Social Sciences

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…

Teens describe immobilizing guilt, unwanted feelings of racism, and also relief at being white For white youth, coming to terms with being white in an increasingly diverse U.S. society can be a painful and contradictory experience marked by feelings of guilt and privilege, relief and persistent prejudice. In her new book, Shades of White: White…

If you offer it, they will come, and come they did to a March workshop on gopher control. So many people came, in fact, that dozens had to be turned away. As a result, the UC Santa Cruz Farm is hosting a second workshop on Saturday, April 6, for gardeners who want to learn the…

If you’re wondering what to do with your little darlin’s during spring break, look no further than the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, where educators have added new programs and activities for the weeks of March 23-April 7. Keep the kids from bouncing off the walls by enrolling them in fun workshops like “An ROV For…

Kids can learn about farm predators during concurrent workshop If those telltale mounds of freshly upturned earth in your garden make you hiss like an agitated house cat, you’ll want to learn the best ways to keep your garden gopher-free during a workshop on Saturday, March 16, at the UC Santa Cruz Farm. Last year…

Learn the art and fun of herbal tea blending on Saturday, March 2, from 1 to 4 p.m. during a low-cost workshop at the UC Santa Cruz Farm. Herbalist and tea blender Julie Rothman will demonstrate the art of making medicinal and beverage teas. She’ll also lead an herb walk through the gardens at the…

Renowned Pomo basketweaver Susan Billy will give a free public lecture on Tuesday, March 5, as the final event in the Merrill College American Indian Colloquium Series 2002 at UC Santa Cruz. Billy’s talk will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Baobab Lounge at Merrill College. Billy, a California Pomo, learned basketweaving…

The National Academy of Sciences published a major report today (February 21) on the environmental effects of genetically modified plants. Deborah Letourneau, a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a leading authority on this controversial new technology, contributed to the NAS report and coedited another just-published volume on genetically…