Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, UC Berkeley

In an essay in Health Affairs, Jodi Halpern, affiliate of BCSM, discusses the 10 rules put forth by the Institute of Medicine to improve patient-centered care, like the need for wise judgment to foster trustworthy & healing relationships with patients. www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

Opinion | My Journey Deep in the Heart of Trump Country

Arlie Hochschild, CRWS affiliate, wrote in the New York Times that many in Kentucky's 5th District are more devoted to Trump even after his 'Big Beautiful Bill'. She argues Democrats must both defend democratic institutions & rebuild trust with former supporters.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...

ISSI is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s FOUNDATIONS FOR CHANGE: Thomas I. Yamashita Prize: ‪@lauramardiaz.bsky.social‬ from ‪@berkeleypublichlth.bsky.social‬ & Clara Pérez Medina from ‪@ucbgeography.bsky.social‬. Learn about their social change scholarship on our home page!

photo of Kurt Organista

Meet our new Director Kurt Organista and catch up on the latest in our summer newsletter
mailchi.mp/berkeley.edu...

The ISSI logo and the same text that is in the post

We're hiring! We're seeking an expert communications coordinator to manage our digital and written communications and outreach! Full time, up to 100% remote. First review date is July 30. More info at issi.berkeley.edu/hiring

we're proud to be home to @ucberkeleycrws.bsky.social and especially proud of this new journal issue!

YouTube video by Matrixssdo Departmental Native Lands: Culture and Gender in Indigenous Territorial Claims

Video available of a panel on the book "Native Lands" by Shari Huhndorf. The book analyzes the role of visual & literary culture in contemporary Indigenous campaigns for territorial rights and insists that these campaigns must entail gender justice for Native women. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUNU...

AAPI Data | AP-NORC Survey April-May 2025 - AAPI Data AAPI adults continue to view a college degree as integral to improving their future, but are concerned with federal funding cuts to higher education. Overall, AAPI adults are more pessimistic about th...

AAPI Data, a project of AARC, released a report showing community views on college cuts, student deportations, & taxes on the wealthy. Adults continue to view a college degree as integral to improving their future, but are concerned with federal cuts to higher education. aapidata.com/surveys/aapi...

YouTube video by issi Chelsea Ebin: "The Radical Mind: The Origins of Right-Wing Catholic & Protestant Coalition Building"

Video available of a talk by Chelsea Ebin discussing how conservative Protestants & Catholics overcame their hostility to form a coalition on the American Right. She presents a new account of the Christian Right's recent rise & the morally charged politics of today. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs2M...

In a @latimes.com op-ed, CRSC faculty affiliate Cristina Mora highlights how in CA there is strong bipartisan support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who contribute to their communities. A UC Berkeley poll of 4,000 voters confirmed this support. ls.berkeley.edu/news/op-ed-c...

YouTube video by issi "How Local Organizations Shape US Education"

Video now available of a talk by Jose Eos Trinidad, in conversation with Gloria Lee & Karling Aguilera-Fort, on how organizations outside schools have created an invisible infrastructure not only to affect local school districts but also to shape US education. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQLL...

A new issue of Digna Rabia: A Digital Journal in Chicanax Studies is now available, edited by ISSI Grad Fellows Program Co-Director Pablo Gonzalez. Featuring the work of over 50 students this issue foregrounds stories of human mobility drawn from communities & campus. indd.adobe.com/view/3f0d08d...

All This Safety Is Killing Us: 9798889841401 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books A multi-discipline, multimedia guide to abolition through the lens of healthcare and medicine – featuring writings and artwork from 10+ incarcerated and post-detention activists Exposing how marginal...

Carlos Martinez, affiliate of BCSM, is co-editor of "All This Safety Is Killing Us" that examines the health harms caused by policing, incarceration, & border enforcement through the lens of clinicians & activists working to build abolitionist alternatives. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771429...

YouTube video by issi Angela Garcia: "Writing, Collectivity, and Care Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants"

Video now available of "Writing, Collectivity, & Care Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants", a talk by Angela Garcia who argues that writing serves as a collective & political act that helps participants confront & endure the violence of undocumented life together. www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Qh...

Martín Sánchez-Jankowski, Chair of ISSI's Center for Ethnographic Research, has been promoted to Distinguished Professor—the highest rank at UC Berkeley—recognizing his impactful research, excellent teaching, and outstanding service. sociology.berkeley.edu/faculty/mart...

timely new article by our faculty affiliate @eostrinidad.bsky.social

Travis Bristol, affiliate of CRSC, received the 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Community-Engaged Teaching. Professor Bristol’s work collaborates undergrads in his class with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to prepare future teachers of color. uclinks.berkeley.edu/news/profess...

New book by CRWS affiliate Carole Joffe discusses how individuals have kept abortion afloat in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s removal. An article in Mother Jones magazine highlights the strategies providers have pursued to continue offering abortions. www.beacon.org/After-Dobbs-...

YouTube video by issi Laurent Reyes: "In Their Words"

Video now available of "In Their Words: African American and Latine Immigrant Older Adults (Re)Define Civic Participation" a talk by Laurent Reyes who shares findings from a study on how older Black and Latine immigrant adults define civic participation.

I used to laugh at my Chilean father’s paranoia about life in the US – not any more Having fled here from Chile after Pinochet seized power in 1973 my father feared the state’s arbitrary power to turn lives upside down. His outlook has never felt more relevant

Stacy Torres, affiliate of the Center for Ethnographic Research, reflects on her father’s immigration from Chile, being concerned about academic freedom, & the parallels between democracy in Chile then & the growing authoritarianism in the U.S. now. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...