Recent News
Dr. Nikhil Deb interviewed live on WION News
Feb 12, 2026
Dr. Martine Lappé interviewed by NPR on Tylenol/autism claims
Sep 29, 2025
Sociology faculty member Dr. Martine Lappé was interviewed this past week by NPR on the White House’s claims regarding the purported connection between mothers’ Tylenol consumption and autism. The story (linked below) describes the history and social context of those claims, and their impact on pregnant people, mothers, and the autism community.
NPR 9/26/25: “‘Long history of blaming mothers’: Trump’s Tylenol warning echoes past misconceptions”
Archaeology Club Last Field Trip of the Year: The Salinan Echo Rock
May 20, 2025
On May 10, 2025, the Archaeology Club took their third and final field trip of the year to Fort Hunter Liggett and the Los Padres National Forest to see Echo Rock and the San Antonio Mission!! After driving through the scenic landscape, the club stopped at the trailhead for the Echo Rock, an Indigenous place known to the Salinan as the Khoye. The Echo Rock is not known to most people, but luckily Dr. Terry Jones, the club advisor, had a copy of the field notes written by J.P Harrington in the 1930s that described the site and its location. Although Harrington’s writing was hard to decipher, Jones re-located Khoye about 30 years ago, and was able to lead the club back to it where the club tested it out. Hearing the echo reverberate back from the club’s shouting was well worth the hike!! After hiking back to the trailhead, the club took a short lunch break while hearing about the history of the San Antonio mission before driving back to see it. Once there, the club took a walk outside to see the old agricultural sites, as well as the cemetery, both of which still have well preserved adobe walls. Inside of the mission was a recently updated museum that contained lots of information and artifacts pertaining to both the Salinan and the missionaries. Overall, it was a very fun and educational day for the Cal Poly Archaeology Club!! If you are interested in joining in on our next club meeting or field trip, please reach out to our club president, Sophie Fioravanti, at sfiorava@calpoly.edu!!!
Opening of Display by Anthropology-Geography Students May 30, 2025, San Luis Obispo History Center 6:30 pm
May 19, 2025
Cal Poly team unearths artifacts from family forced into Japanese internment camp
Read more: The Tribune
Archaeology Club Guest Lecture April 17: Dr. Kristina M. Gill
Apr 14, 2025
Archaeology Students Present at Society for California Archaeology Annual Meeting in San Francisco
Apr 14, 2025
Archaeology students Emma Bowman, Jesse Horseley, Lacey May, and Annie Pagel presented a poster at the 2025 Society for California Archaeology Annual Meeting in San Francisco in March. Titled " Investigating the Pre-WWII Yoshida Farmstead Site on the Pecho Coast, San Luis Obispo County, CA," the poster presented preliminary findings from the archaeological investigation of a pre-Incarceration Japanese-American farmstead site located on PGE's Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant property. Materials recovered from the dig which took place last spring with participation of 25 descendants of the original farm family, included beautiful Japanese ceramics, glass bottles, shells and bones from meals, and other items of everyday life, including game pieces, parts of a comb, and a harmonica. These and other artifacts will be put on display at the San Luis Obispo History Center May 30, 2025.
Dr. Nikhil Deb Published an Edited Book - Social Justice in the Global South
Apr 10, 2025
Archaeology Club Winter Quarter Field Trip
Mar 25, 2025
On Friday, March 7th, the Cal Poly Archaeology took their winter quarter field trip to Hearst Castle! Upon arrival, the club was greeted by the museum director, Cara O’Brien, and a museum curator, Jenny Daly. From there, we were able to drive up to the castle while enjoying the beautiful views of San Simeon and the animals that roamed the hillside. It was a gorgeous and sunny day so the scenery was spectacular! Once everyone made it to the top, the club was taken on a behind the scenes tour of the castle. Members were still able to see all of the grand rooms that are included on a typical tour, such as the famous infinity pool and the movie theatre, but were also able to see some of the back rooms, including a hidden terrace that dated to one of the earlier versions of the castle. One of the club favorites was the Roman Pool - with gold laced tiles and changing rooms for all the Hollywood stars that came to visit. Afterwards, members were taken into the museum archives where all of the artifacts are kept, and we were shown original sketches by Julia Morgan, the famous architect that designed the castle, as well as one of the original guest books and even a suitcase for William Hearst’s dog. Overall, the Archaeology Club enjoyed a great day of learning history, museum collections management, and seeing Hearst Castle in all its glory!
February 20th - Archaeology Club Guest Speaker Ryan Phillip
Feb 7, 2025
Social Sciences Career Expo 2025
Jan 10, 2025
2025 SOCS Career Expo will be held on Tuesday 1/14 from 10am to 1pm at the Performing Arts Center Lobby. The Expo offers an exciting opportunity to explore career paths for a variety of social scientists and connect with industry professionals from organizations like Albion Environmental and Upward Bound. We hope you come check out all the wonderful opportunities and also take advantage of a free professional headshot!
