Latest News

Yao Lu received the 2025-2026 Provost's Dissertation Year Fellowship in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for her dissertation titled, "Enumerating Race and Ethnicity: Statecraft, Violence, and Belonging in Post-Colonial Zambia and Zimbabwe." This is a prestigious award for doctoral students in their final stages of writing a dissertation. 

Congratulations, Yao! 

Patrick Wade recently co-authored a policy report with researchers from across the UC System on the current state of organized labor in California. The report examines trends in union density, demographics of union members, and recent organizing activity.

Professor Ming-Cheng Lo has been writing about the potential of and threats to democracy in Taiwan in a series of op eds for the Taipei Times. The 10th piece, "Averting an ungovernability crisis" has been published recently and can be read in full here. 

Professor Ming-Cheng Lo has a forthcoming article in the American Journal of Cultural Sociology about the potential of and threats to democracy in Taiwan. The article, "Toward a Hybrid Democratic Culture: moral codes in public narratives about COVID in Taiwan" is available online-first here. 

Nadia Smiecinska co-authored an article with Alana Haynes Stein in the August 1, 2025 issue of Food, Culture & Society. The article, "The Missing State in Solving World Hunger: State proposals to addressing world hunger at the 2015 World Expo," examines how states propose to address world hunger, what the role of the State looks like in these solutions, and how states conceptualize the realm of possibilities for food policy. 

The Economist cited Professor Xiaoling Shu in their cover story on "Generation Single" in the November 8, 2025 issue. The full article can be read here. 

Jennifer Krebsbach was recognized as this year's Outstanding Doctoral Student by the California Sociological Association. This award recognizes her distinction in both scholarship and service to the university and her community.

Michael Middleton's article in Social Forces, "Rethinking migrant reception in the age of color-blind racism: an experimental approach," explores the role racialization processes play in attitudes toward migrants and whether these processes vary across different questions of acceptance. The article can be read in full here.

Christine Pan recently published an article in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. The article, "‘Away’ at ‘Home’? The role of anchors in identity formation of transnationally mobile children of Taiwanese entrepreneurs and expatriates," can be read in full here.

Assistant Professor Tina Law recently published two new articles on generative AI in Sociological Methods & Research.

Yao Lu received the American Sociological Association (ASA) Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant. The grant supports highly talented doctoral students who are conducting cutting-edge sociological research that has the potential to both advance scientific knowledge and contribute to the public good.

Professor David Kyle was interviewed by Washington Post (12/24/24) in the article, “Texas puts up billboards warning of rape, kidnapping to deter migrants." The article can be read in full

Prof. David Kyle’s pioneering research on Cognitive Migration was featured in the UC Davis Letters & Science Magazine article, "How We Imagine Who We Will Be in a New Place,” and can be read in full here. 

Zoa’s research examines the intersectional impacts of climate change on racially, socioeconomically, and environmentally marginalized communities in California’s Central Valley. Using mixed methods, her study explores how language and public policy shape climate perceptions and outcomes while also contributing to debates about the role of quantitative methods in intersectional research. Zoa's mentor is Professor Veronica Lerma.