash covering the ancient city, associate professor of classics Kevin Dicus in the College of Arts and Sciences plans to delve into a mound of dirt he hopes is covering Roman garbage so he can study how the residents used it. Between digs, Dicus teaches Latin, mythology, classical archaeology, Roman architecture and Pompeii in the University of Oregon Classics department.

CREATIVE WRITING - Bestselling author and CAS faculty member Karen Thompson Walker has found success as a writer—and as a creative writing associate professor—by asking "what if?." She also incorporates it into her classroom, where her primary teaching focus is on fiction with a catastrophic or fantastical element.

THEATRE ARTS – Coming to University Theatre's Hope Theatre in February is "POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive." The all-female feminist satire looks at sex and politics and women working in the confines of the patriarchy.