What's Current in

Society + Culture

book cover art of many Asian men coming out of a door down a rainbow
Photo Credit
Top Shelf Productions
Book cover art for “It Rhymes with Takei,” illustrated by Harmony Becker

Star Trek actor George Takei and coming out in 2005

Read Article

wooden block with one happy and sad faces

Is ‘U-shaped happiness’ universal? Not for rural subsistence populations, say researchers
Professor Tania Israel seated on a bench with text overlay Q&A
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Professor and author Tania Israel, October 2024

Tania Israel’s new book teaches civil conversations in divisive times
In Focus placeholder

First Mahsa Amini fellow begins doctoral program in religious studies
In Focus placeholder

Opening up office hours
a group of Tanzanian men gather around a table and speak with a researcher
Photo Credit
David W. Lawson
A focus group of young men in Tanzania, led by project co-investigator Alexander Ishungisa (standing) and social scientist Elisha Mabula. (Photograph shared with participant consent.)

On gender: misperceptions about others can stifle women’s empowerment
A group of undergraduate volunteers pose in front of the chemistry building at UC Santa Barbara.
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
SciTrek founder Norbert Reich (center back) poses with some of the over 280 undergraduate volunteers who make the program possible.

SciTrek, UCSB’s largest education outreach program, garners new funding to expand
Sandinistos getting off a helicopter
Photo Credit
Wikicommons
Helicopter-borne units of an FSLN counterinsurgency battalion landing in the middle of the tropical forest.

Study of Nicaragua’s Sandinistas argues for multilevel analysis of civil war violence
Students and professor working at a white board
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

On the origin of academic traditions — and some alternatives for debate
Concept photo showing protestors holding climate change signs
Photo Credit
iStock

Leveraging social psychology to overcome barriers to climate action
an illustration of a black woman as the statue of liberty

From Juneteenth to reparations: The ongoing journey for racial justice
Woman with tan skin and dark hair
Michelle Ramos Ramirez ’24

UCSB’s ÉXITO Program graduates third cohort of future ethnic studies teachers amidst rising attacks on ethnic studies
illustration of a group of people using social media on their phones
Photo Credit
iStock

When it comes to erosion of democracy, not all social media are equally harmful
Subscribe to Society + Culture