Social Sciences

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

Why America’s Strategy For Reducing Racial Inequality Failed

Harvard professor Christina Cross debunks the myth of the two-parent Black family.

by Saima Sidik

A better way to reduce gun violence

David Hemenway advocates a pragmatic, public-health-based solution to gun homicides and suicides.

by David Hemenway

Why we eat what we do

“Resetting the Table,” a new exhibit at the Peabody Museum, examines American food traditions. 

by Jacob Sweet

Can the Catholic Church Help Explain Western Psychology?

A social-science analysis of how Catholicism transformed Western culture

by Drew Pendergrass

Lawrence Lessig Delivers a Prescription for Reforming American Democracy

How to reform voting and elections in the United States to create a representative democracy

by Jonathan Shaw

Electoral College Reform

A conference at Harvard Law School focused on reform of the Electoral College

by Cherone Duggan

Michael Kremer wins Nobel Prize in economics

Professor Michael Kremer shares the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences with two scholars from MIT.

Harvard and University of Michigan joint summit on stigma and opioid addiction

Harvard and the University of Michigan’s second joint summit on opioids addresses stigma, race, and access to care.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Should “acting locally” become a legal mandate?

In combatting climate change, will courts hold that the general welfare trumps local sovereignty?

by Cherone Duggan

Social geographer Ryan Enos

The political scientist explains “social geography.”

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

The Undergraduate on the ethics of gathering knowledge

The Undergraduate explores the ethics of gathering knowledge.

by Julie Chung