School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

merced theatres art kamangar center photo

Public Health Professor Shows Food Dye Linked to Childhood Behavior in California EPA Study

Public health Professor Asa Bradman contributed to a new report that examines the relationship between synthetic food dye — found in everything from juice to cupcakes — and child development.

The report, released today by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), finds that current federal levels for safe intake of synthetic food dyes may not sufficiently protect children’s behavioral health.

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza is 13th Recipient of Spendlove Prize

Alicia Garza, civil rights activist and co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, will be honored as the 13th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance during a virtual award ceremony on April 20.

Wiebe Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award for Child and Family Health Research

The Society of Behavioral Medicine Child and Family Health Special Interest Group has recognized Professor Deborah Wiebe with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to child and family health.

Female Faculty to Know on International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is more than a day to celebrate the fantastic females around us. It is a day to reflect on the contributions women have made both socially and politically around the world. Women across the globe have used their gifts and talents to help others in myriad ways, and UC Merced is proud of the female faculty as leaders on its campus. Read on for just a handful of the intelligent and inclusive women who make UC Merced the special campus it is.

Q&A: Latinx Community Impacted by Food Insecurity During COVID-19

COVID-19 has left the food insecure population especially vulnerable. The pandemic has upset food supply chains and in turn, access to healthy and nutritious food has become even more difficult. A cadre of public health professors are lending insight into how the food shortage has specifically impacted the Latinx community.

Bilingual Shakespeare Sets the Stage for Future Productions 

Shakespeare can feel stuffy and difficult to understand. Native English speakers often struggle with decoding the Bard’s works, so imagine how difficult it would be to appreciate Shakespeare if you spoke another language.

This is the challenge UC Merced’s students and faculty took on with their bilingual production of “Ricardo El Segundo,” or “Richard II.”

UC Merced Reaches Out with an All-Virtual Research Week

The question: What happens when UC Merced holds Research Week in the middle of a pandemic? The hypothesis: An annual, weeklong presentation of ground-breaking work reaches a big, new virtual audience.

With the Research Week’s usual in-person seminars, tours and showcases untenable because of COVID-19, the event will be accessed primarily through Zoom. Instead of attendees coming to campus March 1-5, Research Week is coming to them.

Q&A: Sociologist with Specialty in Right-Wing Movements on Free Speech and the First Amendment

Social justice movements and conspiracy theories have become a hallmark of our time, but how do we know which inflammatory statements are legally protected and which are not?

Eight Stories to Read for Black History Month

Black History Month may feel different this February, after a year of the coronavirus and historic protests for social justice. While coming together couldn’t be more important, under current conditions few are able to gather to celebrate Black History Month and the many contributions Black people have made to society.