Berkeley’s Sociology Department is known around the world for its excellence in research and teaching. For the past six decades, we have consistently been ranked among the world’s top sociology departments, and in 2017 we were #1 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.
We are proud to contribute to the world’s leading public university, to international sociology, and to the life of the mind beyond the academy. Our faculty teach and do research in most sociological specialties.
Our PhDs are leaders in universities and research centers across the US and in many other countries. And our BAs populate the ranks of innumerable professions, bringing with them the skills and special perspective of Berkeley sociology.
Prof. Einstein served graduate students as a model of prudence in remaining unfashionably true to the grand…
The New Entrepreneurs of Europe and Asia: Patterns of Business Development in Russia, Eastern Europe, and China
While attention has been focused on high-level struggles over control of giant enterprises in China and the former Soviet bloc, a remarkable but underreported revolution has been occurring at the ground level. This volume examines the profiles of entrepreneurs and the patterns of business development in the transitioning countries. Bringing together the perspectives of all the social science disciplines, from economics and political science to sociology and anthropology, the contributors identify the criteria for survival and success of independent bu...
Departmental Colloquium Series
Natasha Quadlin. Whom Do You Believe? Assessing Credibility of the Accuser and Accused in Sexual Assault
Monday, December 2, 2-3:30pm
402 Barrows Hall
Sexual assault is one of the most prominent issues of our time. Although social scientists have investigated some aspects of sexual assault—e.g., the problem of sexual assault on college campuses—little research has assessed public attitudes toward sexual assault, including whether the public tends to side with the accuser (usually, although not always, a woman) or the accused (usually, although not always, a man). In this talk, I present results from an original nationally representative survey experiment (N = 2,005) designed to examine public attitudes toward the accuser and accused in cases of sexual assault. We consider which party is considered more credible, as well as the specific circumstances surrounding the case that shape perceptions of credibility. Results will be discussed, along with a consideration of theoretical implications for the study of gender attitudes in social science research.