Home / 2019 / Social Consciousness

Social Consciousness

December 12, 2019
Raising awareness of ‘deficit thinking’
Undergraduate researcher works to combat harmful perceptions many first-generation students experience
November 18, 2019
Santa Cruz County faces significant gap in food security, study finds
As the season of holiday feasting approaches, a new study reveals that Santa Cruz County residents who are most at risk of food insecurity may be missing an average of five meals a week.
November 07, 2019
Exploring the impact and ethics of the Frankenstein phenomena
UCSC will present "The Frankenstein Project," a modern theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein story, plus "FrankenCon"-- a three-day conference featuring scientists, theorists, authors, and artists, plus film screenings.
November 07, 2019
Lick Observatory continues popular program for Spanish-speaking community
‘La Noche de las Estrellas’ at Lick Observatory brings science to Spanish-speaking students and their families.
November 07, 2019
Launch party for children's book 'Looking for Marla' November 15 at MAH
UCSC graduate students Paloma Medina and Jessica Kendall-Bar and alumna Audrey Ford collaborated on the illustrated tale of a clownfish in transition.
November 04, 2019
Girls Who Code program seeks to increase retention of women in tech
When the nonprofit Girls Who Code started a new “College Loops” program last year, students at UC Santa Cruz were quick to establish a branch.
October 31, 2019
'Solitary Garden' imagines a landscape without prisons
'Solitary Garden'—a yearlong public art project created to protest solitary confinement and mass incarceration—opens at UC Santa Cruz with a public reception on November 5 at the Baskin Arts Studios. It will run on campus through Dec. 6, 2020.
October 24, 2019
Boosting diversity, inclusion, and representation in science journalism
Science Communication Master's Program empowers the next generation of science journalists with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
October 21, 2019
Learning on the playground: How elementary school recess enhances every aspect of child development
Recess is a lot like school lunch: Some kids get lasagna with an organic green salad, some get a burrito out of a box, and some do without. Like lunch, who gets recess—and who gets good recess—is often determined by what school district a student lives in.
October 18, 2019
Dee Hibbert-Jones receives 2019 International Documentary Association grant for new animated film
UC Santa Cruz professor of art Dee Hibbert-Jones has won a 2019 International Documentary Association (IDA) grant for "Run With It"--an animated documentary film she is currently working on in collaboration with San Francisco artist Nomi Talisman.
October 16, 2019
'A Conversation about Oliver Sacks' to feature alumnus Lawrence Weschler and Radiolab’s Robert Krulwich
Celebrated writer and UC Santa Cruz alumnus Lawrence Weschler will join Radiolab’s Robert Krulwich for a public conversation about the late neurologist and acclaimed author Oliver Sacks on October 21, at 7 p.m. in the Music Center Recital Hall.
October 11, 2019
Student-led iGEM team aims to fight world hunger with synthetic biology
The team of 16 UCSC undergraduates is working to solve a real-world problem while building the skills they will need to be successful researchers.
October 08, 2019
New Human Rights Lab trains students to investigate wrongdoing
The new Human Rights Lab went live this fall with 19 students who have learned high-tech, digital-verification skills they will use to investigate alleged human rights abuses around the globe.
September 06, 2019
Celebrated author and master storyteller Malcolm Gladwell to discuss ‘Talking to Strangers’
Why does a routine traffic stop end in tragedy? How can a spy spend years hidden at the highest levels of the Pentagon? Why is it so hard to detect a lie or judge a stranger's motives? On Sept. 21, The Humanities Institute and Bookshop Santa Cruz, will present “An Evening with Malcolm Gladwell” at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center.
September 05, 2019
Talking about scientific results without overstating the findings
Developmental psychologist Maureen Callanan has coauthored a new paper about researchers' use of "generic language" when they report scientific findings, a tendency that leads to bolder claims that may sacrifice precision.
September 03, 2019
UCSC’s Genomics Institute settles into new Delaware Avenue headquarters
The move to 2300 Delaware Ave. coincides with the formal establishment of the Genomics Institute as an Organized Research Unit at UC Santa Cruz.
August 29, 2019
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead to read from his new novel
Colson Whitehead became a literary phenomenon after the publication of "The Underground Railroad" in 2016, a work of speculative fiction about a young woman who escapes a life of slavery on a Georgia plantation and heads north on a subterranean train...
August 16, 2019
Theater Arts professor Gerald Casel receives National Dance Project grant
Associate professor of theater arts Gerald Casel has received a grant from the National Dance Project to create a new work titled "Not About Race Dance." His project is one of 20 selected for funding to support the creation of new dance works that will tour the United States in 2020.
August 14, 2019
Are the arts at the center of software’s evolution?
In his new book, The Software Arts, UC Santa Cruz professor Warren Sack presents an alternative history of computing that puts the arts at the center of software’s evolution.
July 26, 2019
New book by Dana Frank tells personal story of resistance, terror, and U.S. policy in Honduras
"The Long Honduran Night" is the latest book by UC Santa Cruz emerita professor of history, Dana Frank. One of the top academic experts on Honduras in the United States, she tells the dramatic story of life in that country after the military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya in June 2009.
July 12, 2019
The 2019 Dickens Universe explores a tale of two riots with students from South LA
One of the highlights at this year’s Dickens Universe will be a featured exhibit coming to the campus from Los Angeles along with Jacqueline Barrios, who is using a Dickens novel to explore the impact and history of the Los Angeles riots of 1992 with her high school students.
July 10, 2019
UCSC emerita professor Angela Davis to be inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, The National Women’s Hall of Fame will host a weekend in New York honoring the achievements of women in the birthplace of the Women’s Rights movement. The highlight will be the induction of 10 prominent women into the Hall of Fame.
July 01, 2019
Alumna’s film about Syrian refugees wins Audience Award for Best Feature at SF DocFest
We Are Not Princesses, the first feature film by UC Santa Cruz alumna Bridgette Auger (SocDoc ’11), was honored with the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2019 San Francisco Documentary Film Festival.
June 21, 2019
Phil Hammack helps shape Exploratorium's exhibition about identity
Psychology Professor Phil Hammack was thrilled to be invited to help plan a new exhibition at the Exploratorium about identity.
June 14, 2019
Feminist studies professor Gina Dent receives Dizikes Award for teaching in Humanities
Professor of feminist studies Gina Dent was presented with the John Dizikes Teaching Award in Humanities at the Division’s 2019 Spring Awards celebration held at the Cowell Ranch Hay Barn.
June 12, 2019
UCSC celebrates graduation of first Feminist Studies Ph.D.s
Erin McElroy and Veronika Zablotsky will be the first students to graduate from UC Santa Cruz with a Ph.D. in Feminist Studies.
June 07, 2019
Juries bring transparency and accountability to trials in Argentina
A trial by one's peers is a pillar of democracy, which is why scholars and activists are celebrating Argentina's budding embrace of jury trials.
May 28, 2019
Sociology PhD candidate named UC Free Speech Fellow
Saugher Nojan, a PhD candidate in sociology, has been selected as a 2019-20 fellow of the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.
May 24, 2019
Feminist Studies to present ‘Indigeneity & Climate Justice’ conference at Arboretum
The Feminist Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz will present "Indigeneity & Climate Justice," a two-day conference at the Arboretum on May 30-31. Organized by professors Karen Barad and Felicity Amaya Schaeffer, it will feature three keynote speakers and a graduate student panel, plus a tour of the Arboretum.
May 16, 2019
Bettina Aptheker to moderate panel on impact of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz has joined forces with Bookshop Santa Cruz and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music to present 'My Own Words: The Law & Legacy of RBG'--a panel discussion and Community Read kickoff event in downtown Santa Cruz.
May 10, 2019
First Faculty Ethics Bowl at UC Santa Cruz to focus on the future
What role should thinking about the far future—1,000 years ahead and beyond—play in research on campus? That’s the key question that will be discussed at "Ethics and the Far Future"--the first UC Santa Cruz Faculty Ethics Bowl.
May 07, 2019
Engage with "alternative Nobel" laureates this spring and summer
UC Santa Cruz is hosting a week-long summer institute with Right Livelihood Award laureate Nicanor Perlas, who received the "alternative Nobel" in 2003 for his work opposing corporate globalization.
May 03, 2019
UCSC partners with LA Museum of Art for symposium on work of arts professor Isaac Julien
UC Santa Cruz is collaborating with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to present a daylong symposium on the works of influential British filmmaker and installation artist, Isaac Julien, who recently joined the campus as a distinguished professor of the arts.
April 29, 2019
Regina Langhout honored for advocacy on behalf of those at risk of deportation
Regina Langhout, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is being recognized for her leadership in community psychology on behalf of people at risk of deportation.
April 25, 2019
Night at the Museum in Silicon Valley to spotlight Anti-Semitism and the Internet
What is the relationship between anti-Semitism and the Internet? On May 9, The Humanities Institute and the Center for Jewish Studies will present 'UC Santa Cruz Night at the Museum: Anti-Semitism & the Internet—Old Hatred and New' at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.
April 18, 2019
Making art in trying times: DANM exhibition examines culture, society, and the digital world
Thirteen graduate students from the Digital Arts and New Media M.F.A. program (DANM) will conclude two years of artistic study at UC Santa Cruz with "Receivership"—an exhibition of their work running on campus April 26 to May 12.
April 16, 2019
UC Santa Cruz philosophy alumnus Jeffrey Stewart wins 2019 Pulitzer Prize for biography
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Jeffrey Conrad Stewart (Cowell College ’71, philosophy) has been awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for "The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke," his definitive biography of the father of the Harlem Renaissance.
April 10, 2019
'Hi-Phi Nation' philosophy podcast host to launch humanities residency at UC Santa Cruz
Barry Lam—an associate professor of philosophy at Vassar College and host of the philosophy podcast "Hi-Phi Nation" on Slate—is coming to UC Santa Cruz this week to begin a two-week residency.
March 28, 2019
College Ten class connects students with Soledad Prison inmates
A first-ever class called "Transcommunal Cooperation and Peacemaking" brought together 14 undergraduates and 28 men incarcerated at the Soledad Correctional Training Facility for an extraordinary 10 weeks of learning and discovery.
March 27, 2019
'Blueprint Roundtable' to discuss complexities of being black and male in U.S.
Students, faculty, and community leaders will respond to questions and issues raised by 'Question Bridge: Black Males'—an exhibition currently on display at the Sesnon Gallery—at a “Blueprint Roundtable” on April 3 at Oakes College.
March 14, 2019
New anthology of essays about Chicana and Chicano art edited by arts professor Jennifer González
"Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology" offers an overview of the history and theory of Chicano and Chicana art from the 1960s to the mid-2000s.
March 14, 2019
Sixth annual Climate Conference links science and justice
For the first time, the annual UC Santa Cruz Climate Conference will bring together prominent ocean scientists and leading social-justice advocates to discuss the environmental and equity dimensions of the crisis.
March 10, 2019
Leading the charge for change
Alumna Amita Kuttner, a current graduate student in the Physics Department, is running as a Green Party candidate for a seat in Canada’s House of Commons in order to make policy around climate change—a quest sparked by a devastating loss
March 07, 2019
UC Santa Cruz launches online 'Feminism and Social Justice' course with Bettina Aptheker
UC Santa Cruz has launched a new online course open to the public through the Coursera platform. Titled 'Feminism and Social Justice,' it is an adaptation of a popular course taught on campus for nearly a decade by feminist studies professor Bettina Aptheker.
March 01, 2019
Guillermo Gómez-Peña returns to UCSC to perform his latest solo work: "The Most (un) Documented Mexican Artist"
Internationally renowned artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña returns to UC Santa Cruz on March 5 to perform his latest solo work, "The Most (un) Documented Mexican Artist," at the Theater Arts Second Stage, beginning at 7 p.m.
February 26, 2019
Borderbus: A community conversation about migration, art, and social justice
Former U.S. poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera will appear in conversation with book artist and UCSC alumna Felicia Rice on March 6, at the Museum of Art and History in downtown Santa Cruz.
February 19, 2019
Blum Scholars present preliminary results of community-based research
Four graduate students discussed their research on jail health care, Latina resistance, Central Valley youth, and feminism in the farmlands.
February 14, 2019
Marin County: Safe harbor for Native residents during the Mission era and into the 20th century
Contrary to the dominant narrative of cultural extinction, indigenous residents of Marin County survived colonization, preserving and passing on their traditions and cultural practices, says anthropologist Tsim Schneider.
February 01, 2019
Question Bridge: Black Males exhibition opens Feb. 6 at Sesnon Art Gallery
'Question Bridge: Black Males' is an exhibition in which a wide array of videos have been merged together to simulate face-to-face conversations between a diverse group of more than 160 black men across the United States.
January 31, 2019
Mean streets: Self-driving cars will "cruise" to avoid paying to park
If you think traffic in city centers is bad now, just wait until self-driving cars emerge on the scene, cruising around to avoid paying hefty downtown parking fees.
January 24, 2019
'What refugees taught me about Shakespeare'
On Jan. 31, New York theater director Jessica Bauman will come to campus for a special evening at Kresge Town Hall titled 'What Refugees Taught Me About Shakespeare.' Together with UCSC professor Cat Ramirez, she will explore the ways that the stories we hear and tell about refugees shape our responses to the worldwide migration crisis.
January 23, 2019
Art professor receives 2019 Creative Capital Award plus SFFILM artist residency for new documentary film
UC Santa Cruz professor of art Dee Hibbert-Jones has received a 2019 Creative Capital Award for "Run With It," a feature-length animated documentary film she is currently working on in collaboration with San Francisco artist Nomi Talisman.
January 23, 2019
Gov. Newsom appoints UCSC alumna Kris Perry to key post
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed UC Santa Cruz alumna Kris Perry, a nationally recognized advocate for children, to a key post in his new administration.
January 18, 2019
Questions That Matter public humanities series to spotlight ‘Data and Democracy’ at Kuumbwa Center
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz will present "Data and Democracy"—the fifth installment of its signature Questions That Matter series—on Tuesday, January 29, at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in downtown Santa Cruz.
January 10, 2019
Professor honored by Linguistic Society of America for decades of work on endangered languages
UC Santa Cruz emeritus professor of linguistics Judith Aissen was awarded the prestigious Kenneth L. Hale Award last week in New York City at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA). The LSA is the major professional society in the United States that is dedicated to the scientific study of language.
January 10, 2019
CruzHacks 2019 to be held at Stevenson Event Center January 18 to 20
With CruzHacks 2019 shaping up to be the biggest and most diverse UCSC hackathon yet, openings are still available for judges and mentors.
January 08, 2019
Institute of Arts and Sciences to present talk by politically provocative artist Glenn Ligon
Glenn Ligon is perhaps best known for his landmark series of text-based paintings, which draw on the words of such diverse figures as Richard Pryor, Zora Neale Hurston, and Gertrude Stein. On Jan. 15, the Institute of Arts and Sciences will present a lecture by Ligon at UCSC's Digital Arts Research Center