College of Social Sciences and Humanities

The missed opportunity in California’s power outage

Pacific Gas and Electric, California’s largest utility, says it had to turn off power for hundreds of thousands of customers to reduce the risk of wildfires. Northeastern professor Daniel Aldrich, who co-directs the Master’s in Security and Resilience Studies program, says the company should have warned residents earlier and done more to prepare them for the blackout.

by Khalida Sarwari October 10, 2019

Deciphering the medieval secrets of the Dragon Prayer Book

Erika Boeckeler, an associate professor of English at Northeastern, happened upon a mysterious, uncatalogued book in the university’s archives. What she and a team of students have discovered has given them a glimpse into medieval life.

by Ian Thomsen and Irvin Zhang October 3, 2019

The Toronto Raptors have formed a partnership with Nike to offer team-branded hijabs, which are head coverings worn by some Muslim women. Liz Bucar, a professor of religion at Northeastern who teaches a course on the politics of the veil, says that the new hijabs could help to increase the participation of Muslim women in sports. Photo via Twitter/Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors now sell hijabs. What does this mean for Muslim women?

The NBA team formed a partnership with Nike to market and sell the head coverings, which are worn by some Muslim women. “Representation matters, especially when you think about Muslim girls seeing themselves represented as athletes,” says Liz Bucar, a professor of religion at Northeastern.

by Irvin Zhang September 19, 2019

Town employees of Emerald Isle work to clear the road after a tornado hit the beach town in North Carolina as Hurricane Dorian moved up the East coast on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. AP Photo/Tom Copeland

How to prepare for the next Hurricane Dorian

Scientists, engineers, and city planners need to work together in order to prepare communities to withstand and recover from natural disasters of this magnitude, says Stephen Flynn, who directs the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa September 17, 2019

From left, Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren raise their hands to answer a question Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, during a Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by ABC at Texas Southern University in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Make sense of the Democratic presidential race in real time

The latest presidential debate revealed the candidates’ strategies, says Northeastern professor Nick Beauchamp, who has helped develop a couple of visualization tools that bring new perspective to the election.

by Ian Thomsen September 13, 2019

Where are all the women in early modern English literature?

Northeastern’s Women Writers Project is posthumously giving women a voice by transcribing and republishing their long-forgotten writing from the 1500s to the 1850s.

by Emily Arntsen September 6, 2019

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket lifts off from space launch complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the second Global Positioning System III payload on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Will Space Command help or hurt international relations in space?

The United States recently established Space Command, a military headquarters for space operations to match those in other countries. Northeastern professor Mai’a Cross questions whether the militarization of outer space could create conflict where there hasn’t been any.

by Molly Callahan September 5, 2019

stock image of people standing on a hospital-like floor

Could medicine be the next industry to come under scrutiny in the #MeToo era?

Women who are physicians are more likely to experience depression and burnout, and more likely to encounter harassment at work, says Timothy Hoff, a professor of management, healthcare systems and public policy at Northeastern.

by Molly Callahan August 30, 2019

India has a plan to deport millions of Muslim immigrants. Here’s why it’s failing.

Too many people in India lack the documentation to prove their citizenship, says Northeastern professor Liza Weinstein, which may force the government to scale back its expectations for its crackdown on illegal immigration.

by Ian Thomsen August 29, 2019

Northeastern professors Ron Sandler and John Basl provide organizations a framework for creating a well-designed and effective artificial intelligence and data ethics committee in a new report produced in collaboration with global professional services company Accenture.

Northeastern researchers team up with Accenture to offer a road map for artificial intelligence ethics oversight

In a newly published report, Northeastern professors John Basl and Ron Sandler offer a framework for governments, higher education, and industry to incorporate committees to oversee the ethics of the development of artificial intelligence technologies and responsible collection of data.

by Khalida Sarwari August 29, 2019