UO Today

Oregon Humanities Center

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The Oregon Humanities Center is the sole interdisciplinary umbrella organization for the humanities at the University of Oregon. We encourage scholars to articulate their ideas in language that is accessible both to scholars in other fields and to the general public. The OHC sponsors a wide array of free public programs designed to provide a forum for discussion of and reflection on important issues.

FEB 20

UO Today: Ramón Resendiz; Research Notes with Amy Swanson

Ramón Resendiz is an assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Oregon. He discusses his work as a Visual Anthropologist and documentary filmmaker focusing on borderlands and Indigenous voices. Research Notes: Amy Swanson is an assistant professor of Dance Studies, Theory, and History in the School of Music and Dance at the University of Oregon. She discusses her book "Dancing Opacity: Contemporary Dance, Transnationalism, and Queer Possibility in Senegal' published by University of Michigan Press in 2025. https://press.umich.edu/Books/D/Dancing-Opacity2 https://www.dancestudiesassociation.org

41 min
FEB 16

UO Today: Xan Holt; Research Notes with Nina Amstutz

Xan Holt is an assistant professor of German and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Oregon. He talks about his work on German literature, film, and television; and his project focused on environmental humanities. He also talks about his teaching and the importance of language study for students. Nina Amstutz is an associate professor of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oregon. She discusses her ACLS-funded project "A Multispecies Framework for Art: The Bowerbird Across Disciplines, Cultures, and Time." "The Avian Sense for Beauty: A Posthumanist Perspective on the Bowerbird" Art History, 2021 "Rethinking the Animal in Art History: Charles Darwin, Karl Woermann, and the Bowerbird" Leuven University Press, 2025 "A multispecies framework for art: the bowerbird across disciplines" in "Methods for ecocritical art history" Edited by Olga Smith and Andrew Patrizio, Manchester University Press, 2026

33 min
FEB 2

UO Today: Fernando Gorab Leme; Research Notes: Jessica Vasquez-Tokos

Fernando Gorab Leme is an assistant professor of Classics at the University of Oregon. He talks about his research on the significance and wedding songs in Greco-Roman antiquity and talks about the classes he teaches. Research Notes: Jessica Vasquez-Tokos, professor of Sociology and Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies at the UO, talks about her new book "Burdens of Belonging: Race in an Unequal Nation" (NYU Press, 2025). The book is based on interviews with people in Oregon from various racial groups, and brings multiple racial groups’ opinions together to weigh in on the ways in which race contours national belonging and affects sense of self, everyday life and wellness, and aspirations for the future. This book highlights the value of inquiring how people from various racial backgrounds perceive their fit in the nation and reveals how race matters to belonging in multifaceted ways.

56 min
JAN 26

"The Persistence of Masks: Surrealism and the Ethnography of the Subject"

A Books-in-Print talk with author Joyce Suechun Cheng. In this talk, Cheng focuses on chapter 4 "The Surrealists as Ethnographers: Possession, Aesthetics, Subjectivity" which explores the idea of possession as a form of performative mask, utilizing Michel Leiris's ethnographic study of Ethiopian Zars in the 1930s. Joyce Suechun Cheng is an associate professor of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oregon. She is joined in conversation by Edgar Garcia an associate professor of English at the University of Chicago.

1h 15m
JAN 23

UO Today: Patricia Caicedo, soprano, musicologist, and physicIan

Patricia Caicedo is a soprano, musicologist, and physician. Her work redefines the canon of classical vocal music by centering Latin American and Iberian art song. She has authored sixteen books, including the landmark "The Latin American Art Song: Sounds of the Imagined Nations" and "We Are What We Listen To: The Impact of Music on Individual and Social Health." As a performer, Caicedo has established herself as one of the leading interpreters of Iberian and Latin American art song. She talks about her background and the repertoire she aims to elevate in the world of music. Caicedo was artist-in-residence at the UO's School of Music and Dance January 20-22, 2026. She shared her expertise in Latin American and Iberian vocal music with lectures, performances, and a masterclass.

31 min
JAN 21

UO Today: Colin Williamson, Research Notes with Whitney Phillips

Colin Williamson is an Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies at the University of Oregon. He is a historian of animation, special effects, and nontheatrical film. He specializes in early cinema’s place in international histories of art, science, and technology. Colin is the author of "Hidden in Plain Sight: An Archaeology of Magic and the Cinema" (Rutgers University Press, 2015) and "Drawn to Nature: American Animation in the Age of Science" (University of Minnesota Press, 2025). He is Associate Editor at Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal. He talks about his research and the classes he teaches at the UO. Research Notes: Whitney Phillips is an Associate Professor of Information Politics and Media Ethics and the John L. Hulteng Endowed Chair in Media Ethics and Responsibility in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. She talk about her new book "The Shadow Gospel: How Anti-liberal Demonology Possessed U.S. Religion, Media, and Politics" co-authored with Mark Brockway.

38 min
JAN 16

UO Today: Christopher Brown, musician, composer, bandleader, and educator

Jazz musician Christopher Brown talks about his approach to music and education. He and his band will give a presentation/performance "Beyond the Buzz: Finding the Signal in a Noisy World" on January 29, 2026. https://blogs.uoregon.edu/oregonhumanitiescenter/multimedia/news/christopher-brown-grabs-our-attention-with-jazz/

36 min
JAN 12

UO Today: Isabel García Valdivia, Katya Hokanson, and John Knutson

Isabel García Valdivia, assistant professor of Sociology, speaks about her interest in older immigrants and their families. She also talks about the importance of mentorship. Research Notes: Katya Hokanson, professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, talk about her recent book "A Woman’s Empire: Russian Women and Imperial Expansion in Asia" published by the University of Toronto Press in 2022. Show notes: "Russia's Empires" (2016) Valerie A. Kivelson and Ronald Grigor Suny "Russian Colonial Society in Tashkent, 1865-1923" (2010) Jeff Sahedo "Muslim Women of the Fergana Valley" (2016) Marianne Kamp, ed. "Diary of a Russian Lady: Reminiscences of Barbara Doukhovsky" (1917) Undergraduate Perspectives: John Knutson, B.A. English, UO 2025; and 2025 Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellow

48 min

5

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3 Ratings

The Oregon Humanities Center is the sole interdisciplinary umbrella organization for the humanities at the University of Oregon. We encourage scholars to articulate their ideas in language that is accessible both to scholars in other fields and to the general public. The OHC sponsors a wide array of free public programs designed to provide a forum for discussion of and reflection on important issues.

Creator

Oregon Humanities Center
Years Active

2019 - 2026
Episodes

315
Rating

Clean
Copyright

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