Social Sciences

Psychology Professor Dacher Keltner receives APS award for lifetime achievement

September 18, 2024
By Aubrey Spowart

UC Berkeley Psychology Professor Dacher Keltner was awarded the Association for Psychological Science's 2025 APS Mentor Award in recognition of his exceptional mentoring, and innovative research on compassion and awe, cultural influences on emotion and the dynamics of human hierarchies and power abuses.

This prestigious award honors individuals for a lifetime of exceptional psychological research, specifically recognizing Professor Keltner...

Berkeley Social Sciences welcomes new 2024–25 faculty

September 10, 2024
By Jessica Ballardo

Berkeley Social Sciences has welcomed 17 new faculty for the 2024–2025 academic year, including new professors of psychology, sociology, economics, gender and women’s studies, history, political science, linguistics, African American studies, geography and demography.

They bring insight, expertise and dedication to the Social Sciences. Learn more about them here

Sociologist examines Appalachian voters’ rightward shift, with Trump as their ‘shame shield’

September 5, 2024
By Jason Pohl, Berkeley News

In her 2016 bestselling book Strangers in Their Own Land, UC Berkeley sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild proposed that everyone has a “deep story” — a narrative about one’s life and the world that’s based more on emotion than facts, a story that feels true.

For Tea Party conservatives who gave rise to Donald Trump nearly a decade ago, their shared deep story was focused on the American Dream. That dream was just over the hill, they told themselves. But the line...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/09/05/sociologist-examines-appalachian-voters-rig…

First UC Berkeley Master of Computational Social Sciences student cohort officially begins classes

September 4, 2024
By Jessica Ballardo

The inaugural cohort of UC Berkeley Social Sciences’ one-year Master of Computational Social Sciences (MaCSS) program has officially begun their studies, marking a new era that blends the technical power of data science with the societal depth of the social sciences.

As a diverse class of 27 students from across the U.S. and around the world, the students embarked on a transformative journey, where they will be trained to harness the full potential of data...

Finding My Place in LATAM, Part III: Reflections and the Road Ahead

August 22, 2024
by Chaka Tellem

Chaka Tellem is a class of 2023 UC Berkeley graduate who studied political economy with minors in public policy and race & law. Tellem will attend Yale Law School in the fall of 2024. His passion for advocacy and law grew from his formative years in Dallas and Los Angeles. Tellem was the ASUC (Associated Students of the University of California) student body president for two years, from 2021 to 2023. He had the...

Finding My Place in LATAM, Part II: Backpacking through Central America and Returning to Colombia

April 26, 2024
by Chaka Tellem

Chaka Tellem is a class of 2023 UC Berkeley graduate who studied political economy with minors in public policy and race & law. Tellem will attend law school in the fall of 2024. His passion for advocacy and law grew from his formative years in Dallas and Los Angeles. Tellem was the ASUC (Associated Students of the University of California) student body president for two years, from 2021 to 2023. He is currently...

Berkeley Economics and Public Policy Prof. Hilary Hoynes awarded 2024 Daniel M. Holland Medal for groundbreaking work in child poverty

August 19, 2024
By Jessica Ballardo

UC Berkeley Economics and Public Policy Professor Hilary Hoynes, an expert on child poverty and the social safety net, has been awarded the 2024 Daniel M. Holland Medal by the National Tax Association (NTA). The NTA’s most prestigious award recognizes Hoynes’ pioneering research into child poverty and the social safety net, which has influenced the field by offering new insights into the long-term benefits of social welfare programs. She is the...

Berkeley Social Sciences athletes capture 2 golds, 8 medals overall at Paris Olympics

August 13, 2024
By Kenny Ma

Berkeley’s Social Sciences students and alumni made a resounding impact at the Paris Olympics, securing eight medals in total. Their impressive haul includes two golds, four silvers and two bronze medals in sports such as rowing, discus, swimming, hammer throw, water polo, etc. Twenty athletes from Social Sciences competed in the 2024 Olympics, highlighting the Division’s extraordinary talent.

“We congratulate our Berkeley Social Sciences Olympians, who embraced the Olympic spirit of friendship and competition and gave it their all,” Berkeley...

Berkeley Talks: The science behind the emotions in 'Inside Out 2'

August 9, 2024
Public Affairs

Dacher Keltner, Lisa Damour, Allison Briscoe-Smith and Maurissa Horwitz

There’s a scene toward the end of the new Pixar film Inside Out 2 where the main character, 13-year-old Riley, is having a panic attack in the penalty box at a hockey match.

She’s just been reprimanded for tripping an opponent in frustration. On the outside, she’s seen sitting in the small space while grasping at her chest and neck, breathing in...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/08/09/berkeley-talks-inside-out-2/

A UC Berkeley linguist explores what Kamala Harris’s voice and speech reveal about her identity

August 11, 2024
Jason Pohl

Every now and then, a scholar’s niche expertise lines up with a cultural or political moment and finds an audience hungry for the details. Nicole Holliday is having one of those moments.

Holliday is an acting associate professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley who studies what politicians say, how they speak and what their speech reveals about their identity. Perhaps more than any other scholar, Holliday has spent years examining the speaking style of a politician who is also having a moment: Kamala Harris.

...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/08/06/a-uc-berkeley-linguist-explores-what-kamala…