Society, Arts & Culture Content

How is the Poverty Rate Determined?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — January 09, 2026 - 3:09pm

The U.S. is the world’s wealthiest nation and yet, year after year, a significant share of the population lives in poverty.

�鶹��ý Design Museum Showcases Innovative Neighborhood on 50th Anniversary

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — January 09, 2026 - 1:44pm

In 1975, ground broke on a radical design experiment in community living in Davis, California. The Village Homes neighborhood took root in a town shaped by the influence of the University of California, Davis, progressive local government, and a culture open to forward thinking. A bit of luck — and a lot of vision — helped turn that moment into a model for sustainability still studied, and lived in, today.

Weekender: Flutes, Strings for Noon Concert; California Art at Manetti Shrem

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — January 08, 2026 - 9:10am

Flutes and strings at noon concert Thursday

Thursday, Jan. 8, 12:05-1 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, �鶹��ý, free

Sculptor Sahar Khoury, Collection Exhibition at the Manetti Shrem Museum Offer New Views of California Art

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — January 05, 2026 - 10:03am

Two exhibitions of California art that consider complex ideas of cultural origins and legacy — from a sculptor’s deliberate choice of materials and creative process to collection and preservation of art for posterity — open in January at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at University of California, Davis.

New Study Charts How Cartel Violence Increases Risks for Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 08, 2025 - 11:25am

As the U.S. government turns its attention to drug cartels in Mexico, new research from the University of California, Davis, suggests that violent competition among criminal organizations increases the risks migrants face at the northern border.

“Migrants face significant dangers across all border regions where criminal organizations operate, but when rival groups fight for territorial control, those dangers escalate sharply,” said Oscar Contreras-Velasco, the study’s author and an assistant professor of sociology in the College of Letters and Science at �鶹��ý.

Weekender: Choir Concert; Recitals; Get Tickets for ‘Tentet’

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 04, 2025 - 8:50am

Gift guide, concerts, human library and more

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.