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Social Sciences

December 14, 2015
Cultivating a garden — and food security — in Watsonville
College Nine and Ten Provost Flora Lu and her students are forging campus-community collaborations through a community garden at Calabasas Elementary School in Watsonville.
December 08, 2015
The year in review at UC Santa Cruz
At UC Santa Cruz, 2015 was a year celebrating our 50th anniversary by advancing knowledge, challenging the status quo, and taking risks. And the campus capped it all off with a big top celebration.
December 07, 2015
How UC Santa Cruz became unique (in just over eight minutes)
“How UC Santa Cruz Became Unique,” a snappy eight-minute history of UC Santa Cruz’s first 50 years and its effect on the town, has been produced by founding faculty member G. William Domhoff.
December 07, 2015
How alumni carry on Gabriel Zimmerman’s legacy of public service
Since 2011, the Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship has raised more than $100,000 to help UC Santa Cruz students dedicated to careers in public service. Now a matching fund has launched to increase that figure.
December 02, 2015
Declaration of human rights added to discussions at UN Climate Change Conference
As world leaders gather this week in Paris for the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, a group of environmental and legal scholars including S. Ravi Rajan of UC Santa Cruz has drafted a resolution stating human rights must be more explicitly acknowledged during climate discussions.
December 01, 2015
Internships support new concentration in agroecology and sustainable food systems
Beginning this fall, environmental studies majors are able to add a concentration in agroecology and sustainable food systems to their undergraduate major. Internships integrate undergraduates into the seasonal work of the campus’s 33 acres of organic farmland and market gardens.
November 24, 2015
Alumna's 'New York Times' article details womens' recruitment, escape from ISIS
UC Santa Cruz alumna Azadeh Moaveni (Oakes, politics, ’98) wrote the dramatic and detailed Sunday 'New York Times' article that describes how three young Syrian women become enlisted – two by arranged marriage – into ISIS and later escaped to Turkey.
November 19, 2015
Campus fills eight UC Presidential chairs in support of research mission
The eight new chairs - in everything from screenwriting to open-source software - bring the campus total to 30.
November 19, 2015
Faye Crosby wins Society of Justice Research Lifetime Achievement Award
Psychology professor and Cowell College Provost Faye Crosby will receive the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Justice Research.
November 17, 2015
UC Santa Cruz launches conservation scholars program to increase diversity
A UC Santa Cruz program to nurture a diverse cadre of environmental conservation leaders will receive $2 million over four years from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, joining four other universities in the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program.
November 13, 2015
Low-wage report presentation will include discussion on raising the minimum wage
The final report from a study of low-wage workers in Santa Cruz County, produced by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Labor Studies, is set for release at a community event Thursday, Nov. 19 in downtown Santa Cruz.
November 13, 2015
Alumni Profile / 1991: Melissa Nelson: Revitalizing native cultures
Melissa Nelson believes the best ways to teach Native American youth about their cultural past is through their hearts and minds, as well as their stomachs.
November 06, 2015
Research Frontiers Evening shows how 'innovation meets ambition'
For examples of interdisciplinary research, look no further than the Division of Social Sciences’ annual Research Frontiers event.
November 02, 2015
Alumni Profile / 1984: Barbara Garcia: Health mission
When the opportunity came to help start Salud Para La Gente, a tiny health clinic for those same low-income residents in Watsonville, Barbara Garcia gave up her goal of being a teacher and jumped at the chance. Little did she know where that decision would lead.
October 22, 2015
Four UC Santa Cruz students receive Global Food Initiative fellowships
Four UC Santa Cruz students have received $4,000 UC Global Food Initiative fellowships for the 2015–2016 academic year.
October 22, 2015
2015-2016 Campus Food & Garden Guide now available in print and online
This year an online interactive companion to the printed guide is available and will go live Friday, Oct. 23 in anticipation of National Food Day, Saturday.
October 19, 2015
Big ideas
From saving falcons to peering into the universe, sequencing the human genome, and putting organic food on American tables, UC Santa Cruz has become known as the small university where big things happen.
October 16, 2015
Research Frontiers Evening features six talks on social science research
Six UC Santa Cruz professors will deliver lively “Ed Talks” describing how their research confronts and connects contemporary issues when the UCSC Social Sciences division holds its third annual Research Frontiers event.
October 15, 2015
More than economics: New book explores how equality helps economies grow
Communities that know together, grow together is the premise of UC Santa Cruz professor Chris Benner’s new book, 'Equity, Growth, and Community: What the Nation Can Learn From America’s Metro Areas.'
October 05, 2015
Life, realized
Alumni authors give voice to transformative experiences at UC Santa Cruz that changed their lives and shaped their careers.
October 02, 2015
Social sciences faculty awarded $8 million in research funding
Faculty in the Social Sciences Division of UC Santa Cruz garnered more than $8 million in research funding from just over 100 grants for the year August 2014 to August 2015.
October 01, 2015
Bugs in an urban jungle: What green spaces mean for ecology and community
Since 2013, UC Santa Cruz environmental studies professor Stacy Philpott has studied insect biodiversity in urban gardens to better understand the ecological role these green spaces provide.
September 30, 2015
Environmental studies lecturer wins anthropology association public policy award
Barbara Rose Johnston, a UC Santa Cruz lecturer in environmental studies, has been named a winner of the 2015 Anthropology in Public Policy Award from the American Anthropological Association.
September 29, 2015
Gift funds new Presidential Chair for the UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserves
Endowment established by Helen and Will Webster Foundation broadens opportunities to use natural reserves as living labs and outdoor classrooms.
September 24, 2015
New senate faculty members build campus strengths
From environmental sociology to game design, UC Santa Cruz professors are studying problems aimed at improving the world in which we live.
September 21, 2015
No reason to retire
In their 70s and 80s, many pioneer faculty are still working on campus—for the chance to open students’ eyes, for the excitement of discovery, and for the love of teaching.
September 16, 2015
Paying it forward: annual Farm to Fork event honors past and future farmers
The Farm to Fork dinner series has supported more than 150 apprentices through scholarships and subsidized meal plans.
September 15, 2015
Oakes College founding provost to speak on his journey
J. Herman Blake will deliver a talk, “My Unique Journey: Learning Never Ends,” at 11 a.m. Sept. 26 outside the McHenry Library as part of Founders Celebration weekend.
September 11, 2015
UCSC Farm hosts Fall Harvest Festival Sunday, Sept 27
Celebrate fall’s arrival with pumpkins, music, great food, a fall plant sale, farm tours, and much more at the UCSC Farm & Garden’s Fall Harvest Festival, coming up on Sunday, September 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at UC Santa Cruz’s 30-acre organic farm.
September 10, 2015
In soil we trust: How military veterans learn to become organic farmers at UC Santa Cruz
Agriculture is an appealing career option for many soldiers transitioning to civilian life, say veterans enrolled in the Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz.
September 09, 2015
Pumas, raccoons and snakes, oh my
UC Santa Cruz students can walk out of a classroom and, in a few minutes, be in the same territory with nearly 50 species of mammals, legions of birds, and scores of salamanders, newts and snakes.
September 09, 2015
Pie potluck, barn dance mark Cowell Ranch Hay Barn dedication Saturday, Sept. 12
A pie potluck and barn dance will be featured at the dedication of the newly rebuilt Cowell Ranch Hay Barn that will soon become a multi-use teaching, office and event space, and headquarters for the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz.
September 08, 2015
Many organizations to participate in History Fair on October 24
The Friends of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District is presenting a local history fair, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Henry Cowell's purchase of the land that would become UC Santa Cruz. The event will take place on Saturday, October 24, on the UCSC campus.
August 21, 2015
Farm to label: How alumnus helped bring organic labeling policy to the nation
Mark Lipson, now a research associate at Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, was instrumental in standardizing organic farming in the U.S. Now back at UCSC, he continues the mission of institutionalizing public policy support for organic farming.
August 17, 2015
In Memoriam: Diane Lewis (1931-2015)
After fighting cancer since December, UC Santa Cruz Professor of Anthropology Emerita Diane Lewis died Thursday in her home surrounded by her daughter Raven Chaney and her grandchildren Kevin and Rosalie Chisolm.
August 14, 2015
Enjoy the peak season of produce from the UC Santa Cruz Farm
With summer in full swing, it’s time to sign up for the UCSC Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and enjoy the peak season of organic produce from the UC Santa Cruz Farm.
August 13, 2015
Fifth annual Farm to Fork Benefit Dinner opens new Cowell Ranch Hay Barn
The fifth annual Farm to Fork Benefit Dinner at the UC Santa Cruz Farm will be held at the newly renovated Cowell Ranch Hay Barn Saturday, September 12.
August 13, 2015
UC Santa Cruz psychology Ph.D. graduate wins Fulbright fellowship for research in Israel
A recent UC Santa Cruz psychology Ph.D. graduate has won a Fulbright postdoctoral award to support 20 months of research at an Israeli university where he will look at how different groups justify violence on moral terms.
July 28, 2015
Year-long UC Santa Cruz seminar to examine global migration and non-citizenship
The phenomena of global migration, disenfranchisement, and hardships of living in territories while not holding traditional citizenship will be examined in a year-long seminar conceived by five UC Santa Cruz professors and funded with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
July 20, 2015
Gift to UC Santa Cruz funds new chair in water resources and food sustainability
UC Santa Cruz has received $500,000 from the Helen and Will Webster Foundation that with matching funds from UC Regents has established the Stephen R. Gliessman Presidential Chair in Water Resources and Food System Sustainability.
July 13, 2015
Chancellor names professors Haney and Strome as UC Presidential Chairs
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal has named professors Craig Haney and Susan Strome to three-year terms as UC Santa Cruz Presidential Chairs.
July 01, 2015
Scholarships available for UC Santa Cruz organic farming apprenticeships
Aspiring organic farmers and gardeners are invited to apply for the 2016 Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz. Now in its 48th year, the Apprenticeship is the longest running university-based organic farming training program in the U.S.
July 01, 2015
UC Santa Cruz develops innovative online courses available to all UC students
UC Santa Cruz faculty are venturing into the brave new world of online education.
June 26, 2015
Alumni Profile / Kris Perry: Standing for equality
Kris Perry (Merrill '86) doesn’t think about the way historians will tell her story. Instead, she thinks how life will be different for children nationwide because of her fight for marriage equality.
June 25, 2015
Caffeine culture: Anthropology student traces coffee’s route from farm to cup
When Katie Slocum, an anthropology major at UC Santa Cruz, got her first espresso fix at Verve, the specialty Santa Cruz coffee bar, she had no idea that a year later she would be following the company to a Honduran mountaintop on a journey through the coffee supply chain.
June 18, 2015
Social Sciences division launches first annual summer reading list
What happens when you ask UC Santa Cruz faculty, staff, alumni, and students from the Division of Social Sciences - and even the Chancellor - for book recommendations related to themes of social justice, citizenship, ethics, and social responsibility?
June 15, 2015
Freshly minted grads revel at commencement
Bubbles floated in the air and fresh-flower leis ruffled in the breeze as scholars and their supporters gathered over the weekend for a very special edition of UC Santa Cruz commencement.
June 03, 2015
Student entrepreneurs pitch business ideas at annual Silicon Valley event
The Center for Entrepreneurship held its third annual Business Design Showcase on Saturday, May 30, at the UCSC Silicon Valley Center.
June 01, 2015
In memoriam: Laura Garciacano Sobrino, alumna became the 'Mariachi Queen'
Laura Garciacano Sobrino (Porter, ’81, individual music major), who became one of the best-known female mariachi musicians in the United States and Mexico, died May 21 in Whittier, Ca., at age 60.
May 29, 2015
Julie Guthman wins excellence award for research in food justice issues
Julie Guthman, UC Santa Cruz professor of social sciences, whose research looks at agricultural systems, food justice issues, and environmental health, has been selected to receive the 2015 Excellence in Research Award from the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society.
May 28, 2015
UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden’s market cart produce stand opens June 2
Tuesday, June 2 is opening day for the UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden's Market Cart at the corner of Bay and High streets at the base of the UC Santa Cruz campus.
May 27, 2015
Accounting's Bob Shepherd wins state CPA society outstanding educator award
Robert Shepherd, former director of the economics accounting track at UC Santa Cruz, has been named winner of the 2015 Outstanding Educator Award by the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA).
May 18, 2015
Center for Emerging Worlds hosts screenings of films on global Islam
The UC Santa Cruz Center for Emerging Worlds presents two nights of film and video on the theme of global Islam, Friday and Saturday, May 29, 30 at the Film and Digital Media Department on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
May 15, 2015
UC Santa Cruz politics professor Mark Massoud wins Guggenheim Fellowship
Mark Fathi Massoud, assistant professor of politics and legal studies at UC Santa Cruz, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to further his research on law in war-affected regions.
May 15, 2015
LASER talk to explore research in environmental art, recycling, ocean medicines, and film
UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences will present its final LASER talk of the academic year on campus this spring on Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. in the Digital Arts Research Center.
May 15, 2015
Emeritus psychology professor Pavel Machotka wins systemwide emeriti award
Pavel Machotka, professor emeritus of psychology at UC Santa Cruz, has won a 2015 Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award that honors UC emeriti professors in the humanities and social sciences.
May 13, 2015
Berries, flowers from campus Farm & Garden go on sale at Quarry Plaza
On Friday, May 15th, Wednesday, May 20th, and Wednesday, May 27th, a limited engagement produce and flower stand will open at Quarry Plaza with berries and beautiful flower bouquets from the Alan Chadwick Garden.
May 11, 2015
Center for Analytical Finance workshop looks at high-frequency trading
The chief economist of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will open a daylong workshop and conference on high-frequency trading, Friday, May 15 at UC Santa Cruz.
May 07, 2015
CASFS updates instructor's manual for teaching small farm direct marketing
The new edition of "Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability: Resources for Instructors," 2nd Edition, draws on nearly 50 years of experience teaching beginning organic farmers and gardeners at the UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden Apprenticeship.
May 01, 2015
Barrios Unidos founder to speak at 12th Cesar Chavez Convocation
Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez, founder and executive director of Barrios Unidos, is the keynote speaker for the 12th annual Cesar Chavez convocation, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, at the College Nine/Ten Multi-purpose Room on the UC Santa Cruz campus. It is free and the public is invited.
May 01, 2015
Student study tells the stories of low-wage workers in Santa Cruz County
A year-long study by UC Santa Cruz students that finds low-wage workers in Santa Cruz County earn about $10 an hour compared with the county median of $17.81 will be released at 'Working for Dignity,' a public event 7-9 p.m. Thursday, May 7 at the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz.
April 27, 2015
An Alumni Weekend to remember
A record-breaking crowd of 2,500 revelers, more than half of them alumni, took part in UC Santa Cruz's Alumni Weekend this year—a special edition of the event that was bigger and more elaborate than ever before in honor of the campus's 50th anniversary.
April 27, 2015
Graduate students present research projects at annual symposium
The 11th Annual Graduate Research Symposium on April 24 featured graduate student researchers from across the divisions.
April 23, 2015
Stephen Bruce named Distinguished Social Sciences Alumni Award winner
The UC Santa Cruz Social Sciences Division has named Stephen Bruce, a 1979 economics graduate of Cowell College, as winner of the Distinguished Social Sciences Alumni Award for 2014-15.
April 22, 2015
Spread of pathogens between species is predictable, study finds
Scientists studied disease dynamics in a grassland on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
April 20, 2015
UCSC Farm & Garden’s 35th annual Spring Plant Sale set for May 2, 3
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden’s Spring Plant Sale, offering the region’s largest collection of organically grown herb and flower starts, vegetables, and beautiful perennials.
April 17, 2015
Classes without quizzes: Alumni Weekend Teach-Ins
Returning UC Santa Cruz alumni should get ready to exercise their brains, but with no fear of final exams, at the ever-popular "Teach-Ins" featuring professors Bettina Aptheker and Craig Haney.
April 13, 2015
Solving ancient riddles: UCSC hosts archaeological genetics conference
The newly formed UC Santa Cruz Archaeological Research Center will hold its first public research conference on how the analysis of ancient DNA can unlock secrets from the past Tuesday afternoon (April 14) on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
April 10, 2015
Alum’s feature film heralds wildlife and landscape of Big Sur’s wild coast
Acclaimed wildlife photographers, UC Santa Cruz alumnus Kennan Ward and his wife Karen, will screen their new film “It’s a Wild Life” featuring the Big Sur coast Friday, April 17 at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz.
April 03, 2015
Feminist Islamic scholar to speak of global movements for women, equality, and justice
Amina Wadud will speak of "Muslim Women: Equality and Justice Movements Globally" Thursday, April 16 as part of the Center for Emerging Worlds' Global Islam series.
March 26, 2015
Faculty research lecture features prison and incarceration expert Craig Haney
Haney has been selected to deliver the 49th annual Faculty Research Lecture scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at 7 p.m. at the Music Recital Hall on the UC Santa Cruz campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.
March 26, 2015
Workshop explores how digital technology changes the way financial markets function
The Center for Analytical Finance (CAFIN) at UC Santa Cruz will hold a one-day workshop Friday, April 3 that looks at how digital technology has changed the way markets function. Admission is free and open to the public.
March 25, 2015
LASER talk to explore research in bio-acoustics, film, archaeology, and art
UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences will continue its series of LASER talks on campus this spring on Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m. in the Digital Arts Research Center. Admission is free and open to the public.
March 23, 2015
Historic hay barn rises again to become a center for sustainability programs
Over a weekend, volunteers joined professionals to raise the timber-framed superstructure for the re-creation of the Cowell Ranch hay barn on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
March 17, 2015
Barn raising set for re-creation of historic Cowell Ranch Hay Barn
A new-fashioned community barn raising is set for Saturday, March 21 at UC Santa Cruz when professionals and volunteers will assemble and raise the timber framing for the re-creation of the historic Cowell Ranch Hay Barn.
March 16, 2015
The heart and soul of UC Santa Cruz
By Sheldon Kamieniecki, Dean, Division of Social Sciences—In my ninth year as dean, I remain impressed by the strong commitment of social sciences faculty to research, undergraduate education, and teaching.
March 16, 2015
Focus of climate change discussions shifts from mitigation to adaptation
UC Santa Cruz climate conference addresses coastal resilience and 'wicked tradeoffs.'
March 04, 2015
New 3rd edition of 'Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening' now available
Drawing on nearly 50 years of experience, "Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition" addresses practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture.
February 27, 2015
UC Santa Cruz students compete in global challenge for $1 million Hult Prize
A team of UC Santa Cruz students has advanced to the regional finals of the sixth annual Hult Prize, the world’s largest student competition and start-up platform for social good.
February 27, 2015
Anita Hill: 'I hope my life is a living example of the power of coming forward'
Anita Hill, the focus of the highest-profile sexual harassment case in U.S. history, addressed a capacity crowd about "speaking truth to power."
February 24, 2015
UC Santa Cruz psychology professor honored with 'Best Paper' award
UC Santa Cruz associate professor of psychology Shelly Grabe and social psychology graduate students Rose Grose and Anjali Dutt have been named winners of the 2015 Georgia Babladelis Award by the Society for the Psychology of Women.
February 24, 2015
Top scientists, policymakers to speak at UCSC climate conference March 13-14
UC Santa Cruz will host a major national conference on climate change featuring top climate scientists and policy experts.
February 20, 2015
New book explores the myth of secularism in contemporary France
UC Santa Cruz anthropology professor Mayanthi Fernando’s book “The Republic Unsettled: Muslim French and the Contradictions of Secularism” provides insight to understanding Islamic culture and secularism in contemporary France.
February 12, 2015
Anita Hill to speak at UC Santa Cruz on gender and racial equality Feb. 26
Anita Hill’s life changed forever in 1991 when a television audience of 22 million saw her testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Clarence Thomas.
February 12, 2015
Female pumas kill more, eat less when humans are near, study finds
Female pumas kill more prey but consume less when their territories bump into human development, UC Santa Cruz researchers report in a new study based on monitoring more than two dozen pumas in the Santa Cruz mountains.
February 11, 2015
New UC hands-on experience class modeled after UC Santa Cruz 'supercourse'
A uniquely UC Santa Cruz course that offers undergraduates hands-on research experience has been adopted by the UC Natural Reserve System and is now open to students from all nine UC undergraduate campuses.
February 10, 2015
Campus farm adds Quarry Field to further farming, education, and research
Freshly tilled soil on the west side of Hagar marks the start of the UC Santa Cruz Farm’s latest effort in growing food for campus and expanding the research and education work of the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS).
February 04, 2015
Emerging Worlds talk focuses on conflict in South Sudan
“Understanding Conflict in South Sudan,” the second in series of public events looking at global Islam, is set for Tuesday, February 10 at UC Santa Cruz.
January 30, 2015
State legislature commends economics chair Rob Fairlie for public service
Rob Fairlie, chair of the Economics Department at UC Santa Cruz, has been commended by the state legislature for service to California through his work to reduce poverty and inequality, improve education and human capital, and increase job opportunities and entrepreneurship.
January 27, 2015
Tony Hill Award winner helps young people soar
Jacob Martinez, this year's Tony Hill Award honoree, is a strong advocate for low-income Latino and Latina youth who are interested in science, math, and technological careers but face obstacles along the way.
January 16, 2015
Steve Whittaker named fellow of Association of Computing Machinery
Steve Whittaker, UC Santa Cruz professor of psychology, has been named a fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery for his work in human-computer interaction