Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

Author and scholar Howard Besser ’75 creates a new program for Anti-Authoritarianism and Social Movements

June 28, 2022
Hagit Caspi

Author and scholar Howard Besser ’75, inspired by UC Berkeley’s enduring legacy of impassioned student movements, has made generous gifts in support of future change makers. In March 2021, Besser donated $1 million to establish the Howard Besser Program for Anti-Authoritarianism and Social Movements. Later that year, Dr. Besser expanded his impact with a $2 million bequest to create The Howard Besser Early Career Chair in Anti-Authoritarianism and Social Movements. The Fund will provide endowed support for an Early Career chair, to be awarded to an...

Meet Ethan Willbrand '21

July 15, 2021
Michelle Phillips
L&S Student Spotlight: Ethan Willbrand ‘21
Majors: Psychology (Social Sciences Division) and Molecular & Cell Biology (Biological Sciences Division)

Ethan Willbrand '21, L&S graduateFrom the moment he completed his first psychology class in high school, Ethan Willbrand knew he wanted to learn more about the brain and to explore how humans think and act. But it...

UC Berkeley Political Economy student and Team USA swimmer wins America's first gold medal at Paris Olympics

July 29, 2024
By NBC New York Staff

U.S. wins first gold medal at Paris Olympics with win in men's 4x100m freestyle relay

New Jersey's Jack Alexy joined Caeleb Dressel, Hunter Armstrong and Chris Guiliano to capture the United States' first gold medal at the Paris Olympics

The United States earned its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics with a resounding win in the men's 4x100m freestyle swimming relay Friday.

Team USA came in first with a time of 3:09:28 followed by Australia in second with a time of 3:10:35, with Italy taking the bronze with a time of 3:10:70.

...

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/usa-first-gold-medal-swimm…

History and Law Professor Dylan Penningroth talks about his academic journey and new book about Black Civil Rights

May 28, 2024
By Lilah Klein

UC Berkeley History and Law Professor Dylan Penningroth began his journey in academia after receiving his bachelor’s degree in history from Yale and his Ph.D. in history from the Johns Hopkins University. Throughout his career at Berkeley, Professor Penningroth has taught, mentored and inspired countless undergraduate and graduate students.

Recipient of prestigious awards including the Merle Curti Prize, the Ellis Hawley Prize, the Civil War and Reconstruction Prize, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National...

Berkeley Talks: Economists on What it’ll Take to Rebuild Ukraine

February 28, 2023
Cori Anne Montero

Tune in to a new episode of Berkeley Talks Podcast, featuring leading economists Barry Eichengreen, Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Gérard Roland, and Roger Myerson. They discussed what it'll take to rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure, education systems, and institutions one year after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Read More and Listen Here

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/02/24/berkeley-talks-rebuilding-ukraine/

Nine UC Berkeley faculty members, seven of whom are L&S faculty, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

May 3, 2022
Hagit Caspi

Nine UC Berkeley faculty members, seven of whom are L&S faculty, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), bringing the total number of living AAAS members at Berkeley to about 275. This year, the following L&S members were elected:

Wendy Brown, Berkeley professor emerita of political science and currently the UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey

Lauren Edelman, the...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/04/28/nine-faculty-members-elected-to-american-ac…

From UC Berkeley to rural India, an anthropologist works to expand library access

March 4, 2024
By Kenny Ma and Lilah Klein

Headshot of woman with long dark hair braided over one shoulder. Wearing black lace shirt under a floral sari. In her many years of fieldwork in rural central India, UC Berkeley Anthropology Professor Aarti Sethi pondered what could make a real difference in the lives of people there. She realized the answer was knowledge: a public library system, an asset scarcely available in the region, which would open doors to literacy...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/03/04/from-uc-berkeley-to-rural-india-an-anthropo…

Berkeley Social Sciences Commencement 2024: Celebrating a Milestone of Achievement

May 23, 2024
By Berkeley Social Sciences Staff

CogSci Commencement 2024

Political Economy graduates. Photo by Emily Yang.

Berkeley Social Sciences’ 15 departments and programs held their commencement ceremonies last week, which included notable speakers, to celebrate their students’ hard work and perseverance to earn their degrees. There were many moments of pure joy for the students, many of whom did not have a...

Berkeley Talks: Reconsidering Black America’s relationship to the plantation

July 2, 2024
Public Affairs

Closeup headshot of woman with dark hair and glasses looking into camera, smiling

In Berkeley Talks episode 203, Alisha Gaines, a professor of English and an affiliate faculty member in African American studies at Florida State University, discusses why it’s important for Black America to “excavate and reconsider” its relationship to the plantation.

“If we were to approach the plantation with an intention to...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/06/28/berkeley-talks-alisha-gaines/

New course teaches about democracy in the real world

June 24, 2024
Hagit Caspi

In his spare time between classes, fourth-year student Gabriel Alexander Juarez ’24 plays guitar in two punk bands. The political science major started one
Gabriel Alexander Juarez performing at 924 Gilman of his bands, Raccoon Hospital, with his UC Berkeley classmates. When it was time to choose his civic engagement project for his class, Professor Darren C. Zook’s “...