Social Sciences

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

FAS Overhaul Brings Deep Cuts to Social Sciences, Phillips Brooks House

After a final round of layoffs, University leaders say 165 staff jobs were eliminated across the division.

by Lydialyle Gibson

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

Harvard’s Womanless History

Completing the University’s self-portrait 

Delba Winthrop on Aristotle and Democracy

The Kenan professor of government’s story of a dissertation published 44 years after it was accepted