School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

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Immigration Status Has Health Implications for Young Latinos, Study Shows

Young undocumented Latinos who gain legal status, even on a temporary basis, experience significant positive effects on their psychological well-being, according to a new study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine. UC Merced Professor Whitney Pirtle and UC Davis Professor Caitlin

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Researchers Eye Social Media’s Influence on Relationships, Stress

Nearly 70 percent of Americans use some form of social media, according to a Pew Research Center survey. There is little doubt it affects our daily lives — but how? UC Merced Ph.D. graduate Holly Rus recently defended her dissertation on social media and well-being. She and her advisor, Professor

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New Study Finds Link Between Unconscious Movement and Reading

Right now, while you are reading these typewritten words, your hand muscles are moving imperceptibly, but measurably. These movements would be even greater if the words were handwritten. That’s because your motor system strongly contributes to your perception of language, in part by trying to

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Blum Center Announces 2017 Seed Grant Recipients

UC Merced’s branch of the Blum Center for Developing Economies rebooted this spring with a faculty-led effort to spend two years working on becoming the hub for all food-security-related research and outreach on and off campus. Part of that effort includes seed grants for UC Merced researchers. The

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Former ASUCM President Gaining Capitol Experience

Domonique Jones got a taste of public office while serving as president of the Associated Students of UC Merced (ASUCM). Now the 2016 graduate is furthering that information in the state Capitol. Since her graduation, Jones has been serving in the legislative branch in Sacramento as part of the

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Governor Names Harris to Fair Employment and Housing Council

Mark T. Harris, J.D., has been appointed to the California Fair Employment and Housing Council by Gov. Jerry Brown. Harris is a continuing lecturer of management and business economics at UC Merced since 2008 and a practicing attorney in Sacramento. From 1999 to 2001, Harris served as undersecretary

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Campus Marks Largest Class, Year of Growth With 2017 Commencement

More than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students are expected to participate in the University of California, Merced’s 12th commencement ceremonies this weekend — its largest class since opening in September 2005 — bringing the university’s alumni total to nearly 8,000. “This year's commencement

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Student Speakers Share Desire to Make a Difference

Jocelyne Fadiga and Havilliah “Jake” Malsbury traveled from different worlds to study at UC Merced. The youngest sister of 13 children, Fadiga grew up in Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) in West Africa before immigrating to the United States about eight years ago. Malsbury came to UC Merced from

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New Collaboration Focuses on Refugee Stories, Experiences and Humanity

Often, when people talk about or study refugees, the focus is on policy, rescue operations or terrorism. Rarely is the conversation centered on refugees as human beings. But a new collaboration among five UC campuses — including UC Merced — is working to change that. The Critical Refugee Studies

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Shakespeare, Muir Come Alive in Yosemite for Earth Day

The works of Shakespeare, perhaps more so than any in the western canon, have been subject to reinterpretation and reappraisal by generations of artists, scholars and laypeople. Some, like Verdi’s opera “Otello,” are considered masterpieces in their own right. Others, most notably Thomas Bowdler’s