Social Sciences

Faculty, staff, students honored for excellence in teaching, mentoring, service

Each year, Rice honors members of the university community who have served students through outstanding teaching, dedication and service.

New book from Rice anthropologist: ‘Our fossilized civilization has no sustainable future’

What would the world look like with no fossils — and therefore no fossil fuels?

Student research highlighted during Social Sciences Undergraduate Research + Creative Symposium

Research on racial identity and fair pay, mental and physical health, foreign affairs and other topics was on display at the Social Sciences Undergraduate Research + Creative Symposium (SSURS) held April 11 at Rice University’s Kraft Hall.

New Rice research explores why we remember what we remember

We’ve all been in a similar situation — you lock your front door for the umpteenth time in a given week only to panic minutes later when you’re driving to work as you struggle to remember if you actually locked the door.

Several ‘influential women’ of Rice recognized by Houston Woman Magazine

Rice University’s first lady, a respected professor and several alumnae were included in Houston Woman Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2023 list. Each was nominated for inclusion by a Houston Woman Magazine reader then selected by the staff of the publication.

Rice sociologist hosts viewing of Israeli music festival massacre documentary

Members of the Rice and Houston community recently gathered for a screening of “SUPERNOVA: The Music Festival Massacre,” a documentary by award-winning German production company GebruederBeetz Filmproduktion. The film focuses on Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, specifically on the Supernova music festival.

Prestigious Truman Scholarship awarded to Rice’s Lee Waldman

Lee Waldman, a Rice junior majoring in sociology in the School of Social Sciences, has been awarded a Truman Scholarship , the premier graduate fellowship in the U.S. for those pursuing careers as leaders in public service.

Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Treva Lindsey explores the enduring power of Black freedom dreams

In belated honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Center for African and African American Studies at Rice University hosted a special event featuring Treva Lindsey, a distinguished professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Ohio State University.

Michael Eric Dyson challenges ‘America’s amnesia’ at CAAAS lecture

Renowned scholar and public intellectual Michael Eric Dyson delivered a thought-provoking speech at Rice April 1, spurring conversations about race, history and the imperative of confronting what he called “America’s amnesia.”

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Rice University’s Emerging Scholars Program (RESP) has received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The funding aims to bolster achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among students from under-resourced families and communities.

New NSF-funded Rice research to examine how housing subsidies impact childhood education outcomes

A new, four-year Rice University study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) will study how housing subsidies impact educational outcomes of Houston children.

Innovation focus of April 1 Research Relay hosted by Rice School of Social Sciences

On April 3, the School of Social Sciences will hold the next Research Relay in Kraft Hall 130 from 12 to 1 p.m. Lunch will be served during the event.

Undocumented immigrants faced unique mental health challenges during COVID-19 pandemic

Four years after the U.S. shut down in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, research from Rice University suggests undocumented immigrants’ mental health challenges were compounded due to stresses stemming from their unauthorized status.

Kean, Kidd to receive ARA’s Gold Medal at 2024 Laureates Awards

At the Association of Rice Alumni’s 2024 Laureates Awards ceremony May 2, the group will bestow its highest honor — the Gold Medal Award — to Melissa Kean ’96, ’00 and Albert Kidd ’64, ’65.

‘Solarities’ examines the complex relationships humans have with the sun

The sun is making headlines as Americans prepare for the last total solar eclipse until 2045 . But eclipse or no eclipse, our solar system’s star is an essential part of life on Earth, and at the same time, the source of drought and demise to the very living things it fuels.