School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

Novel Research Reveals Costs, Rewards for Youth Who Serve as Emotion Interpreters

January 13, 2025

Young people whose parents or caregivers aren’t acclimated to their community’s dominant language and culture play a valuable role in bridging communication gaps, including unspoken misunderstandings triggered by a gesture or facial expression. These interpreters, who range from pre-...

Study of Racial Effects of University Funding Cuts Wins $100,000 Education Prize

A $100,000 award will fund a UC Merced researcher's work into determining how the nation's public universities can do a better job educating students of color. Sociology Professor Laura...

Members of UC Merced's Theater and Ecology class are pictured.

Public Invited to Environmental Humanities Play that Examines Vital Ecological Issues

In 1623, William Shakespeare proclaimed, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." That is, in the eyes of the playwright, every aspect of the world, and that...

New Collaborations Designed to Increase Access to Data Science for All Students

UC Merced is part of several new initiatives aimed at increasing the accessibility and inclusivity of data science studies and opening new opportunities for historically underserved students after...

Graduate students Alauna Wheeler, Arabi Seshappan, Zunaira Iqbal and Hope Hauptman received a prestigious fellowship from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation.

ARCS Scholars Work to Advance STEM Research

Four UC Merced graduate students can focus fully on their research and academic studies this year thanks to a generous gift from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College...

UC Merced sociology graduate students and graduate alumni gave presentations, organized panels or acted as discussants.

UC Merced Well-Represented at California Sociological Association Conference

Nearly a dozen UC Merced graduate students and graduate alumni participated in the annual California Sociological Association (CSA) Conference in Sacramento on Nov. 3-4. The theme of this year...

An Exploration of Music's Role in Children's Brain Development

Music can be entertaining, moving and, when played too loud, infuriating. It also plays a vital role in the development of children's brains, one researchers are just beginning to understand....

Cognitive Science Professor’s First Book Released by Princeton University Press

Cognitive science Professor Paul Smaldino has astronomically high hopes for his first book. “I hope literally everyone reads this book,” Smaldino said. “Modeling Social...

Labor, Community-based Groups Key to Addressing Climate Challenge, Study Shows

One of the major challenges of this century is democratically engaging institutions and large numbers of people with strategies to mitigate global warming by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. A...

Sharim's father's hands, damaged fieldwork.

Film, Poetry, Philosophy the Subjects of Three Foundry Pieces by Humanities Community

The new issue of Foundry, a digital platform similar to a magazine, assembled by the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI), features works by three members of the UC Merced...