View in browser: https://www.socsci.uci.edu/files/newsletters/2026/ne_022026.html

 
 
 
 
 
sbsg
 
 
 
Lunar New Year
 
 
mark your calendars:
UCI Lunar New Year Celebration
 
Join us Feb. 9 for UCI's 11th annual Lunar New Year Celebration as we honor more than a decade of tradition, community and cultural vibrancy

 
Details
 
UCI Men's Basketball
 
 
mark your calendars:
UCI Homecoming
 
Help us cheer on our UCI Men's Basketball team Feb. 28 as they take on UC Santa Barbara!

 
Details
 
 
Danielle Thomsen
 
 
The Money Signal
 
New book by Danielle Thomsen, UC Irvine political science professor, explores how fundraising matters in American politics
 
 
Nina Bandelj
 
 
Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting
 
New book by UC Irvine sociology Chancellor’s Professor Nina Bandelj explores what happens when children become investment projects and child-rearing becomes exhausting labor
 
 
 
Jean-Claude Falmagne
 
 
An optimistic academic
 
After transforming groundbreaking mathematical psychology theories into practical applications used by millions of students, Jean-Claude Falmagne has established a legacy to advance the field at UC Irvine
 
 
coauthors
 
 
Nearly one-third of social media research has undisclosed ties to industry, preprint claims
 
Study - featured in Science and coauthored by Cailin O'Connor, UC Irvine, and University of Washington's Joseph Bak-Coleman, Jevin West, and Carl T. Bergstrom - finds industry-linked studies were also more likely to focus on particular topics, suggesting these ties may be skewing the field
 
 
Kelley Fong and coauthors
 
 
Study: No link between foster care entry rates and child maltreatment deaths
 
Multi-university analysis of national data shows no evidence that higher foster care placements correlate to a drop in child abuse- or neglect-related deaths
 
 
 
Claire Yoo
 
 
Yoo named Social Sciences Alumni Academic Excellence Scholar
 
Honor recognizes the fourth-year international studies major for outstanding academic performance and service to the School of Social Sciences, UCI campus and community
 
 
Alexis David Lopez-Rodriguez
 
 
Lopez-Rodriguez awarded Educational Enhancement Scholarship
 
Honor supported the psychology major's research and participation in the National Latinx Psychological Association annual conference
 
 
 
Watt
 
 
In memoriam: W.C. Watt
 
UC Irvine cognitive sciences professor emeritus | 1932-2025
 
 
 
 
 
soc sci
in the media
 
Social sciences faculty and graduate students are consistently sought by media for their expertise in areas ranging from digital play to gender-based pay. Check out some of our top hits, expert commentaries and on-air interviews below, or visit us online for the full run down.
 
Irene Vega

Border Patrol has a history of excessive force. Critics say they're unprepared in Minneapolis

Irene Vega, sociology, offers expertise on this segment of NPR - All Things Considered.
 
Nina Bandelj
 
Bandelj on parenting
 
 
CBS LA
 
Jan Brueckner
 
Brueckner on
California population
 
LA Times
 
 
 
Wang Feng
 
Wang Feng on China  
 
New York Times

 
Jeff Kopstein
 
Kopstein on
patrimonialism
 
Financial Times

 
Erin Lockwood

The limits of prediction markets

Erin Lockwood, political science, explains in this piece for Project Syndicate.
 
Gary Richardson
 
Richardson on the Fed
 
New York Times
 
Bill Maurer
 
Maurer on
cryptocurrency
 
Straight Arrow News
 
 
 
Tony Smith
 
Smith on
human rights
 
New Books
Network

 
Leo Chavez
 
Chavez on
nativism
 
Salt Lake
City Weekly
 
 
 
 
mark your
calendar
 
 
 
 
 
 
30
 
JAN
 
   
 
Causal Decision Theory for Unratifiable Actions
 
3:00-5:00 p.m. | Social Science Plaza B, Room 1222

featuring James Joyce, C.H. Langford Collegiate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan

 
 
 
 
 
 
02
 
FEB
 
   
 
Next-Generation Computational Models of Human Perception
 
12:00-1:00 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1517

featuring Lakshmi Govindarajan, Ph.D., Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT

 
 
 
 
 
 
02
 
FEB
 
   
 
Latinidad, Popular Culture and Resistance: Spotlight on Student Research
 
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | Social Science Tower, Room 318

featuring Sayra Contreras, Chicano/Latino Studies Undergraduate, and Yamilett Fraias Chaidez, Chicano/Latino Studies Undergraduate, UCI

 
 
 
 
 
 
03
 
FEB
 
   
 
Bomba, Space, and Critical Human Geography
 
12:30-2:00 p.m. | Social Science Tower, Room 777

featuring Zoe Van Gyseghem, Department of Global and International Studies, UCI

 
 
 
 
 
 
03
 
FEB
 
   
 
The Struggle for Hong Kong: A Decolonization Lens
 
4:00-5:15 p.m. | Humanities Gateway, Room 1030

featuring Ching Kwan Lee, UCLA

 
 
 
 
 
 
04
 
FEB
 
   
 
Cognition with 8 Bits and 15 Watts: Thinking Effectively on a Tight Budget Date: February 4, 2026
 
12:00-1:00 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1517

featuring Samuel Cheyette, Ph.D., Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
 
 
 
 
 
 
05
 
FEB
 
   
 
Is the Pandemic to Blame for the Null Results in Baby's First Years?
 
12:30-1:30 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1517

featuring Greg Duncan, Distinguished Professor, School of Education, UC Irvine
 
 
 
 
 
 
05
 
FEB
 
   
 
Handmade With Love: A SSARC Valentine's Craft Social
 
2:00-3:00 p.m. | Social Science Plaza B, Room 1222
 
 
 
 
 
 
05
 
FEB
 
   
 
Planting Oceania: Pacific Islander Dreaming & Resistance
 
5:00-6:20 p.m. | Social Science Plaza A, Room 1100

featuring Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, UC Santa Cruz | Loa Niumeitolu, Planting Oceania
 
 
 
 
 
 
09
 
FEB
 
   
 
UCI Lunar New Year Celebration
 
1:30-6:00 p.m. | The Irvine Barclay Theatre - UC Irvine

Join us in honoring more than a decade of tradition, community, and cultural vibrance at UC Irvine's Lunar New Year Celebration - where cherished customs, artistic expression, and shared experience bring campus and community together.

In the Year of the Horse, a symbol of vitality, momentum, and renewal, the celebration reflects the energy and spirit that have defined this tradition for more than a decade.
 
 
 
 
 
 
09
 
FEB
 
   
 
Farm Size Distribution, Weather Shocks, and Agricultural Productivity
 
3:30-5:00 p.m. | Social Science Plaza A, Room 3132

featuring Nicolás de Roux, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

 
 
 
 
 
 
10
 
FEB
 
   
 
SSARC Ambassadors Info Session
 
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1230

 
 
 
 
 
 
11
 
FEB
 
   
 
Decolonizing Medicine: Indigenous Politics and the Practice of Care in Bolivia
 
3:00-4:30 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1321

featuring Gabriela Morales, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Scripps College

 
 
 
 
 
 
12
 
FEB
 
   
 
How Do Habits Form? Experimental Evidence from Health Screenings
 
12:30-1:30 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1517

featuring Damon Jones, Associate Professor and Associate Director, Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

 
 
 
 
 
 
12
 
FEB
 
   
 
The Militarization of Aid: Famine, Food, Freedom, &. the Struggle to Survive
 
5:00-6:20 p.m. | Social Science Plaza A, Room 1100

featuring Anthony Aguilar, Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel

 
 
 
 
 
 
17
 
FEB
 
   
 
Summer Program in Research and Leadership (SPIRL) Info Session
 
1:00-1:45 p.m. | Zoom (pre-registration required)
 
 
 
 
 
 
18
 
FEB
 
   
 
Manuscript Workshop: Spectacles of Relation: Race, Performance, and the Latinx Nineteenth Century
 
2:00-3:00 p.m. | Social Science Tower, Room 318

featuring Christopher A. Rodelo, Assistant Professor of Chicano/Latino Studies, UCI
 
 
 
 
 
 
19
 
FEB
 
   
 
"Feeling Brown", Sounding Yellow: Puerto Rican Soldiers and the Racial Calculus of the Korean War
 
5:00-6:20 p.m. | Social Science Plaza A, Room 1100

featuring Junyoung Verónica Kim, East Asian Cultures in Liberal Studies, NYU
 
 
 
 
 
 
20
 
FEB
 
   
 
UCI and UCLA Latinx Humanities Symposium
 
8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1321
 
 
 
 
 
 
20
 
FEB
 
   
 
Skepticism and Politicization of Science: Causes, Consequences, and Cures
 
12:00-1:15 p.m. | Zoom (pre-registration required)

featuring Roderik Rekker, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Radboud University, The Netherlands
 
 
 
 
 
 
23
 
FEB
 
   
 
Bagels and Coffee with Faculty
 
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1321

 
 
 
 
 
 
25
 
FEB
 
   
 
UCI Law School Panel
 
1:00-2:00 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1321

 
 
 
 
 
 
25
 
FEB
 
   
 
In memoriam: W.C. Watt
 
1:00-2:00 p.m. | Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1517

 
 
 
 
 
 
26
 
FEB
 
   
 
Traditional Maritime & Chumash Tomol (Canoe) Building
 
5:00-6:20 p.m. | Social Science Plaza A, Room 1100

featuring Alan Salazar, Chumash Maritime Association and Ventura County Indian Education Consortium

 
 
 
 
 
 
28
 
FEB
 
   
 
UCI Homecoming
 
3:00-10:00 p.m. | UCI Bren Center

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
about
uci soc sci
 
We are not your standard school. Like Peter, our beloved Anteater mascot, we're quirky and different. We're on a mission to create positive change in society, economies and human well-being by breaking down traditional barriers and pushing the limits in teaching, research and service. Doing so requires a different attitude, aim and set of actions.
 
Learn more about ours...