BU social science faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates are doing necessary research that helps to improve human lives. Check back regularly to see the latest media coverage of this work. Heighten your own media presence by becoming part of BU’s expert database.
A Hands-on Class on Homelessness (BU Today, December 2021). Sargent lecturer in BU’s Department of Health Sciences Kaytlin Eldred is offering a class that explores the contributing factors to homelessness in Massachusetts.
In Greater Boston, women earn 70 cents for every dollar men earn (WBUR, December 2021). Patricia Cortes, economist and associate professor at BU, discusses the worsening gender wage gap affecting workers in the Greater Boston area.
The US Is Undercounting COVID Deaths, Researchers Say. Now They Have a Tool to Figure Out Why (USA Today, December 2021). Andrew Stokes (SPH & CISS Affiliate), explains potential threats to accurately counting COVID deaths in the U.S.
Using Data Science to Address the Gender and Racial Wage Gap. (BU Today, December 2021). Eric Kolaczyk, director of the Hariri Institute, and Masanao Yajima, director of MSSP Consulting (a CISS partner), show how data can be used to document race and gender pay gaps, and develop policy solutions.
What’s Driving Inequality? Automation, BU Researcher Says (BU Today, December 2021) BU economist Pascual Restrepo discusses the impact that increased automation is having on blue-collar workers around the world.
BU Trustees Have Their Next Chair, Alum Ahmass Fakahany, and a New Member (BU Today, December 2021) Kenneth Lin (CAS ’98), founder and CEO of the personal finance website Credit Karma, joins the Boston University Board of Trustees.
The Coronavirus Response in South Africa (Orders Beyond Borders, December 2021) Joseph Harris (CAS, Sociology & CISS Affiliate) examines the pandemic measures taken in South Africa against its historical context & calls on Germany and other industrialized nations for support.
End-of-Life Conversations May Be Helpful to Patients and Families (Washington Post, December 2021) Professor Deborah Carr (CAS, Sociology & CISS Director) explains the importance of end-of-life conversations for dying patients and their loved ones.
This Could Be the Coolest Religion Class You Ever Take (BU Today, December 2021) Margarita Guillory (CAS, Religion and African American Studies & CISS steering committee member) teaches the course “Religion and Hip Hop” and shows how digital media studies can be used to explore diverse religion expressions in hip hop culture,
E-Cigarettes May Be Independently Linked to Erectile Dysfunction, New Research Finds (KPVI TV, December 2021) Andrew Stokes (SPH & CISS Affiliate) and collaborators find that men between ages 20 and 65 years of age with no prior history of cardiovascular but who use e-cigarettes daily are more than twice (2.4 times) as likely as men who have never used e-cigs to report erectile dysfunction. Read the full study in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Internet Torn Over Woman Who Wants Grieving Relatives To Move Out After 3-Year Stay (Newsweek, November 2021). Professor Deborah Carr (CAS, Sociology & CISS Director) discusses the profound toll of child death on families.
‘Locked Out’: Poor Rhode Islanders Face Unnecessary Barriers to Subsidized Housing, Study Says (Boston Globe, November 18, 2021). Thomas Byrne (SSW & CISS Affiliate) and Megan Smith (SSW doctoral candidate) document that people trying to get federally subsidized housing in Rhode Island face rules around criminal records, alcohol use, tenant histories, and credit that go well beyond the guidelines laid out in federal law.
Can Vaping Help You Quit Smoking? (BU Today, November 2021). On this podcast, Andrew Stokes (SPH & CISS affiliate) discusses whether using e-cigarettes can help a person quit smoking traditional cigarettes.
Nancy Ammerman on Fundamentalism & Battling Baptists (Word & Way, November 2021). Professor Emerita of Sociology of Religion Nancy Ammerman discusses her book Baptist Battles and talks about issues of fundamentalism, sociology of religion, and her new book Studying Lived Religion.
New Interdisciplinary Class Asks: ‘What Do Plants Know?’ (BU Today, November 2021). Learn about “The Secret Life of Plants,” a new team-taught course at the nexus of biology, anthropology, and English. Center affiliate and anthropology professor Caterina Scaramelli (CAS, Anthropology & CISS Affiliate) is one of three faculty members co-teaching the class.
Catastrophe & Memory. (BU Today, November 2021). James Schmidt, professor of history, philosophy, and political science, is teaching an intriguing new course examining how “how we construct narratives that give accounts of what these unimaginable [catastrophic] events are like.”
If You’re Feeling Anxious, Try This 2,000-Year-Old, Neuroscience-Backed Hack. (TIME Magazine, November 2021). Stefan Hofmann (CAS, Psychological and Brain Sciences) professor and director of the Psychotherapy & Emotion Research Laboratory, discusses the historical roots of imaginal exposure.
FIRST-GEN: Brianna Bourne’s Journey from Mattapan to Boston Latin to Comm Ave. (BU Today, November 2, 2021). CAS, Psychological and Brain Sciences major Brianna Bourne (CAS ‘ 24) shares her experiences at BU, and her excitement about her courses and opportunities for community engagement.
Has Joe Biden Abandoned Trumpism and Populist Politics? (BU Today, November 2021). BU political scientist Lauren Mattioli answers the question in today’s podcast.
POV: Gen Z Voted at Record Levels in 2020—but That’s Not Enough (BU Today, November 2021). BU Student Body President Nyah Jordan (COM ’22), a political science minor and communications major, penned an op-ed explaining why youth voting (especially in local elections) is so important.
Some Workers Fear ‘Unrealistically Severe’ Cuts to Social Security Benefits. Why That is Not a Reason to Claim Early. (CNBC, October 2021). BU economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff weighs in on the ideal time to retire.
This Squad of Researchers Is a Real-Life Justice League (BU Today, October 2021). Lucy Hutyra (CAS, Earth & Environment) and Katharine Lusk (BU Initiative on Cities) are among the team of BU scientists lobbying for new policies to protect the world’s most vulnerable people from the consequences of climate change.
Three New Members Join BU’s Board of Trustees (BU Today, October 2021). Meet the newest member’s of BU’s Board of Trustees and Advisory Board, including Maureen Alphonse-Charles (CAS’85, Pardee’85) and Julia Kim Clarke (CAS’91, Pardee’91), both of whom studied international relations at BU.
Six Afro-Latino Memoirists That You Should Know (BU Today, October 2021). African American studies and literature scholar Trent Masiki brings together the two fields of African American and Latino literature together in his upcoming book, Afroethnic Renewal.
Alum’s Debut Cookbook Features Vegan Recipes with a Global Influence (Bostonia, October 2021). Priyanka Naik (CAS ’10; Economics) combines her Indian American upbringing, her wanderlust, and the art of the compartmentalized lunch box in The Modern Tiffin.
The Inhumane Futility of Border Policing (Al Jazeera, October 2021). BU sociology professor Heba Gowayed (CAS, Sociology & CISS Affiliate), argues that increased and more violent border policing does not work, and calls for abolishing this inhumane policy.
Prepare to Keep Spending (BU Today, October 2021). BU economics professor Tarek Hassan (CAS, Economics) predicts inflation to continue for two more years, but the good news is that wages are also rising.
The Second Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (The Atlantic, October 2021). Ibram X. Kendi (CAS, History and Founder/Director of the Center for Antiracist Research) writes about attacks on critical race theory.
New BU Center for Innovation in Social Science Will Promote Collaborative Research and Teaching (BU Today, October 2021) A new BU Center in Social Science is designed to offer “one-stop shopping” for faculty looking to pursue multidisciplinary research projects and team teaching.
‘Mass’ Filmmaker Explores Forgiveness and Reconciliation after Tragedy. (Christian Science Monitor, October 2021). Deborah Carr (CAS, Sociology & CISS Director) discusses effective ways for bereaved parents to cope with their loss.
Innovation Center Opens as an ‘Intellectual Home’ for BU Social Sciences Community (The Daily Free Press, October 2021). Read about the goals of the newly launched Center for Innovation in Social Science.
Dignity Therapy: Making the Last words Count. (Knowable Magazine, October 2021) Deborah Carr (CAS, Sociology & CISS Director) weighs in on dignity therapy as a tool for helping dying patients.
Ethan Wang Was Told He’d Never Walk Again. He’ll Walk on Stage for Commencement. (BU Today, September 2021) Read the inspiring story of BU political science major Ethan Wang, and his remarkable resilience following a devastating accident.
How The Growing Economic Divide Prevents Us From Learning About Others’ Lives (Wisconsin Public Radio. September 2021) Professor Jonathan Mijs (CAS, Sociology & CISS Affiliate) explains why socioeconomic status creates ‘bubbles’ that prevent us from getting to know one another.
Here are the Changes that Could Be Coming to your Social Security Benefits (CNBC, September 2021) Larry Kotlikoff (CAS, Economics) discusses the potential personal impacts of Social Security changes.
Did COVID-19 Change the Way Police Interact With Citizens? (Government Technology, September 2021) Read this Q&A with sociology professor Jessica Simes (CAS, Sociology & CISS Affiliate), whose research on COVID-19 and policing was named Innovation of the Month by GovTech and MetroLab!
MacArthur Foundation Announces 2021 ‘Genius’ Grant Winners (The New York Times, September 2021) Ibram X. Kendi (CAS, History and Founder/Director of the Center for Antiracist Research) named a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient.
COVID Deaths Severely Undercounted Among Communities of Color, New Study Finds (Salon, September 2021) Faculty member Andrew Stokes (CAS, Global Health & CISS Affiliate) explains why.
China Says It Won’t Build New Coal Plants Abroad. What Does That Mean? (The New York Times, September 2021) Kevin Gallagher (Pardee), professor of global development policy, discuss his work tracking China’s global energy financing.
Why Older Couples Don’t Need Marriage to Have Great Relationships (TIME Magazine, September 2021) Deborah Carr (CAS, Sociology & CISS Director) discusses the reasons why older adults are finding romantic happiness outside of marriage.
Another Truth About Remote Work (The Atlantic, September 2021) Professor Jonathan Mijs (CAS, Sociology & CISS Affiliate) explains how public understanding of working from home explains a lot about confirmation bias in America.
A Left among Rights: A Progressive Student’s Week at a Conservative Think Tank. What Did He Learn? (BU Today, September 2021) In his own words, political science and international relations major Zak Schneider (CAS’22, Pardee’22) recounts a week with right-leaning peers: “I came to this realization that I was wrongly worried”.
US Census Bureau Has Released Some 2020 Census Results: What’s Next? (BU Today, September 2021) Maxwell Palmer (CAS, Political Science & CISS Affiliate) discusses how 2020 Census data may influence redistricting.
Two Women of Color Will Compete to Become Boston’s Next Mayor, Marking Historic Shift (Washington Post, September 2021). Katharine Lusk (BU Initiative on Cities) member of the Social Sciences Task Force, weighs in on Boston’s mayoral race.
Hailey Hart-Thompson, 22, Co-Founder of The Stateless Collective, Named a Top Young Entrepreneur (BostInno, September 2021) BU’s own Hart-Thompson is the co-founder and CEO of The Stateless Collective, which encourages global engagement by training students for studying, working, researching and volunteering abroad She is an independent major in anthropology, classics and English with a dual degree in film and television.
Six BU Students on an Unforgettable Summer Working at Boston City Hall (BU Today, September 2021) Students from BU economics, history, political science, sociology, and more worked as summer interns at Boston’s City Hall.
POV: Who Is Forgotten in Our Discussion of Abortion? (BU Today, September 2021) BU faculty, graduate students, and staff from anthropology, history, sociology, women’s, gender, & sexuality studies (WGS), and more write that the media is failing to address the fact that nonbinary people and trans men need abortion care, too.
ASA Economic Sociology Section Newsletter Accounts (Summer 2021 issue) The summer issue of the newsletter featured interviews carried out by BU Sociology graduate students including Elif Birced, Ya-Ching Huang, Meghann Lucy, and Gokhan Mulayim. The Economic Sociology section is led by chair-elect Ashley Mears (CAS, Sociology) and secretary- treasurer Neha Gondal (CAS, Sociology & CISS Affiliate), both faculty members in the BU Sociology department.
There Are Roughly Two Dozen Lesbian Bars in the United States. The Ones That Are Left Are Evolving to Survive (CNN Business, July 2021) Japonica Brown-Saracino (CAS, Sociology & CISS Affiliate) discusses some of the common narratives about lesbian, bisexual and queer individuals’ need for lesbian bars, explaining the impacts this can have. Her insight is explored further in her book, “How Places Make Us.”