School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

Writer-in-Residence Mark Arax Chronicles California's Lifeblood: Water

September 18, 2025

UC Merced has debuted a writer-in-residence program with one of California’s premier chroniclers of its history, especially the titanic power plays for land and water that have shaped the state’s growth and loom over its future. Mark Arax, a Fresno native, author and former Los...

Merritt Writing Program Lecturer Reaches Students with Comic Books

In John Bultena’s writing classes, students often explore new literary classics. Like “Batwoman Volume 1: Hydrology.” Bultena, a lecturer in UC Merced’s Merritt Writing Program and recent panelist at...

Summer Scholars Learn by Doing

UC Merced has made a name for itself by giving undergraduates the opportunity to engage in research early in their academic careers. Nothing showcases that commitment better than the campus’s...

Professor: Immigration Reform Should Consider Families, Social Ties

MERCED, Calif. — Immigration judges should be allowed to consider a person’s family and social ties to the United States before ordering the deportation of legal permanent residents for minor...

Management Major Takes Leadership Experience to South Africa

UC Merced senior Alexandra Hamilton is spending five months at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, studying global markets and business. Hamilton, a management major and San Diego native,...

Former UC Merced Students Travel Entrepreneurial Path to China

Three entrepreneurs with UC Merced roots are trying to revolutionize the biking experience. UC Merced graduate Seena Zandipour, and former students Tony Belmontes and Kenneth Gibbs, are developing...

Summer Research Takes UC Merced Around the Globe

Just because it’s summertime doesn’t mean research at UC Merced comes to a halt. Just the opposite. This summer, professors and students at all levels are conducting a variety of research projects on...

Anthropologist Publishes Ethnography on Nation-Building

Nation-states, as we know them, have been built and rebuilt since the 18th century. Professor Robin DeLugan is an expert in nation-building and recently published a case study examining how the...

Graphic Labels Discourage Smoking in Young Adults

Graphic cigarette warning labels are better at discouraging smoking in young adults than text-only labels, according to research recently published by a UC Merced professor. Health psychology...

Cog Sci Program’s Strength Shown at Conference

Cognitive and Information Sciences at UC Merced will be the top program represented this summer at the discipline’s premiere conference, Cognitive Science. There will be 25 presentations from the...