social sciences

Francisco J. López-Flores grew up living in the shadows to keep his identity as a Mexican national hidden. But under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, he has a work permit, a Social Security card and a future.

UCLA social scientists found that walking in sync may make men feel more formidable against a potential foe, and they suggest that doing so could play a role in excessive use of force by police.

UCLA geographer Judith Carney is part of an international team of interdisciplinary researchers who have sequenced the complete genome of African rice (Oryza glaberrima). The findings were reported online Sunday in the scholarly journal Nature Genetics.

UCLA professor Edward Walker explains how corporations — from Verizon to Wal-Mart — manufacture citizen lobbyists.

A group of Los Angeles K-12 teachers participated in a special two-day seminar at UCLA on using soccer in the classroom as a way to teach politics, economics and globalization.

If construction pays so much more than other fields that don't require a college education, why don't women flock to it? A new study details the obstacles.

A new book by UCLA sociologist Edward T. Walker pulls back the curtain on a lucrative industry of consultants who mobilize public activism as a marketable service.

Job loss among single mothers has significant negative effects on the well-being of their children as young adults, according to a new study by researchers at the California Center for Population Research at UCLA.

Phony laughter, unlike the real thing, is unique to humans, says Greg Bryant, who is studying the acoustic properties that differentiate the two types of cachinnation.

Doctoral students in UCLA's new Dissertation Launchpad program learn to communicate about their complex research in ways the rest of us can understand.

Why are so many Americans in prison? Between 1975 and 2007, the American incarceration rate increased nearly fivefold, a historic increase that puts the United States in a league of its own among advanced economies.

Two UCLA sociologists reveal the logic behind the tough gambles movie studios make — and the financial results of success or failure at the box office.

Brenda E. Stevenson is professor of history at UCLA. She is the past chair of the history department and past chair of Afro-American Studies. Her books include the award-winning "Life in Black and White: Family and Community in the Slave...