Social Sciences

Explore faculty and student work in economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, and other disciplines shaping our understanding of society.

Harvard Law School Announces a New National Security Initiative

The program will focus on the U.S. Congress and the separation of powers in its first year.

by Tamara Evdokimova

Both Sides Now

Tomiko Brown-Nagin’s bifocal view of the civil-rights movement

by Lincoln Caplan

Reporting, with an M.B.A.

Charles Duhigg unpacks how individuals and organizations work at war, on Wall Street, and in Silicon Valley

by Jonathan Shaw

Professor Steven Pinker on Thinking Straight

An excerpt from the preface of Pinker’s 2022 book Rationality

A Democracy of Opportunity

Liberals must learn from conservatives how to interpret the Constitution in all its dimensions.

by Lincoln Caplan

The Saving Glut of the Rich

High savings rates among the wealthiest U.S. earners may represent a macroeconomic risk

by Jonathan Shaw

Optimizing Public-School Spending

Home prices are a bellwether of efficient spending in local schools

by Erin O’Donnell

Bruno Carvalho

An urbanist’s lifelong study of the “rhythm of cities,” from Rio to Cambridge 

by Nancy Walecki

Penny Pritzker Gives $100 Million for New Harvard Economics Facility

Landmark support for an eminently strong department

by John S. Rosenberg

Repatriating Native American Remains

Disputes over the disposition of sensitive collections shadow Peabody Museum

by Juliet Isselbacher

Commuting’s Impact on Creativity

Long commutes harm productivity and innovation.

by Erin O’Donnell