UChicago Social Sciences

09/21/2026

On Wednesday October 7, 2026, join us for a discussion of the Declaration of Independence, and why it still matters for modern democracy.

The first in a series of quarterly conversations about seminal Democratic Texts, this event's panel features The University of Chicago Institute of Politics' John Kirby, Steven Inskeep of NPR, The University of Chicago Law School's Alison LaCroix, UChicago Division of the Arts and Humanities' Eric Slauter, and SSD's Steven Pincus

Learn more and register here:
https://events.uchicago.edu/event/273047-the-declaration-of-independence-1776-why-it-still

09/17/2026

Season 2 of our alumni podcast 'Dialogo' has come to a close! In our final episode of the season, our hosts Prof. and Deputy Dean Paul Poast and Dean of Students Kelly Po***ck interview Jeanne-Mey Sun, PhD'99 (Economics). Sun discusses her time as an Economics PhD student at Chicago as well as her pivot into the private industry world from consulting, to foodservice logistics, to energy – and now the principal of her own firm.

Listen here (and available wherever you get your podcasts!):
https://dialogo-uchicago-social-sciences.simplecast.com/episodes/jeanne-mey-sun-phd99-economics

09/15/2026

Congratulations to our SSD faculty member, PhD student, and alum who recently won APSA Section awards!

09/14/2026

The September The University of Chicago College study-abroad course 'Sydney: Colonization, Health, and the Environment' just wrapped up! Check out what students were up to in the third and final week, on 'Managing Human Health, Sanitation, & Mobility in a Pacific World Seaport.'

Learn more about the course: https://study-abroad.uchicago.edu/sydney-colonization-health-and-environment-september-course

09/10/2026

Our latest faculty book profile focuses on Prof. Robert Pape's upcoming book 'Our Own Worst Enemies," in which he illustrates just how normalized political violence has become in the U.S. and why we need to act fast to turn things around.

Read more:
https://socialsciences.uchicago.edu/news/why-normalization-political-violence-changes-everything

09/08/2026

In a new op-ed for The New York Times, co-authored with Henry Farell at Johns Hopkins and Alison Gopnik at UC Berkeley, Prof. James Evans argues that the social sciences are uniquely important to understand and regulate AI, but must be re-oriented to the public's interest in order to do so.

Read more here:

Just as A.I. is poised to change the world, we’re losing our best ways of studying what that change will look like.

09/04/2026

Week two check-in! The September The University of Chicago College study-abroad course 'Sydney: Colonization, Health, and the Environment' is taking place right now – here's an update from the second week of the class, on 'Urban Development, Rural Expansion, & Environmental Change'.

Learn more about the course: https://study-abroad.uchicago.edu/sydney-colonization-health-and-environment-september-course

09/01/2026

Congratulations to the recipients of our 2026 Excellence in MA Teaching and Advising Awards, recognizing outstanding mentorship to students!

This year's recipients are:

Adom Getachew, Professor in the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity and the Department of Political Science

David A. Peterson, Asst. Instructional Professor in the Masters in Computational Social Science (MACSS) program

Kara Ann Hooser, Asst. Instructional Professor in the Committee on International Relations (CIR)

Learn more about the award and this year's recipients:
https://socialsciences.uchicago.edu/news/congratulating-2026-ssd-recipients-excellence-ma-advising-and-mentoring

08/28/2026

The September UChicago College course 'Sydney: Colonization, Health, and the Environment' is taking place right now, taught by Christopher Kindell of the Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization (CEGU). We'll share updates after each week, starting with Week One: Aboriginal Histories, Colonial Encounters, & British Convicts.

Learn more about the course:https://ow.ly/hjzn50ZGGyH

Learn more about Assoc. Instructional Prof. Christopher Kindell and CEGU: https://ow.ly/433x50ZGGyF

08/25/2026

The new Laura Berk Faculty Award is shaped by alumna Laura E. Berk's lifelong commitment to research and practice in child development and education scholarship, supporting faculty in these fields in the Division of the Social Sciences.

The inaugural recipient is Assoc. Prof. Lin Bian, whose work explores young children’s stereotypes and sociomoral expectations.

Learn more about Berk, Bian, and the new faculty award:
https://socialsciences.uchicago.edu/news/new-faculty-scholar-award-invests-child-development-and-education-scholarship