Challenges

The work of the Division of Social Sciences at UCLA is motivated by challenges in the real world.

Fear Is a Party Animal

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By Sarah Gavish, UCLA Master of Social Science ‘18 In an era where adult Americans consume 12+ hours of media per day, the relationship between media and public perception has never been more complex - or fascinating.  Does media actually…

UCLA Faculty and Alumni Discuss the Past and Present Politicization of the US Census

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Comparative historical sociologists, Professors Dylan Riley and Patricia Ahmed (UCLA alumni) and Professor Rebecca Jean Emigh (UCLA faculty) highlight the pitfalls of Trump administration’s current immigration and census policies, using…

Undocumented Stories Exhibit Visits Museum of Latin American Art

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By George Chacon Dream Resource Center Project Manager, UCLA Labor Center When people are allowed to tell their own stories, they can provide insight into and connection with groups of people we may not ordinarily interact with. But…

Do Legislative Bills Build Housing?

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By Jan Breidenbach Senior Fellow, UCLA Department of Urban Planning This was the question addressed by the 2018 Community Scholars project. A joint initiative of UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Labor Center,…

Reading Between the Battle Lines: Decoding Values in Tweets About Gun Control

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By Lara Drasin UCLA Master of Social Science 2018 Every day we’re influenced by the news, television and the movies we watch, and even family legends and community lore. In writing my master’s thesis, I wanted to understand: what exactly…

Helping Turn Seaweed into Biofuel

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By Kyle Cavanaugh Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Geography As efforts to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources intensify, scientists, government organizations, and corporations are eyeing a new source of renewable…

“Janus” Challenges Unions to Organize

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By Kent Wong Director, UCLA Labor Center The Supreme Court decision in the Janus case is being celebrated by the Trump Administration as a major setback for the US labor movement, one that will undermine the last bastion of strength…

First-Generation Students In Graduate School

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By Berto Solis, UCLA Master of Social Science, 2018 First-generation, or “first-gen,” students are the first in their families to go to college. When a first-gen student graduates from college and gets into a graduate program it’s…

Policing’s Role in Racial Segregation: 50 Years After the Fair Housing Act

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By Rahim Kurwa Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago “...They came in with shotguns. They came in in vests. They came in in riot gear, and they held guns on us like we were wanted criminals. They surrounded my house……