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Program Descriptions

AFRICAN STUDIES

The African studies committee encourages teaching and scholarship on Africa, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. The committee monitors and provides information about resources at the University of Oregon, including faculty and staff members with expertise in African studies, study abroad programs, internships, course offerings and syllabi, journals, and films. The committee also seeks funding to expand African studies resources and organizes campus and local community events pertaining to Africa in cooperation with the African Students Association. In addition, the committee supports faculty and student research on Africa and facilitates dissemination of research through the regularly held Baobab Lectures, for faculty and guest presentations, and the Acacia Seminars, for presentations of student research and experiences.

ASIAN STUDIES

The University of Oregon’s Asian Studies Program is an interdisciplinary instructional component of the College of Arts and Sciences. The program emphasizes study in Asian languages, history, society and culture, art and literature, politics and economics. Established in 1942, the Asian Studies Program is one of the oldest interdisciplinary programs in the United States to focus on Asia .

The Asian Studies Program is administered by the Asian Studies Faculty Committee, composed of over thirty faculty members with Asian specializations in over a dozen discipline areas. Degree programs offered include BA and MA programs that emphasize East Asia (particularly China and Japan) and, to a more limited extent, Southeast Asia (particularly Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). Both areas are supported by a strong faculty and on-going research activities.

CANADIAN STUDIES

The goal of this Canadian Studies is to provide University of Oregon students and faculty with research support and coursework on Canada’s economy, culture, politics, and social systems. We are especially committed to helping student’s understand more about the importance of the strong trans-border ties that exist between the Canada and the United States.The UO Canadian Studies Committee coordinates existing instructional and research activities on Canada and Canadian-U.S. relations. In addition, through the Canadian Publishing Centre, the University of Oregon Libraries are selected depository for Canadian federal documents.

EUROPEAN STUDIES

The European Studies Program brings together faculty and students in the social sciences, business, law and science to study the current developments in Europe. Our attention to the contemporary situation is enriched by a deep sense of history extending back even to classical antiquity. We believe that in the emerging European Union we have the opportunity to study the progress of a great social experiment in all its lived reality, and that our students will be able to consider the interaction of the full range of human forces combining to create the New Europe

A new Certificate Program in European Studies is available for undergraduates. The Program allows students to incorporate, within another major program, an increased international perspective in their work with a special focus on an understanding of Europe’s role in the world. Students in any major may earn this Certificate as an enhancement to their degree program.

GLOBAL STUDIES

The Department of International Studies at the University of Oregon fosters critical understanding of local-global dynamics brought about by the processes of globalization. Recognizing the importance of multiple cultural-intellectual traditions, we draw upon diverse theories and methods to explore the interrelations and interconnections among such themes as gender, environment, political economy, cultural survival and transformation, and human rights. We integrate theory and praxis to promote and sustain just, self-determining and responsive communities and institutions world-wide.

The Department of International Studies offers interdisciplinary bachelor of arts (BA) and master of arts (MA) degrees. A student’s course of study is tailored to meet individual career objectives, leading to opportunities in education, government, law, communications, business, non-governmental organizations, philanthropic organizations, and private voluntary organizations.

LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES

Latin American Studies at the UO is an area of research and teaching dedicated to the understanding of Latin American cultures and societies. Latin America is one of the most diverse regions in the world, with a rich mixture of traditions —Indigenous, European, Asian and African. From the Mexican border with the US, through the Caribbean basin and the Amazon forest, to the Andes and the Patagonia of South America, Latin America is the junction of a prodigious nature with an amazing history.

The Latin American studies’ curriculum offers the opportunity to study this region under the guidance of more than 20 specialists inLatin America. It provides students with a distinct approach to Latin America in a variety of fields, aiming to a comprehensive understanding of the countries south of the US border.

MIDDLE EAST-NORTH AFRICA STUDIES

The MENA minor at UO is a broad examination of the Middle East and North Africa region. The minor requires a minimum of 24 credits and, additionally, a concentration: language study, study abroad, or research. The MENA minor is designed to offer flexibility so that students may focus on particular areas of interest while providing all students with an introduction to critical issues in the contemporary Middle East and North Africa.

RUSSIAN, EAST EUROPEAN and EURASIAN STUDIES

The Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies is devoted to the study of the peoples living in the eastern third of Europe, through the steppes of Central Asia, and across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. Settled over a territory that spans half the earth’s time zones, these peoples have created a complex mosaic of cultures, expressed in literature and art, but also in institutions and social forms.

Over the centuries, these lands have come under the sway of several great world-historical civilizations and empires: the Eastern Roman or Byzantine, Mongolian, Ottoman Turkish, Holy Roman, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Soviet. These lands have felt the influence of Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, and world Communism.

At the intersection of many powerful global forces, these lands have experienced with particular sharpness what is called “modernization” and its challenge to customary ways of life. Yet, after centuries of massive transplantation and transformation, national and ethnic heritages survive. Customary ways and native self-consciousness more diverse than anywhere else on the globe express themselves with new vigor in our own time.

Nineteen area specialists are members of the REEES committee, four active associates participate in the REEES program, and from among the six faculty emeriti come additional significant contributions to the life of REEES on the UO campus. REEES members, associates and emeriti are from five different professional schools and the College of Arts and Sciences, representing over a dozen different academic departments.