As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, this symposium returns to the bold universal promise of 1776—the claim that “all men are created equal” and endowed with “unalienable rights.” Cast at once as the rights of citizens of a new republic and as the rights of all of humankind, they also coexisted with a deep contradiction: the subjugation of Native Americans, enslaved people, and women. The principles at the heart of the U.S. founding launched a politics of rights whose origins and reverberations were transnational, even as access to them remained sharply unequal in practice.

“We Hold These Truths: 250 Years of the American Experiment at Home and Abroad” brings together a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and leading scholars of citizenship, political development, race, gender, immigration, and civil rights to reflect on this legacy. The panel will explore how America’s founding ideals have shaped struggles for inclusion at home and abroad, and how those ideals have been stretched, reinterpreted, and at times betrayed across two and a half centuries.

Refreshments will be available at 5:45pm.

Panelists:

Nick Kristof - New York Times

Megan Ming Francis - University of Washington

Peter Spiro - Temple University

Carol Nackenoff - Swarthmore University

Moderator:

Dan Tichenor - UO Knight Chair; Co-Director, Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics

Presented by the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics.

Free and open to the public. No registration required.

This event will be livestreamed and recorded.  Join online

Thinking about doing an internship in Asia? The Freeman Internship Fellowships can help fund it!

The 2026-27 application deadlines are: 

• January 15, 2027 (spring and summer priority deadlines)
• April 22, 2027 (summer deadline)
• August 22, 2027 (fall and winter priority deadlines)
• November 22, 2027 (winter and spring priority deadlines)

The session will cover some basic info regarding Freeman application eligibility, required materials, and the application and award processes, while also providing an opportunity for participants to ask questions.

Apply by the priority deadlines to receive your award decision sooner! 

Spend a term in Tuscany with GEO Study Abroad! In this info session, we'll talk about winter and spring quarter programs in Siena, Italy. We'll dive into course content, excursions, finances, and how to get started on your study abroad journey. Plus, hear from program alumni about their experiences!

Programs we'll discuss: Italian Language and Culture in Siena, Food, Culture, and Sustainability in Siena, Politics in Italy

Are you interested in completing an internship abroad? If so, a GlobalWorks International Internship might be for you! Stop by this information session to learn more about the application process, program curriculum, and student experience abroad.

Did you know you can have someone review your resume before the Fall Career & Internship Expo on 10/22? Drop-in with a career readiness coach or peer coach in Tykeson Hall Commons to get feedback on your resume! Free cookies & hot chocolate too :)

Don’t have a resume? Come learn how to make one!

This University Career Center event is part of the 2026 Fall Career Readiness Week sponsored by Enterprise Mobility. To learn more about all of the week's events visit http://career.uoregon.edu/events  

Guest speaker: Fernando Ortiz-Moya, Assistant Professor, Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Japan

Japan is shrinking. How are its cities and towns responding?

Traditionally, Japanese local governments, encouraged by national policy, have sought to halt or reverse their decline by luring urban migrants, increasing birth rates, attracting businesses, and curbing outmigration. This obsession with growth threatens to exhaust already limited resources, closing windows of opportunity for managing a soft landing.

Eventually, continuous shrinkage will force local governments to abandon growth-focused planning and redesign their communities: they must learn to shrink gracefully. Some municipalities are already charting this different course. This presentation argues that shrinking municipalities must break free from pro-growth strategies, embracing more sustainable approaches. These cities are putting socio-environmental concerns at the centre of their strategies, identifying new ways to transition successfully into smaller, sustainable communities.

Event sponsors:

School of Planning, Public Policy and Management; Department of Geography; Ecological Design Center; Global Studies Institute; Association of Pacific Rim Universities – Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Program; Center for Asian and Pacific Studies; and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant

Learn the ins and outs of navigating the in-person Fall Career and Internship Expo, updating your Handshake profile, researching employers, and how to present yourself authentically during the expo.

Hosted by the University Career Center as part of the 2026 Fall Career Readiness Week. http://career.uoregon.edu/events 

Ever walk out of an interview thinking, “Wait… what did I even just say?”  Yep, we’ve all been there. Join us for just 45 minutes and learn how to dodge that post-interview panic. 

We’ll break down the different types of interviews you might face, how to prep without spiraling, and how to answer questions with confidence. 

Interviews make you sweaty, anxious, or just a little dramatic? Perfect. We’ve got strategies to help you feel prepared and way more chill. 

International students: get the inside scoop on U.S.-style interviews. No prior experience needed! 

Come hang out in person at the University Career Center, Tykeson Hall, Garden Level 50P. 

This workshop is hosted by the University Career Center's Career Readiness Coaching team! To learn more about career coaching, drop-in peer advising, and other career readiness workshops and events visit career.uoregon.edu/coaching or stop by the UCC in Tykeson Hall-Garden Level

The University Career Center gives a special thanks to Enterprise Mobility for sponsoring all of our Fall Career Readiness Week events and workshops! 

To learn more about all of the week's events visit http://career.uoregon.edu/events  

First Career & Internship Expo? Or just a little nervous? Come early and get a low-stress, behind-the-scenes look at how to navigate the expo and make a good first impression with employers. Bring a friend! want to learn more about the Fall Career & Internship Expo 10/22 from noon to 4pm? click here

The University Career Center gives a special thanks to Enterprise Mobility for sponsoring all of our Fall Career Readiness Week events and workshops! 

Ever thought about heading across the pond for a term? Join GEO Study Abroad to hear about our spring programs in London! We'll cover program courses, excursions, finances, and how to get started on your study abroad journey. Plus, hear from program alumni about their experiences!

Programs we'll discuss: Global Business and Economics in London (with Internship), Psychology in London (with Internship, Liberal Arts in London (with Internship)*

*Please note that Liberal Arts in London is a semester-long program

Are you interested in completing an internship abroad? If so, a GlobalWorks International Internship might be for you! Stop by this information session to learn more about the application process, program curriculum, and student experience abroad.

Professor Jason Groves (University of Washington) will be presenting his talk "'We Stones': Ecologies of Memory from Paul Celan to Otobong Nkanga."

Thinking about doing an internship in Asia? The Freeman Internship Fellowships can help fund it!

The 2026-27 application deadlines are: 

• January 15, 2027 (spring and summer priority deadlines)
• April 22, 2027 (summer deadline)
• August 22, 2027 (fall and winter priority deadlines)
• November 22, 2027 (winter and spring priority deadlines)

This online drop-in advising hour provides an opportunity for applicants to ask any questions they may have about their Freeman Fellowship application.

Apply by the priority deadlines to receive your award decision sooner! 

Thinking about doing an internship in Asia? The Freeman Internship Fellowships can help fund it!

The 2026-27 application deadlines are: 

• January 15, 2027 (spring and summer priority deadlines)
• April 22, 2027 (summer deadline)
• August 22, 2027 (fall and winter priority deadlines)
• November 22, 2027 (winter and spring priority deadlines)

This online drop-in advising hour provides an opportunity for applicants to ask any questions they may have about their Freeman Fellowship application.

Apply by the priority deadlines to receive your award decision sooner!