Founded in 1999, the Social Sciences Forum brings distinguished social scientists to campus each year to present cutting-edge research on topics of vital interest to the social science community at UMBC and beyond.
Lectures are free and open to the public, lasting approximately one hour. The venue is physically accessible; please contact socialscience@umbc.edu with any accommodation requests.
25 Years of the Social Sciences Forum
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Social Science Forum (SSF), we want to recognize the history of this distinguished lecture series, which began in Fall 1999. We also want to thank those who made this program possible over the years. Importantly, the Social Science Forum owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. David Mitch, Professor of Economics and Chair of the Economics Department, who originally convened several faculty from political science and the policy sciences. The committee included Professor Emeritus Roy Meyers (POLI) and Professor Emeritus Nick Miller (POLI) along with former Professor Hal Wolman (PUBL) and Professor David Mitch.
Professor Mitch acknowledged that the impetus for this convening was the result of UMBC’s Humanities Forum. While the first SSF lecture was “a dry run” according to Dr. Mitch, the lectures quickly became a fertile ground for intellectual exchange. The early focus was to (1) attract prominent scholars from off-campus who were temporarily passing through the area, (2) highlight UMBC faculty who wanted to share their research, and (3) connect with those from Washington area think tanks and governmental organizations in ways that would appeal to UMBC students (principally in public policy scholar’s program).
Some initial support for the SSF came from former Provost Art Johnson and Dean Scott Bass. David Mitch served as the initial coordinator when there was no real institutional support before being taken over by Dr. Roy Meyers with the support of the Sondheim Scholar’s program. Other early coordinators included Dr. Kriste Lindenmeyer (HIST) and Dr. Marv Mandell (PUBL).
The SSF lived up to its name as a Distinguished Lecture series. Speakers have included at least two Nobel Prize-winning economists (Thomas Schelling and David Card), Presidential Advisers (Gregory Mankiw), a former OMB Director (Alice Rivlin), think tank luminaries like Demetra Nightengale, US Trade Ambassadors (Demetrios Marantis) as well as prominent social scientists at UMBC including Dennis Coats (Economics) who presented on the dubious economic benefits of sports stadiums and Robert Provine (Psychology) who conducted pioneering work on laughter.
Fortunately, much of the history of these lectures has been recorded and CS3 has worked to make this content available for posterity, at socialscience.umbc.edu under the SSF archived events. We are grateful to Dr. David Mitch who worked, supported by the UMBC library system, to collect information before 2010. These are provided in the attachment to this brief history.
In many ways, the Social Sciences Forum was a direct precursor to the Center for Social Science Scholarship. Today, CS3 co-sponsors these talks in coordination and collaboration with our social science departments and with generous financial support from Dean Kimberly Moffitt and the recently appointed Provost Manfried H. M. Van Dulmen. Dr. Christine Mallinson, inaugural director of CS3 and current VP for research and scholarly impact, with assistance from CS3’s then-Associate Director Felipe Filemeno and Program Coordinator Amy Barnes, ensured the continuity of this lecture series during the turbulent COVID-19 years with a fully virtual lineup of speakers, all of which were recorded and are still available. The SSF lecture series continues to be a key part of our programming and our efforts to bring notable researchers to campus each year to present cutting-edge social science research to the UMBC community.
We thank you for taking part in the 25th anniversary of this lecture series. Your presence and intellectual engagement in this series are part of our history and we hope to see you at the remaining lectures for the Fall 2024-Spring 2025 series.
Fall 2024 Social Science Forum Lineup
Constitution Day (POLI)- September 17, 2024. AOK Library, noon-1 pm.
Guest: Jared DeMarinis, Administrator of the State Board of Elections for Maryland.
Talk: “Voting in Trying Times: A Constitution Day Conversation with Jared DeMarinis”
Mullen Lecture (Econ)- Monday, September 23, 2024. AOK Library, 4-5 pm.
Guest: Heidi Williams, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at Dartmouth
Talk: “Innovation and Productivity Policies: A Budgetary Perspective”
46th Annual W.E.B. DuBois Lecture (AFST) – November 11, 2024 – UC Ballroom, 6 pm
Guest: Nikki Taylor, Ph.D., Professor or History, Howard University
Talk: “Seizing Justice with their Own Hands: Enslaved Women and Lethal Resistance”
Have a speaker you’d like to suggest for a Social Sciences Forum lecture?
For suggestions or inquiries, email socialscience@umbc.edu.