Social science

The Olympics and sport in general give countries a way to engage with the world, says Grant Jarvie, a sports studies expert

Celia Deane-Drummond on where science meets religion

Joseph S. Nye is part of a long line of US academics who have helped shape foreign policy. A former Clinton adviser, now in the Obama camp, he tells Huw Richards how America can restore its tattered reputation in the world

Ninety years after the suffragettes' first victory, June Purvis reflects on wars still being fought on behalf of women's rights

Nostalgia was once taboo in academe but a new generation is unafraid to explore longing and loss, says Alastair Bonnett

Gary Day chews over our fascination with foul-mouthed chefs and scary diet pedants and wonders if their ubiquitous TV presence is a symbol of social harmony or disharmony

It is time for the West to listen and learn from Muslim moderates and radicals alike, insists Cynthia Keppley Mahmood

Study reopens debate on differences in how men and women think, reports Olga Wojtas

University initiative aims to encourage group working, reports Melanie Newman

Widening-participation pieties that ignore class are as much a fantasy as J. K. Rowling's magical-mirror Oxbridge, says Mary Evans

Howard Davies on a call for the citizenry to increase their level of involvement in democracy

But Huw Dixon refuses to economise on brain effort and remains sceptical of the mysteries of price tags

Projects with tangible social benefit have a better shot at FP7 cash, an expert tells Melanie Newman

The work of advising select committees is demanding and rigorous, and it deserves reward in the REF, argues Steven Barnett

Keith Kahn-Harris on how hip-hop and nu-metal rage against and within US 'supercapitalism'

Steve Tsang praises essential reading on China's troubled history with the Olympic Games