Social Sciences

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

A bronze sculpture of intertwined hands in a park, with a discussion panel in the foreground.

Is the Constitution Broken?

Harvard legal scholars debate the state of our founding national document.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Illustration of seated people talking in a restorative justice circle

Restoring justice

Exploring an alternative to crime and punishment

by Lydialyle Gibson

Photograph of Mao Zedong during what is thought to be the Long March, 1934-1935

Under Review: Tony Saich on Chinese Communism at 100

The first century of the Chinese Communist Party—and what impends

The front and back of a die-cut trade card shaped like a donkey that was used to advertise coffee. When the card is flipped over, the viewer can see that there is a boy riding on the donkey's back.

Trade Cards, Eye-Catching Heralds of Mass-marketing

A nineteenth-century advertising medium traces the rise of consumer culture.

by Jonathan Shaw

Should Convicted Felons Serve on Juries?

A prosecutor and a defense attorney say, “Yes.”

by Juliet Isselbacher

Illustration of a man pushing a wheelbarrow full of petitions up the steps to Congress.

Why Petitioning is Vital for Democracies

Petitioning campaigns are a vital complement to democratic voting.

by Jonathan Shaw

Illustration of a man looking through a pair of binoculars with three, not two, objective lenses

The Third Way

Ellen Langer rejects binary thinking, embracing instead a “third way.”

by Erin O’Donnell

Photograph of Vikram Patel visiting with family members of a farmer in Maharashtra, India, who committed suicide

Financial and mental health are linked

Around the globe, Vikram Patel finds, improvements in financial or mental health support both.

by Veronique Greenwood

Project plan showing first and proposed second phases of Enterprise Research Campus development in Allston

Allston expansion, admissions litigation, center for cities

Bigger Allston ambitions, an admissions-lawsuit appeal, and a new center for cities

A group photo of the four Harvard undergraduates, including the author, with their project adviser and two local, older mentors

Community-engaged research lessons for students via Harvard’s Mindich Program

The Undergraduate learns about making knowledge mutual.

by Che Applewhaite

Sandra Susan Smith, profiled by Marina Bolotnikova

Sandra Susan Smith studies work and incarceration in an unequal, atomized America.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova