Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

Elora Shehabuddin's Book Wins Coomaraswamy Prize

February 16, 2023
Cori Anne Montero

Join us in congratulating Elora Shehabuddin for her amazing accomplishment! Her book, Sisters in the Mirror: A History of Muslim Women and the Global Politics of Feminism was recently awarded the 2023 Coomaraswamy Book Prize by the Association for Asian Studies.

About Elora:

Elora Shehabuddin is a Professor of Gender & Women's Studies and Global Studies. She was a Professor of Transnational Asian Studies and Core Faculty in the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Rice University before moving to...

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520342514/sisters-in-the-mirror

Geography professor's new short film will have its World Premiere at HotDocs

April 13, 2023

Joel Wanek's short film, Passing Through, will have its World Premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival!

Joel Wanek is a film and audio artist working in the realms of creative non-fiction. Over the years, he has developed a practice that celebrates and investigates spatial poetics, racial dynamics, and the immaterial possibilities of sound and image.

Click here to learn more about Wanek and his work!

American Journalist, Matthew Continetti, Will Join Us For Berkeley's Baxter Liberty Initiative

April 10, 2023
Baxter Liberty Initiative

Wednesday, April 12th | 4:00 - 6:00 P.M. | Sibley Auditorium University of California, Berkeley

The Baxter Liberty Initiative engages high-profile intellectual leaders whose expertise and scholarship focus on the ideal of freedom in political and economic life. Visiting scholars are invited to UC Berkeley for a multi-day visit of public lectures, dialogue with a respondent, and discussions with students centered on the theme of liberty.

For this session of the Baxter Liberty Initiative, we will be joined by an American Journalist,...

Berkeley political scientist Scott Straus named to prestigious fellowship

April 6, 2023
Edward Lempinem

Headshot of Scott StrausScott Straus, a UC Berkeley political scientist known for his study of political violence and genocide, has been named the Mahatma M.K. Gandhi Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS).

Straus is one of six...

As new Latinx studies programs stall nationwide, Berkeley offers an answer

April 11, 2023
Jason Pohl

Demonstration in front of Sather Gate, 1969Latinx people, who today comprise roughly one in five U.S. residents, are forecast to soon account for three-quarters of net new workers and are increasingly pursuing higher education.

But despite a growing need for research on everything from public policy to the history of Latinx communities, less than 4% of all four-year colleges and universities in the...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/04/10/as-new-latinx-studies-programs-stall-nation…

Transfer Student Bryce Wallace Honored with 2023 Beinecke Scholarship

April 11, 2023

2023 Beinecke ScholarIn Fall 2021, Bryce Wallace (’23, English & Linguistics) was still stunned that he had gotten into Cal as a transfer student from Irvine Valley College, when more UC-related honors started pouring in. He has since received the merit-based Sharer and Gilman Scholarships and was granted a College Corps Fellowship for his strong commitment to community service, especially in the areas of...

Artificial Intelligence is Teaching Us New, Surprising Things about the Human Mind

April 1, 2023
Christoper Mims

The world has been learning an awful lot about artificial intelligence lately, thanks to the arrival of eerily human-like chatbots.

Less noticed, but just as important: Researchers are learning a great deal about us – with the help of AI.

AI is helping scientists decode how neurons in our brains communicate, and explore the nature of cognition. This new research could one day lead to humans connecting with computers merely by thinking–as opposed to typing or voice commands. But there is a long way to go before such visions become reality. I say tomato, you say pangolin

...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/artificial-intelligence-is-teaching-us-new-surprisi…

Pedro Rodriguez, UC Berkeley Student, selected as a 2022 Strauss Scholar

October 10, 2022
Chauncey Walker
In your own words, explain what the Strauss Scholarship is and what being a Strauss scholar means to you.

The Strauss scholarship allows students to create an impact by funding public service projects. Being a low-income first-generation farmworker, I could never have imagined that I would be a Strauss Scholar. I am grateful for the sacrifices and struggles that it took to be able to give back to my farm working community in the Central Valley.

What do you plan to do with this scholarship and how do you plan to utilize your sociology...

Climate Change and Its Affect on Arctic Archaeology: A Lecture from Dr. Christyann Darwent

April 4, 2023
Fragility and Resilience: Climate Change and Arctic Archaeology
Wednesday, April 5 | 12:30 pm PT | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP
The human history of the North American Arctic has been a cycle of expansions and contractions, of mobility and migration, and fragility and resilience. Archaeology brings a long-term perspective to the relationship between humans and the Arctic environment. More recently, however...

A generous gift establishes fund for Monetary Economics

March 30, 2023
We are excited to announce that a generous gift from Berkeley alum Brian Barish '90 will establish The BB90 Fund for Monetary Economics, helping Berkeley's students and leading economists better understand emerging strategies used by financial regulators to influence economic behavior.

“It is an exciting time to investigate this critical area of monetary economics, and the support provided by the BB90 Fund has provided a tremendous boost,” said​ ​Quantedge Presidential Professor of...

https://ls.berkeley.edu/uc-berkeley-funding-evaluation-modern-monetary-economics