Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

Scientists discover secret to waking up alert and refreshed

November 29, 2022
Robert Sanders

Do you feel groggy until you’ve had your morning joe? Do you battle sleepiness throughout the workday?

You’re not alone. Many people struggle with morning alertness, but a new study demonstrates that awaking refreshed each day is not just something a lucky few are born with. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that you can wake up each morning without feeling sluggish by paying attention to three key factors: sleep, exercise and breakfast.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/11/29/scientists-discover-secret-to-waking-up-ale…

Berkeley names Carolina Talavera as first Dubal Fellow, honoring the legacy of anthropologist Sam Dubal ’15

November 16, 2022

Headshot of Carolina Talavera against a pink backdropUC Berkeley’s Department of Anthropology announced the inaugural recipient of the Sam Dubal Fellowship in Critical Cultural and Medical Anthropology, Carolina Talavera. The fellowship, established in 2021, honors the enduring vision and memory of Dr. Sam Dubal ’15. Dubal was an anthropologist, activist...

Catalyst Program helps traditionally underserved students

November 7, 2022
Hagit Caspi

Xanthia Lam, a senior student in the cognitive science program at UC Berkeley, was unsure of how she would afford some basic supplies for the coming semester. The Oakland-born daughter of two immigrant parents who have experienced homelessness, Lam had been thankful to receive some financial support throughout her undergraduate education, but even that support did not completely cover costs of living in the Bay Area.

“Even though the Cal Grant and the Pell Grant covered my tuition, it was not enough to cover basic needs like housing and food,” she said. “That’s why I was so grateful...

UC Berkeley sociologist inducted into California Hall of Fame

November 10, 2022

Arlie Russell Hochschild speaks at a podiumArlie Russell Hochschild, an esteemed UC Berkeley sociologist and professor emerita of sociology, has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Hochschild was recognized for “pioneering new understanding of the emotions that underlie people’s beliefs, actions and social lives.”

Hochschild joins 14 other Californians “whose...

Varsha Sarveshwar, UC Berkeley graduate, selected as a 2022 Rhodes Scholar

December 15, 2021
Chauncey Walker
Varsha Sarveshwar, 2022 Rhodes ScholarVarsha Sarveshwar '20, a UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science alumna, has received one of the world's most prestigious honors for academic excellence—the Rhodes Scholarship. The Scholarship is awarded “on the basis not only of intellect, but also of character, leadership and commitment to service,” and Sarveshwar was among 32 American students...

The Annual Stone Lecture: Slouching Towards Utopia

November 7, 2022

Around 1870 came a great shift: invention sprinted forward, doubling our technological capabilities each generation, utterly transforming the economy again and again. The possibility of being able in the not-too-distant future of baking a sufficiently large economic pie for everyone to someday have enough came into view. Surely then we would be able to shift governance and politics so that we could collectively build a utopia? Surely it was the baking of the sufficiently large economic pie that was the large problem. Surely the slicing and tasting the pie—...

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-annual-stone-lecture-slouching-towards-utopia-t…

Inflation Does More Than Raise Prices. It Destroys Governments

November 7, 2022

“One can usually pretend that there is a logic to the distribution of wealth — that behind a person’s prosperity lies some rational basis, whether it is that person’s hard work, skill and farsightedness or some ancestor’s,” writes J. Bradford DeLong. “Inflation — even moderate inflation — strips the mask.”

DeLong is an economic historian at the University of California, Berkeley, a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury and the author of “...

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-bradford-delong.ht…

L&S Professor Receives Prestigious Award from French Government

April 16, 2021

Professor Larry Hyman has been awarded the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre des Palmes académiques (Order of Academic Palms)

Hyman’s award recognizes his extraordinary contributions to strengthening French and U.S. collaboration as longtime Director of the France-Berkeley Fund.

https://fbf.berkeley.edu/news/fbf-director-receives-prestigious-award-french-gov…

The Social Safety Net as an Investment in Children

October 24, 2022
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For those attending the lecture in person, directions to Alumni House can be found here.

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https://gradlectures.berkeley.edu/lecture/the-social-safety-net-as-an-investment…

Three UC Berkeley alumnae awarded MacArthur 'Genius' Fellowships

October 24, 2022

Jennifer Carlson Ph.D. '13

Headshot of Jennifer CarlsonCarlson was recognized for her research on "the motivations, assumptions, and social forces that drive gun ownership and shape gun culture in the United States." Carlson has been closely studying...