Society, Arts & Culture Content

How Do Personal Beliefs Influence Beliefs in Pseudoscience, Supernatural?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 02, 2025 - 10:15am

The human mind doesn’t always seem to work rationally. Why do beliefs in pseudoscience, supernatural entities and conspiracy theories thrive even when they seem implausible or lack evidence?

For years, this question has puzzled cognitive and evolutionary scientists. Often, such extraordinary beliefs are explained as byproducts of cognitive biases that make the belief compelling and/or by social dynamics, like the pressure to fit in with a group.

Weekender: Last Weekend for Manetti Shrem; Art Gift Guide; Concerts

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 25, 2025 - 9:46am

Today, in light of the Thanksgiving weekend, the Arts Blog is publishing on Tuesday to give you a head start on the holiday. And look for another Weekender next Thursday. Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog Editor

Weekender: New Dance Performance; 'Paradise Lost' Concert; More Concerts

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 20, 2025 - 12:00am

Catch 'Control/Shift' this week

Center for the Performing Arts, continuing Nov. 20, 21; 7 p.m.; Nov. 22, 2 p.m.

Endowed Chair Named for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 18, 2025 - 12:00am

Gözde Göncü-Berk, associate professor of design, has been named the inaugural Maria Manetti Shrem Endowed Chair in Design, Fashion and Textiles and the founding director of the Maria Manetti Shrem Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles at the University of California, Davis. Her work focuses on development of soft wearable systems that sense, respond and adapt to the body to enhance health, well-being and performance.

�鶹��ý Launches Maria Manetti Shrem Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 17, 2025 - 12:00am

�鶹��ý celebrated the grand opening of the Maria Manetti Shrem Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles on Thursday, Nov. 13.

Weekender: See New Choregraphies; Catch Last Weeks of Manetti Shrem Exhibition

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 12, 2025 - 11:28am

�鶹��ý dancers explore new choreographies at Mondavi Center next week; get tickets now

Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 19,20,21; 7 p.m.; Nov. 22, 2 p.m.

IN MEMORIAM: Sandra Riddell Shannonhouse

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 10, 2025 - 1:58pm

Sandra Riddell Shannonhouse — an artist and University of California, Davis, alum whose generous contributions and advocacy for public art and historic preservation helped shape vibrant art communities — has died. Known as Sandy to friends and family, she was instrumental in sustaining the legacy of her late husband, the artist and professor Robert Arneson. She died Oct. 30 in Benicia, California.

Beyond the Shutdown: How SNAP Budget Cuts Threaten Families’ Access to Food

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 10, 2025 - 11:57am

Payments through SNAP, the federal food assistance program, have been delayed during the government shutdown, but program cuts in this summer’s budget bill already put vulnerable families at long-term risk of going hungry.

Living Life More Fully: U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze Connects with �鶹��ý Students

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 05, 2025 - 2:50pm

Just weeks after being named U.S. Poet Laureate by the Library of Congress, Arthur Sze visited �鶹��ý, sharing his love of poetry and translation with students, faculty and community members.

Sze is the author of 12 books of poetry and the recipient of numerous poetry prizes, including the Bollingen Prize for American Poetry in 2025 for his lifetime achievement in the field. He was the first Poet Laureate for the City of Santa Fe, where he’s lived for more than 50 years.

How Did Scholars and Teachers Build LGBTQ-Plus K-12 Curriculum?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 05, 2025 - 2:12pm

Geraldine Portica might have known the risks every day when she wore a dress. In a 1917 portrait, she wears a dress and a wide-brimmed hat. She stands with one hand on her hip as her other hand extends the loose fabric of her skirt as if to show its cut.

A handwritten note on the photo's bottom margin explains that she had lived her whole life as female since her birth in Mexico.