Social Sciences

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

Is the Constitution Broken?

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

by Lydialyle Gibson

Excerpt from Anne Harrington’s “Mind Fixers”

A history of psychiatry’s troubled search for the biology of mental illness

In search of deeper learning

What the rare bright spots in American high-school education teach

by Jonathan Shaw

Replacement of Iberian Men 4,000 Years Ago Raises Fresh Questions

Ancient DNA reveals Bronze Age replacement of Iberian men, raising new questions.

by Bennett McIntosh

Wanted: Big ideas from the humanities

Wanted: Big ideas from the humanities

Wage stagnation: economists look to new explanations

Economists look to new explanations for wage stagnation.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Debora Spar on technology’s role in the origins of marriage and feminism

Debora Spar argues that social change has always been driven by technology.

by Jonathan Shaw

Disadvantaged students in elite colleges

Anthony Jack’s new book on the “doubly disadvantaged”

by John S. Rosenberg

Samuel Stouffer profile by Jackson Toby

Brief life of Samuel Stouffer, survey researcher: 1900-1960

by Jackson Toby

Excerpt from “How Art Works: A Psychological Exploration”

Unpacking “what art does to us”

Will future online education become limited to professional degrees?

Harvard and MIT experiences suggest a more constrained vision for massive free courses.

by Jonathan Shaw