Welcome to the February 2012 issue of the Social Sciences
eNews

Find us on Facebook

Upcoming Events

Event Calendar

Social Sciences
in the Media

Pass it on

Know anyone who might be interested in our newsletter? Email us to subscribe.

Capitalizing on culture

New book by sociologist Nina Bandelj examines how countries like South Africa exploit unique characteristics and culture for capital gain

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. The now highly regarded and sought after South African brands have industry-wide production advancements to thank, in part, for their entry into the global market place, but also - and perhaps more importantly, says UCI sociologist Nina Bandelj - the symbolic value behind the labels. In her new book, The Cultural Wealth of Nations, Bandelj and co-editor Frederick Wherry, University of Michigan, analyze how country-specific symbolism and reputation - or cultural wealth - are often exploited for economic development purposes. Below, Bandelj explains how the national branding of unique geographical characteristics and cultural customs - from the blossoming wine industry of South Africa to the rolling, tourist-filled hills of Tuscany - have helped economies around the world prosper, and what this can teach us about culture's role in the contemporary economy.

Ethical choices during desperate times

Op-ed by Kristen Monroe, political science professor and UCI Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics & Morality director, highlights her latest book, Ethics in an Age of Terror and Genocide: Identity and Moral Choice

We all have memories of events so important that we can identify exactly where we were when they happened, who was with us, what we wore, or where we sat. I remember the day my father told me about the Holocaust. We were in the car - a blue Chevrolet with plastic seat covers that cracked in the cold - driving to my weekly piano lesson. I can't recount exactly what he said, but my memory remains fresh with a sense of horror so overwhelming I could hardly breathe. And then he told me: "You must always remember that there are no depths to which man cannot sink, but there also are no heights to which we cannot soar." I have often thought about that over the past 20 years, as I have conducted research on the Holocaust, trying to discover what made people respond so differently to the suffering of others. I realized the themes that emerged during the Holocaust resonate with other periods of genocide and other instances of ethnic cleansing, other acts of prejudice and discrimination, of group hatred, and animosity, just as they resonate with other instances of compassion, heroic altruism, and moral courage.

'Eater bros

UCI alumni Rameen (political science) and Shauhin (criminology, law and society) Talesh returned to campus to pursue careers and give back to their alma mater

They call it the "Book of Records" - a well-worn folder filled with old papers that Rameen and Shauhin Talesh have had since childhood. Every time the brothers played basketball, football, foosball, backgammon, Scrabble or any other game, they would duly note the winner. "We'd write down all of our matches," Rameen says. "I had the advantage of being older, so I'd usually start out beating him, but there'd always come a time when he'd take over." The Talesh brothers (they have no other siblings) still engage in friendly sibling rivalry - notably during intramural basketball games at UC Irvine's Anteater Recreation Center - but they no longer keep records of their wins and losses. They've evened the score. Both graduated from UCI, went on to earn advanced degrees and launch careers, then returned to campus to work for their alma mater - Rameen as assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students, and Shauhin as assistant professor of law and criminology, law & society.

Miss out on the inaugural Dean's Distinguished Lecture? Check out video online

Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-CIO of the Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO), on the economy

On January 25, Mohamed El-Erian launched the inaugural lecture of the School of Social Sciences Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series. The CEO and co-CIO of Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO), a Newport Beach-based investment firm which manages the world's largest bond fund, El-Erian is a frequent commentator on the post-2008 financial crisis, the sovereign debt and Eurozone crisis, and political upheavals in the Middle East. His lecture offered insight on the roles that politics, policies and markets must play in turning around the global economy.

Sprouse receives best paper award for study on magnitude estimation

Linguistic Society of America recognizes the cognitive scientist at annual meeting

Jon Sprouse, cognitive sciences assistant professor, has received the Linguistic Society of America's 2011 Best Paper in Language award for "A Test of the Cognitive Assumptions of Magnitude Estimation: Commutativity Does Not Hold for Acceptability Judgments." The honor recognizes the best paper(s) published in the society's premiere journal, Language, in any given year. Sprouse's study appeared in the June issue of the quarterly publication and was one of two recognized with the award at the society's annual meeting, held January 5-8 in Portland. Sprouse has been a faculty member in UCI's cognitive sciences department since 2007. His research focuses on experimental approaches to syntactic theory and the relationship between syntactic theory and sentence processing. He is the associate director of the School of Social Sciences' new Center for Language Science and a member of the Linguistic Society of America's Teaching Linguistics editorial board.

SAEP 2012 - Think you have what it takes?

Application deadline for the 2012 Summer Academic Enrichment Program is Feb 29

It boasts a 95 percent UCI graduation rate. More than two-thirds of its 350 alumni have graduated from or are currently enrolled in graduate programs, public policy and public health programs, law school and/or teaching credential programs at Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Michigan, University of Washington, UC Irvine and other prestigious institutions. Created in 1991, the School of Social Sciences Summer Academic Enrichment Program is an advanced five-week residential research program designed to challenge the most highly motivated social sciences and social ecology undergrads who are strongly committed to pursuing a graduate or professional education. Think you have what it takes? Applications are due February 29. SAEP alumni: We'd love to hear from you! Find this post on our school Facebook page and let us know how SAEP has impacted you.

SPOTLIGHT EVENT Expert Series: Digital Futures - What Comes After the Network Society?

February 16, 7:00 p.m., Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1517

From the Arab Spring of 2011 to the development of iPhone apps for the elderly, new communications technologies are radically transforming society, culture and politics. Join the School of Social Sciences for the second lecture in the school's three-part Expert Speaker Series as anthropologists and industry experts reflect on the changing landscape of the Internet, social media and virtual worlds for education, culture and industrial design. Speakers include Tom Boellstorff, UCI anthropology professor, Mimi Ito, UCI anthropology and informatics professor and MacArthur Foundation Chair of Digital Media and Learning, and Maria Bezaitis, Intel Labs Interactions and Experience Research Lab researcher.

SPOTLIGHT EVENT A Conversation with Dennis Hastert, Former Speaker of the House

Public Lecture: February 23, 12:30 p.m., Biological Sciences III, Room 1200

The UCI Center for the Study of Democracy presents the annual Jack W. Peltason Lecture, "Reflections on Washington Past, Present, and Future," featuring Dennis Hastert, Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1999 to 2007). As the country's longest-serving Republican Speaker, he helped chart the nation's course through some of its most trying times, including 9/11 and controversial Medicare reform. The public lecture is free and open to the public.