Politics & Society

Depression Due to Politics: the Quiet Danger to Democracy

July 7, 2025

UC Merced Professor Christopher Ojeda and his book "The Sad Citizen"

On laptop screens, televisions and social media feeds across the nation, images and words fueled by a fractured political landscape spout anger, frustration and resentment. Clashing ideologies burst forth in public demonstrations, family gatherings and digital echo chambers. Red-hot rhetoric and...

Prestigious University Press Signs Professor as Book Series Editor

Interdisciplinary Humanities Professor Arturo Arias was recently selected to edit a series of indigenous-studies books for the State University of New York (SUNY) Press. That makes him the first...

Berkeley Law Dean to Visit Campus for Talk on Free Speech

When does freedom of speech cross the line and become hate speech? What’s considered protected speech? And, how do universities strike the delicate balance between allowing individuals or...

Sociology Faculty, Students Gaining National Recognition

With race, immigration, rising inequality, gender discrimination and collective mobilization grabbing current headlines, the work of the UC Merced sociology unit — always relevant locally...

Graduate Dean Honored for Work in Criminal Justice

Outstanding contributions in service to professional organizations, academic institutions and the advancement of criminal justice have earned Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz the Julius Debro Award from...

From White House to Campus, Labor Economist Digs Deep into Data

Professor Laura Giuliano isn’t the only female economics faculty member at UC Merced, but she is the only faculty member who worked in the Obama administration before joining the campus. As a...

Grad Student Researches Biology Behind Political Views

If you’ve ever wondered why people stand where they do on the political spectrum, science might have at least part of the answer: People can be biologically predisposed to certain feelings...

Event to Address Race Issues on Campus, in the Community

As part of an ongoing community and campus dialog about race, the Graduate Students of Color Coalition at UC Merced presents “Addressing Race in Our Community: Unifying Against Bigotry,”...

Students Invited to Celebrate Political Science Anniversary

Political science students are invited to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the unit’s founding with a special student-oriented event from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 18 in the Classroom and...

Critical Race and Ethnic Studies is Campus’s Newest Major

Starting this semester, students in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) will have a new major option: Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES). Led by professors Ma Vang and Kit...

Research