UO Today

Joshua Piker, professor of History at the College of William and Mary, discusses his research focus on the relationship between the Creek Indians and British colonists in South Carolina and Georgia in the early 18th century. Piker is also editor of William and Mary Quarterly, a journal of early American history and culture.

Kristin Yarris is an assistant professor of International Studies and the director of the Global Health minor at the University of Oregon. She discusses her book Care Across Generations: Solidarity and Sacrifice in Transnational Families which examines the dynamics of care that result when Nicaraguan mothers migrate for work, leaving their own mothers responsible for their children. Yarris also talks about teaming up with UO English professor Mary Wood to teach an interdisciplinary course called "Mind, Madness, and Society: Schizophrenia Across Cultures and Genres." Finally, Yarris describes the new minor in Global Health which launched in Fall 2017.

Robin Coste Lewis is the poet laureate of Los Angeles and a writer-in-residence at the University of Southern California. Her first collection Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems was widely praised by critics and honored with the 2015 National Book Award for Poetry. Lewis discusses her poetry and reads from the collection. On November 16, 2017 Lewis gave a reading from Voyage of the Sable Venus as a guest of the Creative Writing Program.

Laura Pulido, UO professor of Ethnic Studies and Geography, discusses her research interests in critical human geography, political activism and social movements, environmental justice, Chicanix Studies, and Los Angeles. She also talks about how the disciplines of Ethnic Studies and Geography intersect. A self-described scholar activist, Pulido co-authored A People's Guide to Los Angeles—a "radical guidebook."

James Harper, associate professor in the UO Department of the History of Art and Architecture, discusses "The Barberini Tapestries: Woven Monuments of Baroque Rome" exhibition. Harper, a specialist in 16th- and 17th-century Italian art, curated the exhibition. It is on view at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art through January 21st, 2018.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker, Jose Antonio Vargas, discusses his life and career as an undocumented immigrant. He also talks about the work of his non-profit organization Define American. Vargas was in residence as the Morse Chair at the UO's Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics in conjunction with the Center's 2017-19 them of inquiry, "Borders, Migration, and Belonging."

Jayanth Banavar, Provost and Senior Vice-President, and professor of Physics at the University of Oregon. Topics Banavar discusses include his role as Provost, the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, and the UO's Presidential Initiative on Data Science. Banavar also talks about his research examining the geometry and scaling of living organisms, as well as the geometry and physics of proteins.

Irish-born artist Barbara MacCallum discusses her exhibit of mixed-media sculptural work at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. "Barbara MacCallum: Appropriating Science" is on view through January 28, 2018.

Michael Schill, president of the University of Oregon, gave an interview on UO Today on September 19th.

President Schill spoke about the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact—detailing its importance to the UO, Eugene, and the State of Oregon. Schill explained how the establishment of the Knight Campus will lead to collaborative research among UO faculty and with colleagues at OHSU. Other topics discussed during the interview include: recent and imminent university leadership hires, the Institutional Hiring Plan, the Diversity Action Plan, free speech vs. safety on campus, the new Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Violence Complaint and Response Policy, and the impact of the recent decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Daisy-O'lice Williams, associate professor of Architecture, discusses her research on Architecture programs at historically black colleges and universities, the work of architect Paul Revere Williams, and a project called Freedom's Fortress which visualizes spaces associated with the Contraband Decision during the Civil War at Ft. Monroe, Virginia.