The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an
interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
research institution at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
designed to advance the frontiers of knowledge about human behavior and society, and contribute to the resolution of some of the world’s greatest challenges. It incubates initiatives designed to address major questions about human behavior and society, sponsors projects focused on challenges facing societies and the world, and offers a residential postdoctoral fellowship program for selected scientists and scholars studying social, behavioral, and policy issues. Fellows are drawn from a variety of fields, including "the five core social and behavioral disciplines of
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
,
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
, and
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
". In recent decades, the Center has also hosted legal scholars, humanists, public policy practitioners, philosophers, and technical experts among others. CASBS fellows over the years include 30 Nobel laureates, 52 MacArthur fellows, and one U.S. Supreme Court justice.
It is one of the (currently ten) members of
Some Institutes for Advanced Study (SIAS). Its campus is with ample space for hosting groups of researchers. It has 54 studies, meeting rooms, a conference hall, a kitchen, and dining room with a private chef.
started as director of the center in September 2023.
History
The center was founded in 1954 by the
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
. The American educator
Ralph W. Tyler served as the center's first director from 1954 to 1966. Political scientist
Margaret Levi was the director of the center from 2014 until 2022.
The CASBS buildings were designed by
William Wurster, a local architect.
Earlier, fellow selection was a closed process; new fellows were nominated by former fellows. However, since 2007, the center opened up the fellow selection process to applications. In 2008, it became an integral part of
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
and functions as one of the university's independent research institutes.
Fellows
Each class of fellows numbers about 40 people. In the first 40 years of its existence it supported about 2,000 scientists and scholars.
Notable fellows
The institute has been home to notable scholars, including:
*
Paul S. Appelbaum
*
Alexander Astin
*
Leora Auslander
*
Ludwig von Bertalanffy
*
Anthony Bebbington
*
Jamshed Bharucha
*
Derek Bok
*
Kenneth Boulding
*
Justine Cassell
*
Ruth Chang
*
Dorothy Cheney
*
David Clark
*
Leda Cosmides
*
Kimberlé Crenshaw
*
Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt
*
Yehuda Elkana
*
Robert H. Frank
*
James M. Freeman
*
Harold Garfinkel
*
Henry Louis Gates
*
Ralph W. Gerard
*
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
*
*
Mark Granovetter
*
Adriaan de Groot
*
Lani Guinier
*
Leopold H. Haimson
*
Eszter Hargittai
*
John Haugeland
*
Kieran Healy
*
Miles Hewstone
*
Douglas Hofstadter
*
Philip N. Howard
*
Katherine Isbister
*
Murray Jarvik
*
Lee Jussim
*
Daniel Kahneman
*
Robert Kates
*
Elihu Katz
*
Thomas Kuhn
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Terra Lawson-Remer
*
Catharine MacKinnon
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Michael Macy
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George Mandler
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Paul Milgrom
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Elijah Millgram
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Ernest Nagel
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Rodney Needham
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Don Norman
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Robert Nozick
*
Margaret O'Mara
*
Karl H. Pribram
*
Anatol Rapoport
Anatol Borisovich Rapoport (; ; May 22, 1911January 20, 2007) was an American mathematical psychologist. He contributed to general systems theory, to mathematical biology and to the mathematical modeling of social interaction and stochastic ...
*
John Rawls
*
Julie Reuben
*
Edward Said
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Richard Sennett
*
Andrea diSessa
*
Kevin Hora
*
Bradd Shore
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Sidney Siegel
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Neil Smelser
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Vernon L. Smith
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Richard C. Snyder
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Thomas Sowell
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Herman D. Stein
*
Li Chenyang
*
Deborah Tannen
*
Charles Tilly
Charles Tilly (May 27, 1929 – April 29, 2008) was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was a professor of history, sociology, and social science at the Uni ...
*
John Tooby
*
Edward Tufte
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Billie Lee Turner II
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France Winddance Twine
*
Vanessa C. Tyson
*
Philip E. Vernon
*
Gordon S. Wood
*
Irvin Yalom
*
Benjamin Mako Hill
*
Marlis Buchmann
References
External links
Center for Advanced Study website
List of CASBS Fellows
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Research institutes established in 1954
Research institutes in the San Francisco Bay Area
Non-profit organizations based in California
Social science research institutes
Stanford University
Institute for Advanced Study