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Social Sciences
A nuclear security scholar’s take on recent military actions in Iran
March 6, 2026
In this Q&A, Brown University political scientist and nuclear security expert Reid Pauly shares insights and context on the expanding conflict in the Middle East.
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Social Sciences
Brown researchers offer key contributions to recommendations on Rhode Island public school funding
January 23, 2026
Research from Annenberg Institute education scholars informed recommendations, detailed in a report commissioned by the Rhode Island Foundation, to improve the funding formula for the state’s K-12 public schools.\ \
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Social Sciences
At Watson School launch event, Gen. Mark Milley stresses importance of upholding American values
October 25, 2025
Brown President Christina H. Paxson and Inaugural Dean John N. Friedman joined Milley to celebrate the creation of Brown’s new policy school, affirming its dedication to interdisciplinary scholarship.
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Social Sciences
Brown University economics professor Peter Howitt wins Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
October 13, 2025
Howitt, a professor emeritus of economics who joined the Brown faculty in 2000, was awarded “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.”
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Social Sciences
Paige Censale: A nontraditional student and community advocate, driven to uplift the unseen
October 2, 2025
The Brown University junior balances a dedication to public affairs and documentary filmmaking with a personal calling as a caregiver and advocate for families confronting dementia.
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Social Sciences
Video: Brown economist on opportunity and the American Dream
October 1, 2025
In a video interview, John Friedman, the inaugural dean of Brown’s new Watson School of International and Public Affairs, explains why upward mobility matters.
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Social Sciences
Brown launches new online master’s degree in business analytics
September 15, 2025
Combining analytical skills with the tools to organize and refine raw data, the 16-month master of science in business analytics will prepare students to transform complex information into insights.
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Social Sciences
New study: School finance reforms increased funding inequities based on student race and ethnicity
September 10, 2025
Brown University sociologist Emily Rauscher co-led an analysis that uncovered the failure of state-led school finance reforms to address funding disparities based on the racial and ethnic composition of students.
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Social Sciences
Initiative at Brown’s Annenberg Institute aims to advance research on schools and climate change
August 6, 2025
The Sustainable Education Research Initiative will build collaborations between scholars, policymakers and practitioners to generate insights that inform Pre-K-12 education policy and practice.
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Social Sciences
Setting the stage for the Watson School: 7 key moments in international and public affairs at Brown
July 1, 2025
Created in the waning years of the Cold War, the new Watson School of International and Public Affairs continues its history as a hub for scholarship on pressing economic, political, social and policy challenges.
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Social Sciences
Brown professor to U.K. Parliament: To improve upward mobility, consider social networks, ‘soft skills’
June 30, 2025
In a hearing convened by the House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Committee, incoming Watson School of International and Public Affairs Dean John Friedman spoke about his research on social and economic mobility.
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Social Sciences
‘Subjects of the Sun’: Shining a light on obstacles, opportunities of equitable renewable energy
June 24, 2025
Brown University environmental anthropologist Myles Lennon examines the complexity of sustainable energy infrastructure and explores solar solutions for working-class communities.
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Social Sciences
The history behind Brown historian’s Pulitzer finalist ‘Plantation Goods’
June 17, 2025
Inspired by his scholarship and teaching at Brown, Seth Rockman uncovered an unknown facet of pre-Civil War history that he detailed in an acclaimed book.
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Social Sciences
Brown launches new master’s degree programs in management, organizational leadership
June 13, 2025
Combining strategic thinking with ethical, data-driven decision-making, two 16-month online programs will prepare students for leadership challenges across sectors in a rapidly evolving global workforce.
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Social Sciences
Q&A with David Kertzer: What it means to have an American pope
June 10, 2025
After the white smoke cleared, Brown papal historian David Kertzer reflected on the significance of an American pope, how the Catholic Church could change and how Italians are responding to Pope Leo XIV.
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Social Sciences
Ancient Mediterranean DNA confirms old truths: People contain multitudes
May 29, 2025
An ancient DNA study co-authored by Brown archaeologist Peter van Dommelen illustrates the complexity of human migration and identity shifts over time.
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Social Sciences
Collaborative project yields new digital archive on hidden history of Indigenous enslavement
May 7, 2025
Stolen Relations, a public database set to launch on Saturday, May 10, reveals the stories of thousands of Native people forced into servitude across the Americas.
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Social Sciences
Political economist Mark Blyth weighs in on inflation, tariffs and ‘the worst of all possible worlds’
April 14, 2025
As global financial systems react to economic shifts, a new book from the director of the Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance at Brown University explores the causes and impacts of inflation.
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Social Sciences
‘Looming in the Shadows of Lodz’: An exhibition of memory and history at the Watson Institute
February 13, 2025
A photographic journey by artist Leslie Starobin that explores Holocaust memory and family history is on view in a public exhibition on the Brown University campus through May 30.
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Social Sciences
Meet the Brown student who created New York City’s popular new traffic tracker
February 7, 2025
With support from Brown economist Emily Oster, senior Benjamin Moshes and his brother developed a website that visualizes the impacts to drivers of New York City’s recently launched congestion-pricing program.
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Social Sciences
A global economist’s take on tariffs: ‘American consumers will get hurt’
February 3, 2025
In a Q&A, Brown University Professor of Economics Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan discussed how the new presidential administration’s planned tariffs could potentially impact the U.S. economy.\
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Social Sciences
New fellowship supports community-led Indigenous studies research at John Carter Brown Library
December 11, 2024
A new research fellowship is expanding access to the John Carter Brown Library’s collection of materials on early American history, including for members of Native and Indigenous tribes.
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Social Sciences
Government interventions can reduce deadly air pollution in South Asia, study finds
November 1, 2024
Through an analysis of a decade of wind, fire and health data, Assistant Professor of Political Science Gemma Dipoppa found government action can help curb dangerous air pollution in India and Pakistan.
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Social Sciences
Photography exhibition at Brown’s Watson Institute features faces of global refugee crisis
September 30, 2024
“The Power of Faces,” an exhibition by two Rhode Island-based photographers on view through Dec. 20, displays portraits of people living in refugee camps across the world.
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Social Sciences
Jasmin Elias Contreras: Supporting immigrant communities in Rhode Island
August 22, 2024
Through a summer internship at the nonprofit organization Progreso Latino, the rising Brown sophomore is assisting local community members who are navigating questions related to immigration.
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Social Sciences
Brown economist, education scholar appointed to White House Council of Economic Advisers
July 24, 2024
Matthew Kraft, whose research focuses on the economics of education, will spend a year at the White House to offer economic analysis and inform policy development at the highest level of government.
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Social Sciences
Political scientist Corey Brettschneider on the promise of ‘We the People’
June 24, 2024
As the 2024 U.S. presidential election nears, a new book from the Brown University political scientist calls attention to the power of citizens to push back against leaders who threaten democracy.
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Social Sciences
In ‘The Unexpected,’ a Brown economist shares data-driven approach to navigating pregnancy complications
May 14, 2024
Emily Oster’s new book uses data to help pregnant women make informed decisions related to complications ranging from miscarriage to postpartum depression.
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Social Sciences
Tricia Rose and ‘Metaracism:’ Unpacking the complexities of racism in housing, education and more
March 14, 2024
A leading voice on race in the U.S., the Brown University scholar shared insights from her new book, “Metaracism,” at a talk organized by Brown’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. \ \
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Social Sciences
New initiative at Brown’s Watson Institute aims to broaden access to education, careers in public policy
March 4, 2024
A new Equity in Policy Scholars pilot program at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs strives to expand representation and leadership development for the next generation of global leaders.\
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Social Sciences
In public affairs course, Brown students offer policy recommendations to city facing prison closure
February 27, 2024
John Eason’s seminar gave 18 seniors the opportunity to collaborate with city officials in California, where they interviewed residents and explored ways to mitigate the negative economic impact of prison closure.
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Social Sciences
Entries from Brown anthropologist’s Pandemic Journaling Project now accessible to researchers
February 16, 2024
Accessible through a long-term home at Syracuse University, the vast repository co-founded by Brown’s Katherine A. Mason includes nearly 27,000 personal stories, photos and more from people living during the COVID-19 pandemic. \ \
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Social Sciences
New grant enables project to support early-career teachers in four Providence-area public schools
February 6, 2024
With an award from the Barr Foundation, Brown researchers will develop a pilot program to strengthen retention and training for recent Brown MAT graduates teaching in Providence, Central Falls and Pawtucket.
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Social Sciences
Logan Danker: Making advocacy and public service more accessible
November 17, 2023
By empowering a more diverse generation of future elected officials and community leaders, the Brown University senior hopes to drive inclusive policy outcomes.
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Social Sciences
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to speak at Brown about global leadership
September 29, 2023
In an Ogden Memorial Lecture on Oct. 5, Ardern will share insights from her six years as prime minister, her commitment to women’s empowerment and her passionate advocacy for climate action.
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Social Sciences
Nathalia Klipp-Elias: From Brazil to College Hill, to the halls of the Rhode Island State House
September 7, 2023
The Brown University junior explored policymaking and governance through a hands-on internship with the office of the Rhode Island governor.
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Social Sciences
Brown entrepreneurs developing innovations in STEM education, vaping cessation and more
July 7, 2023
Each year, the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship’s Breakthrough Lab supports more than a dozen student ventures through an eight-week summer accelerator that advances personal and commercial development.
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Social Sciences
Researchers find little evidence that military policing reduces crime
June 15, 2023
A team of researchers led by Brown University’s Rob Blair studied a military intervention in Cali, Colombia, and found little evidence to support the idea that military policing improves public safety.
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Social Sciences
Educational mobility gap between Muslims and Christians in Africa isn’t budging, study finds
May 25, 2023
Co-authored by a Brown economist, the study found that over the last three generations, Christian children have surpassed their parents’ level of education at a much higher rate than Muslim and traditionalist children in Africa.
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Social Sciences
In new report, Rhode Island’s Afghan refugees detail their evacuation, resettlement experiences
April 13, 2023
Co-authored by researchers at Brown and Providence’s Refugee Dream Center, the report includes passages from 32 interviews with Afghan refugees and offers eight recommendations for leaders involved in resettlement.
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Social Sciences
In congressional hearing, Brown scholar addresses tensions between U.S. and China
March 9, 2023
Speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence, Tyler Jost called on federal leaders to stay focused on maintaining an uneasy status quo in Taiwan.
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Social Sciences
Brown Ph.D. student uncovers early evidence of brain surgery in Ancient Near East
February 22, 2023
A recent excavation in Megiddo, Israel, unearthed the earliest example of a particular type of cranial surgery in the Ancient Near East — and potentially one of the oldest examples of leprosy in the world.
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Social Sciences
Longtime Congressman James Langevin to serve as senior fellow at Brown’s Watson Institute
January 17, 2023
The retired U.S. congressman and native Rhode Islander will lead an undergraduate study group confronting the topic of cybersecurity, giving students unique insight into his more than three decades of governing experience.
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Social Sciences
Brown’s new PPE Center applies a century-old framework to contemporary issues
November 17, 2022
Brown’s Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics, a new hub for research, teaching and debate, is blending old and new academic traditions to confront complex social problems facing the world in the 21st century.
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Social Sciences
Six takeaways from the 2022 midterm elections, according to Brown political experts
November 10, 2022
At a panel discussion following Election Day, political scientists from Brown discussed what the midterms revealed about Americans’ views, traditional polling practices and the two major parties.
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Social Sciences
In its second year, Military Fellows program continues to bridge the civilian-military divide
November 2, 2022
The Watson Institute’s expanding Military Fellows program brings U.S. and international defense professionals to Brown for a year of courses, seminars and problem-solving conversations with policymakers and researchers.
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Social Sciences
Confronting Indigenous enslavement, one story at a time
October 5, 2022
A partner effort among Brown scholars, volunteers and Native American leaders, Stolen Relations has recovered thousands of Indigenous enslavement records, drawing attention to a topic rarely broached in school history lessons.
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Social Sciences
Taubman Center kickstarts student-led research, emphasizes focus on voting access
September 30, 2022
Wendy Schiller, director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy, is supporting student-led research on voting access and creating a “one-stop shop” for people to learn more about politics in the United States.
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Social Sciences
Michael Ochoa: Growing food and building community with the African Alliance of Rhode Island
September 1, 2022
As an iProv summer fellow, the rising Brown sophomore led pop-up farmers markets with the Providence nonprofit to bring locally grown, affordable produce to communities where fresh foods are harder to access.
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Social Sciences
To advance research on incarceration, Brown acquires personal papers of prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal
August 24, 2022
The prison records, correspondence and artwork of Abu-Jamal, and related materials from advocate Johanna Fernández, will anchor a collection at the John Hay Library focused on first-person accounts of incarceration.
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