A newly created school at the University of Utah aims to provide an intellectual foundation for understanding and addressing some of the most pressing issues surrounding race and gender in American society. That goal is reflected in its name: School for Cultural and Social Transformation—the first school in the Intermountain West to make the intersection […]
Social & Behavioral Sciences
U launches School for Cultural and Social Transformation
New Carolyn and Kem Gardner Building will open new chapter on campus
A new building named after Carolyn and Kem Gardner will replace Orson Spencer Hall as home to the U’s College of Social and Behavioral Science and numerous associated centers and institutes. A ceremony to mark groundbreaking for the Carolyn and Kem Gardner Building took place on Friday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m., at the Marriott Library […]
Federal grants to fund cutting-edge mindfulness research addressing opioid epidemic
Eric Garland, associate dean for research at the University of Utah College of Social Work, has received two prestigious multi-million dollar grants to investigate the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement treatment for chronic pain and opioid misuse. The grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense will look at whether this […]
University of Utah unveils new Thomas S. Monson Center at newly renovated Enos A. Wall Mansion
The University of Utah today unveiled the newly refurbished Enos A. Wall Mansion at an event commemorating the reopening of this historic building. The structure, in the heart of Salt Lake City, has been renamed the Thomas S. Monson Center after the current president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Monson is […]
More than a few good men
Contrary to traditional expectations of unbalanced sex ratios, places with more men than women do not typically experience higher rates of family and social instability, according to a University of Utah study. The study by anthropologists Ryan Schacht and Karen Kramer, published August 24 in PLOS ONE, finds instead that surpluses of men are associated […]
Population boom preceded early farming
University of Utah anthropologists counted the number of carbon-dated artifacts at archaeological sites and concluded that a population boom and scarce food explain why people in eastern North America domesticated plants for the first time on the continent about 5,000 years ago. “Domesticated plants and animals are part of our everyday lives, so much so […]
Why people help distant kin
June 15, 2016 – It’s easy to understand why natural selection favors people who help close kin at their own expense: It can increase the odds the family’s genes are passed to future generations. But why assist distant relatives? Mathematical simulations by a University of Utah anthropologist suggest “socially enforced nepotism” encourages helping far-flung kin. […]
U researcher: More sex partners before marriage doesn’t necessarily lead to divorce
It’s been established that having multiple sex partners prior to marriage sometimes leads to less happy marriages and increases the odds of divorce. But sexual attitudes and behaviors continue to change in America, and some of the strongest predictors of divorce in years gone by no longer matter as much as they once did, according […]
Military Sexual Trauma Associated With Higher Risk for Veteran Homelessness
(SALT LAKE CITY)–The devastating consequences of sexual trauma in the military reported by 25 percent of female and 1 percent of male veterans who served in the U.S. armed forces don’t end with psychological and physical trauma, but are associated with a much higher risk for homelessness, a study led by Utah researchers has found. […]
“One Drop of Love”
Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni will perform her one-woman show, “One Drop of Love,” about the evolution of race in the United States and how it affects relationships at the Jeanne Wagner Theatre in Salt Lake City’s Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 West 300 South, Tuesday, Mar. 29, 6 p.m. The show is produced by her […]