College of Social Sciences at Fresno State

Congratulations to Political Science graduate Jose Santiesteban who was recently awarded the Pi Sigma Alpha's Howard Penniman Graduate Scholarship! Pi Sigma Alpha is the National Political Science Honor Society.

To our knowledge Jose is the first student from Fresno State to be awarded this national scholarship. Up to five people are awarded the scholarship every year.
Congratulations Jose!

Elections will happening this November, and students across the CSU system are engaging in new and creative ways to learn more about our election process.

“It’s important for people to understand how elections work, and the best way for people to have trust in the system is seeing how the system works,” Political Science professor Dr. Lisa Bryant says.
Learn more in the article below:

CSU Students Take a Deep Dive into Politics | CSU These election-year courses give political science students experiential learning opportunities to prepare for future careers.

Finding housing is one of the hardest barriers formerly incarcerated people face. Fresno State's Project Rebound recently purchased two homes to offer housing for men and women in the program. Learn more about it in the article below!
https://bit.ly/4ewfXIN

A stable home for a new beginning - Fresno State News Some people grow up with home being a peaceful place. While others discover it when […]

Check out Dr. Brian Griffith and Dr. Amy King's article published in today! They discuss the centennial of Giacomo Matteotti's assassination which paved the way to the rise of Mussolini. They also look at the parallels from then and now.

The Centennial of an Assassination Offers a Warning for Today Collective courage to stand up to authoritarians before it's too late is necessary to safeguard democracy.

Forty years after completing his degree, COSS alumnus Richard Valdez finally checked off an important experience from his bucket list. Check out his story below!
COSSGraduation
https://bit.ly/4aKPRys

Alumnus returns 40 years later to walk at graduation ceremony - Fresno State News Forty years after completing his degree, Richard Valdez finally checked off an important experience from […]

Congratulations to Angel Rojas for earning Fresno State's highest honor, the President's Medal! Angel is a first-generation graduate student in history he will go on to earn his PhD at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall! Read Angel's story here:

First-generation grad student earns university's highest honor - Fresno State News Angel Rojas didn’t come from an academic family, but his family always encouraged him to […]

Congratulations to the class of 2024!
https://bit.ly/4btRJwI

Congratulations for Angel Rojas for being this year's Graduate President medalist! The Presidents medal is the highest academic honor!
So, so cool! Congratulations Angel!

Computer science, history students selected for university’s highest academic honors - Fresno State News Nathan Theng and Angel Rojas were awarded Fresno State’s top academic honors for the class […]

Katie Dyer Congratulations to Katie Dyer for being this years Women Gender and Sexuality Studies outstanding student. Katie will be graduating with ehr BA in WGSS and a BA in Philosophy-Religious Studies Option.

Congratulations to Dr. Juila Shatz for being a part of the 2024 cohort of American Council of Learned Societies grant recipients!
ACLS grants support faculty in teaching-intensive roles to advance research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences
https://bit.ly/3WADMbQ

ACLS Awards 2024 Project Development Grants Grants support faculty in teaching-intensive roles to advance research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences

Congratulations to Veronica Ramirez for being the 20204 American Indian Studies outstanding student. Dr. Leece Lee-Oliver gifted Veronica a special set of earrings during the award ceremony on May 1.

Dr. Luis Mecías a professor in CLAS and graduate researcher Citlalli Rendón Guzmán were recently featured in a story by ! Both were on to talk about their research exploring their Gates funded research on the challenges undocumented students face.

Research team at Fresno State exploring the unique challenges undocumented students face A research team at Fresno State is exploring the impact of test-optional college admissions policies for undocumented students.

Students at COSS have research opportunities that can change their lives. Just ask Citlalli Rendón Guzmán is currently a graduate researcher on a Gates foundation funded project looking into Undocumented Students and Test Optional Policies!
Learn more about Citlalli's journey here:

Undergraduate research opportunities help grad student find career path - Fresno State News Since her first visit to the Fresno State campus as a child with her uncle, […]

Hello current and future students! Happy preview day!

If you’re looking for a one of a kind experience during your educational career, definitely consider doing a study abroad program!

A very popular program offered from the College of Social Science is the yearly trip to Finland.

WHY FINLAND?
Sociologists and Social Psychologists have found that Finland is the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH (and you thought it was Disneyland!). For six years in a row, Finland has ranked No. 1 as the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report. In 2023 report, people in 156 countries were asked to “value their lives today on a 0 to 10 scale, with the worst possible life as a 0.” It also looks at factors that contribute to social support, life expectancy, generosity and absence of corruption.
We've got SOCIAL CAPITAL connected to Finland. Dr. Chris Sullivan and Dr. Jendian led a group of 8 students to Finland in 2023 (See attached PPT). Dr. Sullivan led a group of 9 students to Finland in 2019. Dr. Jendian has close family members with family in Finland. Our colleague, Dr. Kris Clarke, was born and raised in Fresno, earned her Ph.D. from University of Tampere (Finland), and is currently a Professor at the University of Helsinki (Finland). This means participants will get behind-the-scenes access to organizations, leaders, and residents to learn about Finland.

Finland has an amazing social welfare history and is on the cutting edge of environmental sustainability, education, and criminal justice, and you will earn 3 units of upper division Sociology elective credits (SOC150T). See a 4 minute video clip about Finland here.
If you’re interested contact any of the program leaders: Dr.Matthew Jendian [email protected] Dr Chris Sullivan [email protected], or Linda Vang [email protected]

Activist and author Ericka Huggins visits Fresno State today in a live Q&A at 7:00pm in celebration of Women's History month! The COSS Chronicle spoke to Huggins about intersectional feminism and education ahead of her lecture!
Read the full story below

College of Social Sciences The College of Social Sciences offers a broad and exciting range of majors, minors, and certificates that will prepare you to take your place in a rapidly changing world. Students majoring in the Social Sciences engage in archaeological fieldwork, moot court, mock trial, geographic information track...

We are so excited for March 12! Two Fresno State professors will be featured in the upcoming Netflix docu-series Turning Point! COSS and the COAH will be hosting a viewing and Q&A on March 12 when the docu-series will be available globally! Check it out!

Fresno State professors featured in upcoming Netflix documentary series - Fresno State News Fresno State’s faculty will be on display beginning March 12 when the nine-episode docuseries “Turning […]

Fresno will have its first Guaranteed Basic Income program! It's was a long road but it happend! Learn more about the program, how to qualify and the roll Fresno State's Center for Community Voices will play in this article by

Guaranteed basic income pilot programs coming to Fresno A guaranteed basic income project is coming to Fresno County, more than a year after the region lost out on state funding for a similar project.

HAPPENING TODAY! Be sure to check out this round table talk focused on Chinese American Identity. Fresno State Library 2206.

Hope to see you there!

HAPPENING TODAY! Learn the skills to prepare your best scholarship application! Via zoom at 2:30 pm.
Don't miss it!
https://bit.ly/cossscholarship

Don't miss this round table talk happening Thursday focused on Chinese American Identity.

Hope to see you there!

Learn how to make your scholarship application stand out! Join the COSS Honors and Scholarships Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 2-3 pm as they discuss best practices for completing the university's general scholarship application.
See you there!
https://bit.ly/cossscholarship

BREAKING NEWS– COSS History Professor Lori Clune was recently featured in the upcoming Netflix documentary Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War. Check out the trailer below. The documentary will premier on March 12!

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War | Official Trailer | Netflix From Luminant Media and director Brian Knappenberger, comes the definitive documentary on the Cold War and its aftermath post the collapse of the Soviet Unio...

Did you miss the African Drum Circle last week? If so, check out this story from Fresno State's student paper The Collegian! Great video footage and sharing of music!

The Fresno State Africana Studies Program Host a Drum Circle to Celebrate Black History Month The African Drum Interactive and the Fresno State Africana Studies Program held a Drum Circle event on Feb. 12 on Fresno State campus to celebrate Black Hist...

“The most prepared person is the one who’s going to win. In an actual competition, you don’t go up there with something to read off. It’s all off your head." – Cameron Flowers moot court team member.
Learn more about Fresno State's moot court team here:

Moot court: preparing tomorrow’s lawyers. - Fresno State News During a cold December morning, Fresno State junior Cameron Flowers and senior Simran Kaur deliver […]

TONIGHT celebrate the current art exhibition “559 Edition- African Americans and the Arts” w/ a special performance by Ben Boone & Faylita Hicks.
FREE
2nd floor Ellipse Gallery, Fresno State Library.
Learn more about the artists:
https://bit.ly/3I3CZaX
See you there!

Did you know last year Fresno State's moot court team ranked 23 out of thousands of teams in the country? Moot court teaches students the skills needed to advocate in a court room. Learn more about how Fresno State is preparing tomorrow's lawyers below!

Moot court: preparing tomorrow’s lawyers. - Fresno State News During a cold December morning, Fresno State junior Cameron Flowers and senior Simsimranran Kakaurur deliver […]

Congratulations to professor T. Hasan Johnson on being today's Fresno State employee spotlight! Dr. Hasan is an Associate Professor in the Africana Studies department.

Fun fact, Dr. Hasan also has a podcast on YouTube called the Onyx Report!

https://bit.ly/3uq1Rqb

Fresno State Campus News | Employee spotlight: T. Hasan Johnson We hope you enjoy this series where we meet and get to know employees from across campus. Would you like to be featured? Contact us at [email protected].

How does being a mother and politician influence voters choices? The recently spoke to COSS Chair on the topic. There most recent article highlights how Congress Woman Katie Porter juggles being a Congress woman & Mom.

How Katie Porter harnesses her blunt style and single-mom experience in her Senate campaign A blunt demeanor, professorial intellect and sometimes polarizing ways have defined her three terms as an outspoken member of Congress from a competitive Orange County district.

Fresno County is the only county in the state of California to still use a slur against Native women as the name of an unincorporated town. In 2022 California passed a measure that required the term be removed from place names and Geographic locations.

In this article from the LA Times writer Melissa Gomez dives deep into the issue covering the history of the word and the politics around who has the power to change or keep the name.

Political Science professor Kenneth Hansen spoke to Gomez on the matter.
Check out the full article below.
https://lat.ms/4bi2UJ9

California banned a slur from geographic place names. Fresno County won't let go Native Americans won state backing to ban a term used to denigrate Native women from geographic place names. Fresno County says the state should butt out.