UCLA Social Sciences
Right to left: Marjorie Harness Goodwin (anthropology) and Jeffrey Lewis (political science).
Distinguished research professor of anthropology Marjorie Harness Goodwin and Professor of Political Science Jeffrey Lewis have been selected to the American Academy of Arts, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies. They are among four UCLA faculty and nearly 250 artists, scholars, scientists and leaders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors chosen for membership this year.
The academy serves as an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges, with the aim of producing independent and pragmatic studies that inform national and global policy and benefit the public.
They will be inducted in October at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Marjorie Harness Goodwin
Distinguished research professor of anthropology
Goodwin, a linguistic anthropologist, focuses on how language, touch and other embodied practices shape human interactions. Her work has examined how members of children’s peer groups, families and workplace groups use everyday language and communication to construct social order, express intimacy and navigate ideas about moral behavior. Through her research and influential books, including “The Hidden Life of Girls,” “He-Said-She-Said” and “Embodied Family Choreography,” Goodwin has helped advance our understanding of human social dynamics and the ways people use their language, their bodies and their emotions to manage relationships and create meaning.
Jeffrey Lewis
Professor of political science
Lewis, a political scientist, investigates foundational questions of democratic representation and develops innovative methods for analyzing political behavior. His research explores how preferences can be deduced from behavior. He is also a leading figure in political methodology, contributing tools that have reshaped how scholars study legislatures and electoral politics. As the curator of Voteview.com — a platform that provides free data and tools for analyzing roll call voting in the U.S. Congress — he helps advance public and scholarly understanding of ideological polarization and legislative behavior. Lewis has served as president of the Society for Political Methodology and as an editor of the American Political Science Review, helping to shape the direction of research in the discipline. Through his empirical rigor and public scholarship, Lewis has played a pivotal role in elevating both the accessibility and sophistication of political science research.
Read American Academy of Arts & Sciences announcement here.
Learn more via UCLA Newsroom coverage here.