Social Sciences Division
Growing Sociology Dept. Struggles Amidst Tight FAS Budget
As the Faculty of Arts and Sciences continues to recover from the impact of the financial crisis, a growing Sociology Department remains constrained by a faculty size that has not kept pace with the rise in undergraduate concentrators.
From Harvard, to Harvard
When Psychology Department Chair Susan E. Carey ’64 graduated from Radcliffe College, William James Hall was still under construction. Forty-seven years later, she works on the 11th floor of that very building.
Profs React to U.S. Involvement in Libya
As rebel forces continue to battle the army of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, some Harvard professors remained undecided about the United States’ involvement in the Libyan conflict.
Address Long-Term Spending, Harvard Profs. Say
Two Harvard economists called for U.S. lawmakers to tackle long-term spending reforms in order to regain control over the ballooning federal deficit.
Rogoff Receives Prize for Research
Economics Professor Kenneth S. Rogoff received the Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economics last Thursday for his contributions to the field of international finance and macroeconomics.
Smith Hosts Panel on Education
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith joined three instructors at a symposium on teaching and learning this past Friday.
Study: Babies Think Bigger Is Better
At an early age, human infants can perceive social hierarchy and recognize physical size as a metric of social dominance, according to a study by psychology postdoctoral fellow Lotte Thomsen.
Egypt Ready for Change, Professors Say
When hundreds of protesters gathered on Saturday afternoon in Harvard Square, History of Science Lecturer Ahmed Ragab joined them to show support for the Egyptian demonstrators.
Rogoff Awarded for Work on Securities
Economics Professor Kenneth S. Rogoff received further recognition for his best-selling analysis of financial crises in early January when he was awarded the fifteenth annual TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security.
Plans for Martin Peretz Fund Use Outlined
Social Studies Director of Studies Anya Bernstein and Chair of the Committee of Degrees in Social Studies Richard Tuck informed faculty and students about future use of the controversial Martin Peretz Fund yesterday afternoon.
Peter Marsden Named New Social Sciences Div. Dean
Sociology Professor Peter V. Marsden will take over as the divisional dean of the social sciences effective Jan. 1, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith announced in an e-mail sent to faculty members yesterday afternoon.
Book Sees Harvard’s Influence on Obama
Nietzsche, Weber, and former Harvard faculty members are among many thinkers who led Barack Obama to favor debates and compromises in his policy making in Washington, History Professor James T. Kloppenberg said last night in Boylston Hall.
Through Facebook, Understanding How Friendships Form
Your friends may be determined by whom you see, where you live, and what you do more so than race, Harvard and UCLA researchers say.
FAS Junior Faculty is Smallest in Years
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences has experienced nearly a decade of overall faculty growth, but its subset of junior faculty has dramatically fallen in the last two years—partly due to reduced hiring in the wake of the financial crisis.
Profs. Study Rising Incarceration Rates
The United States has seen a historic increase in incarceration rates, exceeding that of any industrialized nation, according to a recent study co-authored by Harvard Sociology Professor Bruce Western and University of Washington Associate Professor Becky Pettit.
Elections 2010 Discussion
Stephen Ansolabehere, a political science professor at Harvard, discusses prospects for the Democratic party in the upcoming election with fellow experts at the Elections 2010 Discussion event held at CGIS, Friday afternoon (left to right: Theda Skocpol, Harvard University, Stephen Ansolabehere, Harvard University, not pictured speakers: Thomas Edsall, Columbia University, Morris Fiorina, Stanford University)
A Night in Chinatown
Keynote speaker Professor Nicole Newendorp speaks on the experiences of Chinese-born senior citizen immigrants to the United States at "A Night in Chinatown," a dinner discussion sponsored by the Chinese Student's Association.
Students Walk Out of Social Studies 10
Around 40 students walked out of the Social Studies 10 lecture yesterday in protest of the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies’s decision to accept a $650,000 undergraduate research fund named in honor of former Harvard Professor Martin “Marty” H. Peretz, who has come under fire for what protestors describe as a 25-year history of making bigoted remarks.
Summers To Leave White House
Former University President Lawrence H. Summers will return to Harvard after stepping down from his Washington position at the end of 2010.
Murdoch, History of Science Professor, Dies at 83
John E. Murdoch, a professor of the history of science and an expert in the field of medieval medicine, died of unknown causes Thursday. He was 83.
Marc Hauser’s Fall From Grace
All was quiet inside Marc D. Hauser’s Cognitive Evolution Laboratory, perched 10 floors above ground level in Williams James Hall.
New Chair To Lead Government Dept.
Government Professor Timothy J. Colton has been appointed chair of the Government Department, replacing Nancy L. Rosenblum ’69 to lead about 50 professors and the second largest group of undergraduate concentrators.
Mankiw Touts Economics
Economics Professor N. Gregory Mankiw wrote an article for The New York Times this week, imparting one message to college freshmen around the country: take Economics, preferably using Mankiw’s book.
Kosslyn To Step Down as Social Science Div. Dean
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean of Social Science Stephen M. Kosslyn has accepted a position at Stanford to lead its behavioral sciences center, FAS Dean Michael D. Smith announced Monday.
Psychology Professor Granted Tenure
Psychology professor Matthew K. Nock, whose work focuses on self-injury and suicidal behavior, has been granted tenure, the University announced last week.