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

“Shifting Sands”: photos from the Peabody Museum

Family snapshots of living off the land, in the Kalahari

by Sophia Nguyen

The argument for geographically targeted economic interventions

Could place-based policies solve regional economic and social problems?

by Oset Babür

When Capital Trumps Labor

In the antebellum South, slavery was paired with modern business practices.

by John A. Griffin

Durba Mitra studies gender in South Asia

Harvard’s first professor appointed solely in gender studies

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

“Rebellious Lawyering” author Gerald López: a profile

Gerald López’s radical theory—and practice

by Lydialyle Gibson

Unequal Distribution of Incomes

The worrisome distribution of the fruits of American economic growth

by Richard B. Freeman

Visualizing the World at the Harvard Map Collection

Maps can be applied to straightforward ends; they can also be fanciful, surprising, or plain weird. 

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Why Are Women More Likely to Survive Heart Attacks When Treated by Female MDs?

The “glass ceiling” in the operating room

by Oset Babür

Gender Studies Appoints Robert Reid-Pharr to Professorship

The CUNY scholar will become the first senior faculty hire for the program, which has added new members in recent years.

by Brandon J. Dixon

Raj Chetty Will Return to Harvard

Chetty is a global leader in research on inequality and social mobility.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova