Social Sciences

Katie Suwalkowski, a U.S. Army veteran and psychology major at UC Berkeley, has a straightforward approach to life: if you want something, you go for it. When she was 19, Katie wasn’t sure what to do next. She wanted to go to college, but didn’t feel ready mentally or academically. “I didn’t have much going for me,” she recalls. Without a solid...

There’s a scene in Pixar’s hit film Inside Out 2 when teen Riley, the human protagonist of the Inside Out world, senses that one of her 13-year-old friends isn’t telling her everything. The audience zooms in to Riley’s mind, where her emotions are trying to figure it all out. Disgust is on top of it. She pulls up a screen and starts examining Riley’s friend’s furrowed brow. “Enhance,” Disgust barks, as the view pushes into the telltale corrugator muscle that controls our eyebrows.

That scene,...

Editor’s Note: Berkeley Social Sciences faculty are turning their research into action, tackling Oakland’s most urgent challenges — from public safety to affordable housing. In this 3-part series, learn how they are partnering with the community to create lasting and meaningful change by addressing concerns from residents.

For a long time, Berkeley’s African American Studies department had a vision of increasing the scope of the department’s work outside of the classroom and into local communities.

The Department’s...

California’s critical role in shaping the 2024 election took center stage recently as experts gathered at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) Library for the "California and the 2024 Election" panel.

The event featured a presentation by IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo, who shared the latest statewide polling data gathered in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times. DiCamillo presented findings on the mood of California’s electorate and discussed how voter sentiment in the state is increasingly...