Prairie State College Social Sciences Department

06/17/2026

Still more to learn, 251 years to the day after the Battle of Bunker Hill 🇺🇸

Archaeologists searching beneath Charlestown’s Breed’s Hill for new...

06/16/2026

In case you missed it, watch what Japan's fans (and players) do at the World Cup ⚽️ Something interesting to talk about in your next Sociology class?...

Japanese soccer fans have a reputation of cleaning up after themselves at major global sporting events, including at the FIFA World Cup this summer. CNN’s Hanako Montgomery explains the reasons behind this tradition.

06/09/2026

Images from Sacramento’s historic Oak Park neighborhood, long the central hub of Sacramento’s Black community, culture, and civil rights activism.

Pictured are one of the area’s Black-owned businesses - Underground Books, the historic Guild Theater (ca. 1915), and the 40 Acres Complex, and historic signage marking the neighborhood’s main thoroughfares. - Dr. Pariseau (History)

Alt text: Images of neighborhood streetscape, including brick building with window that features the phrase “BLACK history is AMERICAN history.”

06/01/2026

Happy Pride Month from a part of the country that still has Rainbow crosswalks 🌈

Alt text: Multi-colored rainbow crosswalk, Sausalito, CA waterfront.

05/26/2026

The remains of 44 individuals… 42 Continental Army soldiers, most young men in their late teens and early twenties - and a woman and child, possibly camp followers… were recently reinterred in New York.

Veterans of the Revolutionary War’s Quebec Campaign, and victims of smallpox, they were laid to rest with military honors.

Source:

After 250 years, 44 Continental Army soldiers are being buried with honors in Lake George, N.Y., after their remains were found in a construction site.

05/24/2026

Wishing all a meaningful Memorial Day 🇺🇸

Alt text: Left, image of saluting veteran; Right, image of the the Battlefield Cross (or Fallen Soldier's Cross), a solemn military memorial that includes a fallen service member’s helmet, gun, dog tags, and boots.

05/23/2026

If the conversation at your Memorial Day BBQ goes sideways… politics… which Chicago baseball team is better… family drama… just pivot to History. You’re welcome.

Did you know the roots of Memorial Day are found in African American history? Specifically the African American community of Charleston, SC that honored fallen Union soldiers in 1865. 🇺🇸

Historians like the Pulitzer Prize winner David Blight have tried to raise awareness of freed slaves who decorated soldiers' graves in 1865

05/23/2026

But why are lobster rolls still so delicious? 🤷‍♂️🦞🤣🤣🤣

If you’ve seen those eye-wateringly high diesel fuel prices at the pump, $6-7 of late, that’s a big factor in driving the “Market Price” of a popular summer treat to $40 or even $50 😮

Lobster rolls are a staple of summer in New England, but some people can’t believe how expensive they’ve gotten. CNN’s Randi Kaye finds out what’s driving prices up.

05/20/2026

Celebrating all the joy of Prairie State’s 67th Commencement today 🎓💜💚

Alt Text: Dr. Hebert-Johnson, Dean Arts & Sciences, and Prof. Schott (Political Science) helping confer degrees; Prof. Pariseau (History) lead marshal for Associate of Arts degree recipients; some of the many creatively decorated graduation caps seen at the ceremony.

05/20/2026

From all of us in the Social Sciences…Congratulations to all of our graduates! We’re so proud of you, and incredibly honored to have been part of your academic journey at Prairie State College! 🎓💜💚

Alt text: Social Sciences Faculty wearing academic regalia.