Social Sciences
Explore faculty and student work in economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, and other disciplines shaping our understanding of society.
Robert Coles Was Most at Home on the Playground
A colleague remembers the late Harvard professor and child psychiatrist, who died this month.
by Alex Harris
Torturers think victims expressing pain are guilty
Inflicting pain changes the perceptions of torturers, not necessarily their knowledge.
Harvard Headlines: Derek Bok, Ellen Langer, Lawrence Lessig
A review of Bok's new book, The Politics of Happiness; a profile of positive-psychology pioneer Langer; Lessig's suggestions for reforming Congress
Harvard perspectives on world economic crises
A panel of social scientists dissects past mistakes, and sees daunting fiscal and regulatory challenges ahead for the United States and Europe.
Oscar nominees include film from book by Harvard anthropologist Kimberly Theidon
Kimberly Theidon's book on female victims of Peruvian violence was the basis for The Milk of Sorrow, nominated for best foreign-language film.
Harvard Rallies Help for Haiti with Benefit Concert; Plans Memorial Service
Evidence of Harvard maps in use; updates on the situation on the ground; a benefit concert featuring student performers and a memorial service.
Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis Hosts Haiti Map Portal
The Center for Geographic Analysis has created an online portal and sent up-to-date high-resolution wall maps with a delegation traveling to the earthquake-stricken country.
Work-life balance hard on women in finance
Research on work-life balance casts the financial sector in a harsh light.
Anthropologist Heather Paxson studies American artisanal cheese
Heather Paxson explores the anthropology of American artisanal cheese.
How cooking made us human
A Harvard anthropologist argues that cooking, a cultural practice, crucially shaped human evolution.
"Spaced education" improves learning
With “spaced education,” a surgeon offers a better way to learn.