Students and faculty interested in studying race and ethnicity
in politics will now have more opportunities to do research and
fieldwork in that area.
The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics under
the Institute for Social Science Research, which is aimed at
providing these possibilities, is set to officially open today.
It focuses on the interplay of different races and ethnicities
in politics, as well as their impact on global societies, providing
scholars the resources to study racial and ethnic issues beyond the
U.S.
The center, located in the Public Policy Building, was created
to provide faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students
with support for their research, positions as research assistants
and access to a series of speakers and visiting scholars.
The center plans to generate and administer an L.A. County
social survey that studies racial attitudes. It may also offer
workshops and conferences, as well as the opportunity for
international fieldwork.
“I think (the center) will be a focal point for students
and faculty in the area of race and politics. (It’s) a place
to meet, to exchange ideas, and to participate in collaborative
research,” said David Sears, a psychology, sociology and
political science professor affiliated with the center.
Mark Sawyer, the director of the center, said the idea began in
2004 with a group of political science faculty members, which he
led.
The planning intensified in 2005, and the center will mark its
opening today with a lecture by Professor Michael Hanchard of
Northwestern University on developing a framework for studying race
in the U.S. and the world.
Victor Wolfenstein, a political science professor affiliated
with the center, said the diverse faculty, as well as graduate and
undergraduate students from different departments are rich
resources for the study of race.
Wolfenstein also said that Los Angeles is diverse and
complicated, making it an ideal laboratory in studying race, a
nationally and internationally vibrant topic that has moved beyond
the black-and-white paradigm in the United States to be more
international and multicultural.
Scott Waugh, of the social sciences division, who facilitated
the creation of the center, said race is a “critical concern
for political scientists and the general public. (The center
contributes to the) visibility of UCLA in addressing these topical
issues.”