Joseph Gusfield, founding chair of the sociology department at UC San Diego, has died. He was 91 years old. Gusfield was an internationally renowned sociologist and one-time activist, whose analysis of social movements remains a foundation for the study of contemporary “culture wars.” Gusfield is also known for his seminal work on drunk driving.
Top human rights activists from Mexico participated in a panel discussion at UC San Diego Thursday centered on the September 2014 disappearance of 43 students in Mexico.
Mexico and Central America are facing unprecedented violence as a result of rising illegal economies, including drug and human trafficking, as well as from increasing authoritarian governance, corruption and near total impunity for violators of human and citizen rights. At the same time, citizens from these nations are fleeing their countries of origin to the United States, confronting new forms of violence from migration officials, gangs and eventually, if apprehended, the U.S. state.
Is an experienced policymaker a more rational and a more self-interested bargainer than the average person? That is what nearly all prior research has assumed. But a new study from the University of California, San Diego shows just the opposite.
Sixteen former Ph.D. students from UC San Diego’s department of history pay tribute to Paul Pickowicz and Joe Esherick—the architects of the university’s highly regarded doctoral program in modern Chinese history—with a new book.
The Assyrian Empire once dominated the ancient Near East. At the start of the 7th century BC, it was a mighty military machine and the largest empire the Old World had yet seen. But then, before the century was out, it had collapsed. Why? An international study now offers two new factors as possible contributors to the empire’s sudden demise – overpopulation and drought.
Keep up with all the latest from UC San Diego. Subscribe to the newsletter today.
