The Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI) is UC Berkeley's hub for interdisciplinary social justice research. Since 1976, the Institute has been fostering qualitative and quantitative interdisciplinary research on the issues central to social stratification and inequality while training and supporting new generations of social change scholars.

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Recent Stories

Socializing and engaging a decolonizing praxis in language socialization: Reframing school–community relationships

July 30, 2026

Patricia Baquedano-López, faculty affiliate of the Center for Research on Social Change, and Theresa Burruel Stone, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues alum, co-authored "Socializing and engaging a decolonizing praxis in language socialization: Reframing school–community relationships" in The Oxford Handbook of Language Socialization. Drawing on the work of scholars of language socialization who are...

The US is failing Black mothers and babies. A lawsuit wants to keep it that way

July 30, 2026

In a The Hill opinion piece, Berkeley Center for Social Medicine faculty affiliate Khiara Bridges argues against the lawsuit Jimenez v. Pan, which challenges California's Black Infant Health program and its focus on race-conscious initiatives. Despite evidence that Black mothers are three times more likely...

Congratulations to ISSI graduate students on their awards and grants!

July 14, 2026

Alex Adia: Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy Research Award and AcademyHealth Health Equity Interest Group Student Investigator Award

Aukeem Ballard: AERA Dissertation Fellowship

Larissa Benjamin: Roselyn Lindheim Fellowship

Isabella C. Brown: In Defense of Black Studies Small Grants Program

Margot Jeanne Cohen: Mentored Research Award

Grant Durow: Fulbright Study/Research Award

Akilah Favors: UC Dissertation Year Fellowship,...

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