College of Liberal Arts

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study from Oregon State University indicates that artificial intelligence can significantly enhance creativity in student writing, but only when instructors provide guidance about how to incorporate it into the creative process.

Researchers in the university’s College of Liberal Arts found that when students receive instruction on how to use AI, there is a significant increase in creativity over both their original writing and their AI use without instruction.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Hiking by yourself deep in a forest and similar episodes of intense solitude are not as likely to restore energy and enhance social connectedness as less complete forms of solitude, such as reading in a café or listening to Spotify while commuting, research by Oregon State University suggests.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Being lonely is a bigger hurdle to a good night’s sleep for college students than too much time at a computer or other electronic screen, a new study by Oregon State University suggests.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – People who are lonely are more apt to have bad dreams, according to a collaboration that included an Oregon State University scientist.

The findings are important because both loneliness and sleep disorders are serious public health issues, said OSU’s Colin Hesse. They are connected to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State University researchers found that U.S. adults are fairly confident in linking wildfires and heat to climate change, but less confident when it comes to other extreme weather events like hurricanes, flooding or tornadoes.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — An Oregon State University study found evidence that Indigenous groups in the Pacific Northwest were intentionally harvesting edible camas bulbs at optimal stages of the plant’s maturation as far back as 3,500 years ago.

The findings contribute to the growing body of research around Traditional Ecological Knowledge and practices, demonstrating the care and specificity with which Indigenous groups have been stewarding and cultivating natural resources for millennia.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Five years after the first-ever academic conference to focus on the music, business and culture of jam band Phish, organizers are reconvening at Oregon State University May 17-19 for a weekend of panels, workshops, art exhibitions and concerts.

The 2024 Phish Studies Conference will build on the scholarship and connections of the 2019 event, said Stephanie Jenkins, an associate professor in OSU’s College of Liberal Arts and conference chair.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The family of Bernard Malamud, a former Oregon State University faculty member and one of the most influential post-World War II American Jewish writers, has made a gift supporting the university’s writing program, where Malamud developed his literary career.

Malamud taught at Oregon State from 1949 to 1961. During that time, he won his first National Book Award. He later went on to receive a second National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Whether delivering via cesarean or vaginally, patients’ overall experiences and perceptions of childbirth are largely determined by the kind of treatment they receive from their medical providers and whether they feel seen and heard, a recent Oregon State University study found.

The researchers say their findings underscore the need for better training for medical professionals as well as structural support within the health care system.