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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Institute for the Study of Societal Issues

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Women on the Right in U.S. History: Intellectual, Economic, and Political Power

Conference: February 26-27, 2026

FOUNDATIONS FOR CHANGE: Thomas I. Yamashita Prize

Honoring an emerging social change activist in California. Nominations due February 9, 2026.

Recent Stories

Culture and everyday learning across contexts

January 28, 2026

Kris Gutiérrez, Center for Research on Social Change faculty affiliate, co-authored a paper that brings three bodies of work that share an intellectual and social history into conversation to engage several key ideas in cultural historical theories of learning. The paper, published in Studies in Psychology: Estudios de Psicología, shows the relationship between Luis Moll's concept of households' Funds of Knowledge and Barbara Rogoff and Gutiérrez’s concept of repertoires of...

Advancing Equity Through Transformative Socio-Emotional Learning

January 21, 2026

ISSI graduate student Aukeem Ballard recently co-authored an article in Education Sciences on teachers' sensemaking of equity and social and emotional learning (SEL) in pedagogy and practice. The article's findings highlight the promise of integrating equity-centered SEL within STEM teacher preparation to support early-career development.

Strengthening the Academic Pipeline for HBCU Students

January 21, 2026

Travis J. Bristol and Tolani Britton, both faculty affiliates of the Center for Research on Social Change, received a three-year UC-HBCU Initiative grant to bring six HBCU students to UC Berkeley each year for a research immersion at the Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity (CREEO) in the Berkeley School of Education. As part of this collaboration, students in the UCB CREEO-HBCU Program will participate in ISSI's Summer Qualitative Methods Workshop each...

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