Social Sciences

Psychology professor Dom Massaro’s fascination with time stems from a visit to his son’s second-grade class, where Massaro observed youngsters having trouble learning to tell time. That experience inspired him to invent a kid-friendly clock, the award-winning Kid Klok. His curiosity piqued, Massaro went on to explore the history of time and timekeeping, which he…

For Immediate Release SANTA CRUZ, CA–Raymond Dasmann’s self-deprecating humor and gift for understatement belie his role as a pioneering environmentalist. Dasmann’s new memoir, Called by the Wild: The Autobiography of a Conservationist (Berkeley, CA: University of California, Press, 2002), reflects his desire to give credit to others, but in fact Dasmann is one of a…

The path to college got a little smoother this week for 50 students from four Pajaro Valley Unified School District middle schools. Each student, participating in a UC Santa Cruz-sponsored early college-preparation program, was awarded a $2,000 college scholarship that will be held in trust for college. Students from the following schools received awards: –…

One of the most pleasant rituals of spring is the annual poetry reading in the Alan Chadwick Garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz. This year’s event takes place on Saturday, June 15. The event, “Poetry and Music in the Garden,” features readings by four poets from noon until 2 p.m. It is free…

Lionel Cantú Jr., an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, died unexpectedly on Sunday, May 26, at the age of 36. The cause of death was cardiac arrest, said Patricia Zavella, professor of Latin American and Latino studies. Cantú had been hospitalized after suffering a ruptured intestine earlier in the…

The popular Banana Slug String Band will headline the grand opening Saturday, June 1, of the Life Lab Garden Classroom at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The public is invited to celebrate the creation of this new children’s educational facility from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Garden Classroom is located on the UCSC…

Olga Nájera-Ramírez’s appointment this spring as codirector of the UC Santa Cruz Chicano/Latino Research Center (CLRC) is the latest milestone for this Santa Cruz County native. Nájera-Ramírez, an associate professor of anthropology who specializes in Mexican folklore, is eager to strengthen connections between the university and the community in her new position as codirector of…

Civil rights activist and attorney Urvashi Vaid will give a free public lecture on Monday, April 29, at 7 p.m. in the newly restored Del Mar Theater at 1124 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. Her talk, “Sexuality and Its Discontents: What’s Race, Class, and War Got to Do with It?,” marks the third annual…

More than 60 heirloom varieties of vegetables and flowers will be featured at the UC Santa Cruz Spring Plant Sale on May 4-5, the only collection of organically grown flower, herb, and vegetable starts, perennials, grasses, and other landscape plants available in the region. The sale takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in…

Two well-known economists will visit UC Santa Cruz in April to participate in the new “Global Policy and Social Justice Lecture Series” being presented jointly by College Nine and the UCSC Division of Social Sciences. Both lectures are free and open to the public. The first lecture in the series will be presented Tuesday, April…

More than 1,000 students are expected to attend a forum for diversity in graduate education on Saturday, April 13, at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The 12th annual California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The forum is designed to reach college juniors, seniors, and…