Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

Berkeley Social Sciences hosts inaugural American Economic Association queer economics mentoring conference

July 13, 2023

queer economics mentoring conferenceIn support of queer doctoral economics students nationwide, Berkeley Social Sciences recently hosted the inaugural American Economic Association Queer Economics Ph.D. Student Mentoring Conference. Sponsored by the AEA’s Committee on the Status of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Economics Profession (...

UC Berkeley African American Studies professor reveals unseen aspects of slavery in new book

July 13, 2023

In his new book In the Shadows of the Big House: Twenty-First-Century Antebellum Slave Cabins and Heritage Tourism in Louisiana (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2023), UC Berkeley African American Studies Professor Stephen Small sheds light on over 60 heritage sites in Louisiana's former slave plantations. Amid debates about Confederate monument removal, Small's work focuses on the less obvious remnants of slavery throughout the region. ...

Juana Maria Rodríguez: Sex work is a queer issue

June 27, 2023

Illustration of Juana Maria Rodriguez against pink and lime green backgroundSex work is considered one of the oldest professions in history. But in contemporary American culture, it is still a taboo topic. And due to the criminalization and stigma that surrounds the industry, the lives and stories of sex workers often get lost and devalued.

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Balancing Property Taxes for Schools: An Interview with Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey

June 27, 2023

Public education in the United States is profoundly unequal. Many public school systems are highly dependent on local revenues generated by local property taxes, meaning that areas with higher home values have better-funded schools. Wealthier people self-sort into areas with higher property values and better schools, while poorer communities have poorly funded schools. As a result, policymakers have asked: how can we solve the problem of inequality among school districts?

Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey, Assistant Professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Economics, has conducted research...

Author Interview with Sandra Eder: How the Clinic Made Gender

June 13, 2023

Sandra Eder is a history professor at UC Berkeley. In 2022, she wrote How the Clinic Made Gender: The Medical History of a Transformative Idea, a book that explores the history of how the concept of gender emerged out of the medical sector and influenced society. Eder was interviewed during Pride Month 2023 as issues surrounding gender expression and identity were at the forefront of public discussion.

What sparked your idea to write a book on this topic?

In my research, gender always played an important role, but I increasingly became interested in the...

Thirty years and 100 flights: This graduate says it was worth the journey

May 17, 2023

There are super-commuters who drive for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Living far from where they work or go to school, they plan their lives around rush hours and delays.

Then, there’s Hatcher Parnell.

Twice a week, Parnell rises before 5 a.m. in Whittier, about 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. He takes a quick shower, hops in his car and drives 35 minutes to the Long Beach airport. He breezes through TSA precheck and, with coveted “A group” boarding status, claims a seat near the front of the morning Southwest Airlines flight bound for Oakland.

Parnell...

For University Medal finalists, the pandemic was a stormy voyage of discovery

May 17, 2023

The UC Berkeley Class of 2023 may be known to history as the COVID class — the students’ first year on campus was cut short by the pandemic, and the virus roiled their lives, wave after wave.

But for University Medal winner Catherine Vera, and for finalists Aaron P. Hill, Rohith Sajith, Andrea Sandoval and Rosie Ward, the pandemic was just one challenge on an often profound voyage of discovery.

They had to contend with learning by Zoom and...

What can psychology teach us about AI’s bias and misinformation problem?

June 23, 2023

AI and misinformation

Knowledge may be power. But what if the information that leads to that knowledge is wrong?

To Celeste Kidd, assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, the answer is simple: It’s dangerous and perhaps the most concerning aspect of generative AI’s rapid expansion.

Systems like ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion and DALL-E have rippled...

Anthropology Faculty Members Release New Titles

March 17, 2023

Multiple Anthropology faculty members have recently published new titles! Celebrate their publications by checking out their phenomenal work below:

1) ...

Parkland Shooting Survivor, Kai Koerber, Advocates for Mental Health

June 16, 2022

As a Parkland shooting survivor, Kai Koerber understands the urgency of mental health awareness. As an advocate, entrepreneur and data scientist, he has a vision and a plan to make a difference.

Koerber enrolled at UC Berkeley intending to become a rocket scientist like his uncle. But he also came to the university as a public speaker advocating for youth mental health awareness, spurred by a shooting at his high...