ENGLISH — As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an associate professor in English at the University of Oregon, Kirby Brown blends a deep commitment to preserving his family’s personal stories with a vision for fostering Indigenous research and archival storytelling. He seeks to highlight moments of love, joy, humor, resistance, desire and futurity through storytelling and literature.

PHILOSOPHY, ENGLISH — During “AI and the Humanities,” a panel discussion featuring professors from the University of Oregon explored the impact of AI. The panel was sponsored by the Oregon Humanities Center as part of the center’s 40th anniversary events on the topic of “Humanities Matter(s).” From their in-depth discussion, came five key takeaways about AI.

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.”

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.

ENGLISH - The trial of two immigrants convicted of murder sparked a media frenzy over injustice in the US judicial system. A century later, everything—and nothing—has changed, says English Professor Mark Whalan.

Through fellowships, the Oregon Humanities Center at the University of Oregon works to promote innovative humanities research produced by faculty members at the UO. The fellowships are for tenure-track faculty and are awarded on an annual basis. The 2025-26 fellows include CAS faculty members in the Divisions of Humanities and Social Sciences.

ENGLISH - The College of Arts and Sciences is investing in its Latinx studies courses by hiring nine new tenure-track faculty members. After wrapping up a doctoral studies program at University of California, Los Angeles, Salvador Herrera comes to the Department of English with expertise in contemporary Latinx literature and performance art.

ENGLISH, ROMANCE LANGUAGES - Staff and faculty members came together for the inaugural College of Arts and Sciences Awards and Hallmark Achievement Reception, which celebrated some of the achievements of faculty and staff. In addition to celebrating some of the college’s faculty members who have received accolades outside of the university, the ceremony featured the college’s first-ever awards that recognize the work of faculty and staff.

CREATIVE WRITING, ENGLISH - This June, we celebrate Pride Month and the diverse identities of alumni identifying as LGBTQ+. Three College of Arts and Sciences alumni — Whitney Donielson, English, '11; Kevin Thomas, biology, '85; and Morgan Thomas, creative writing, '16— are featured in the UO Alumni Association's Shout publication.

ENGLISH, PHILOSOPHY - Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, public awareness of artificial intelligence has exploded, accelerating the technology’s inevitable creep into everyday life. In the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences, where AI has made its way into both classrooms and research labs, faculty members are grappling with its impact on student learning even as they explore its vast potential in their research.

ENGLISH - After a long career centered around a fascination for 19th-century American literature, William (Bill) Rossi will soon receive a prestigious honor: the Thoreau Society Medal. As a diligent professor emeritus of English, Rossi’s dedication to understanding the works of Henry David Thoreau has left a mark on literary scholarship and the University of Oregon.

ENGLISH, THEATRE ARTS - Alumna and Tony-nominated playwright Heidi Schreck (English, theatre arts, '09) is collaborating with director Lila Neugebauer to stage a production of Uncle Vanya at the Lincoln Center Theatre in April. The play, originally written in 1897, will star Steve Carell and Alison Pill.

ENGLISH, 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.

ENGLISH - English Associate Professor Courtney Thorsson's new book, The Sisterhood, explores a group of influential Black women writers and thinkers—including Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and Margo Jefferson—who met during the late '70s to talk about writing, culture and liberation.

ENGLISH - Four of the seven Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellowship (HURF) recipients during the 2023 program were English majors. A HURF fellow is awarded a $2,500 stipend to explore their scholarly interests over 16 weeks, beginning in January, and receives support from a faculty advisor.