The roots of the South African Cape vineyards date back to the 1600s. A main stop along the international spice shipping route, the region’s climate and varying soil types proved to be excellent growing conditions for what was then a widely used remedy for scurvy: wine. Despite its rich heritage, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that the country’s vintage came to be recognized internationally alongside more established favorites.

UC Irvine’s Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion has received a $4.17 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to continue research on current and potential uses of mobile technology in providing banking and financial services to people in developing countries.

According to a new UC Irvine study, undocumented immigrants living in Orange County utilized fewer medical services in 2005 than did documented immigrants and citizens of Latino and non-Latino white backgrounds in the region. The discrepancy was found to be, in large part, attributable to a lack of health insurance among undocumented immigrants.

If Mark Twain was right, and clothes really do make the man, do they also make his race? According to new research from UCI sociologist Andrew Penner, it would appear so. 

Since its premiere at UC Irvine in May 2010, “The Harvest of Loneliness: The Bracero Program,” has received positive reviews at film festivals and screenings worldwide, earning the Cinelatino Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival in 2010 and the Best Educational Film Award at the Amsterdam Film Festival in 2011. 

Parents who move to the United States without legal status generally seek better opportunities for their young children. Their kids grow up Americanized: speaking English, attending public school, going to the prom and dreaming about what they want to do when they grow up.

July 1 marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, an occasion which China celebrated with Mao-inspired pageantry as major cities staged musicals and rallies attended by thousands dressed in red.

On June 13, authors, political scientists and sociologists – including UCI’s Jennifer Lee – gathered for a conference in Washington, D.C. to discuss issues that divide and unite Americans. Hosted by the Center for Social Cohesion, the topics debated included immigration, poverty, and race. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor made opening remarks.

Growing up as a Chinese-American in the Bay area inspired Jaclyn Wong to pursue a major in sociology so that she could better understand how people develop different worldviews.  Specializing in social inequality while an undergraduate at UCI, she conducted honors research on returns of physical attractiveness in the labor market, a topic for which she received funding from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and pursued further through the UCI Education Abroad P

A Russian telecommunications minister, a fake business serving as a front for embezzlement operations, and offshore bank accounts in the British Virgin Islands.  Sound like the plot of a Hollywood mystery thriller?  Try an anthropological study by Bill Maurer, UCI anthropology professor.