Four people hold large, colourful speech bubbles over their heads while standing outside, in front of large trees
Social Science Quotes

Social Science Quote of the Month

Take a look at our all-new-and improved social science quotes! These graphics are designed to promote social science knowledge and its positive impact on the public good.

From 2011 to 2017, we regularly published social science quotes. Often, these were from classic social science texts; other times, from poignant contemporary articles and research papers, or from organisations and famous figures reflecting on the transformative impact of social science. Quotes include Marshall McLuhan, Margaret Mead, Bertrand Russell, Ruth Benedict, Michel Foucault, Martin Luther King Jr, Hina Jilani, and Saskia Sassen.

These posts are mostly intended to be bite-sized intellectual snacks, with an accompanying graphic. We also did deep dives into frequently misquoted sayings, as well as detailed examinations of the influence and original context of longer passages. In some cases, such as with Friedrich Nietzsche, we clarify the correct quote; in other cases, we explore the evolution of sayings, such as with popular quotes from Cornel West and Che Guevara.

I’ve recently re-designed and updated these past quotes with new graphics. I’ve been sharing animations of these quotes on our Instagram (@SocialScienceIn). These might be useful to educators looking for resources to engage their students.

From next month, we resume with new monthly quotes. Our regular research posts will continue on the second Tuesday of every month. These will continue to examine social science theories, insights from studies, and practical applications to policy, business, and not-for-profit sectors. Quotes will be published on the fourth Tuesday of every month. These will mostly be brief posts, with the occasional in-depth look at the cited works.

For now, please look through our archive, with a sample of the now-refreshed past quotes showcased below.

  • Illustration of Edward Sapir. He is a white man, with a receeding hairline and glasses. He stands outdoors in front of trees, wearing a white shirt and tie, with his arms out and his hands on his hips. Quote: "language is a guide to 'social reality.'"
  • Philomena Essed is a Dutch woman of Surinamese descent. She is a Black woman with short, curly white hair. She wears glasses and looks out a window. Quote is about race as an ideological construction
  • Peter Berger is a white Austrian-American man. He is bald and has his hands interlocked at his waist. He wears a blue suit and a colourful red tie as he sits on a chair. Quote is about the excitement of sociology
  • Pat Dudgeon is a Bardi woman with dark skin and white hair swept back. She wears glasses and drop earrings, as well as a colourful yellow patterned top. She is smiling as she stands before trees. Quote is about Indigenous understandings of mental health
  • Foucault is a white French man who is bald. He leans to the side holding his hand to behind his ear and he is smiling widely. He wears a suit and glasses. Quote at the top is, “The intellectual was rejected..."
  • Illustration of Margaret Mead. She is a white American woman with grey hair. She is smiling, and wears glasses. She stands before a wood panel. Quote at the top is about compliants of society moving too fast
  • Illustration fo Yuri Kochiyama. She is a Japanese woman standing in the street. She wears 60s glasses and a hankerchief over her ahri and folds her hands over her wait.
  • Illustration of Stella Young. She is a disabled white woman with bright red hair, and matching lipstick and polka dot shoes. Quote" I suppose it doesn't matter what inspiration porn says to us as people with disabilties
  • Illustration of Ruth Benedict. She is a white older woman with grey hair swepped back. She is in a library. Quote: It is not possibel to depend entirely upon what each nation says
  • Illustration of Sidney Mintz. He is an elderly white man who leans forward as he stands behind a couch, with his chin resting on his palms, as he smiles broadly. A large bookcase is behind him. Quote: What constitutes 'good food'...
  • Illustration of Rosa Clemente. She is an Afro Puerto Rican woman. She has spiky curly, grey hair. She wears gold hoop earrings. Quote: Acticvism can happen with 5,000 people or it can happen when you're walking home...
  • Illustration of Paul Valery, standing in profile. He is an elderly white man with wavy white hair and a bushy moustache. Quote: The purpose of psychology
  • Illustration of James Coleman. He is a white, bald man with white hair. He stands in front of a blackboard with maths equations. Quote: "schools bring little influecen to bear on a child's achivement that is independent of his background and general social context"
  • Illustration of Martin Luther King Jr. He is a Black American man with short black hair and a moustache. He stands before a window. Quote: "Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up..."
  • Illustration of Helen Keller. Sheiis a white woman with short curly hair, in side profile. Quote: "The majority of mankind are working people"
  • Drawing of Friedrich Nietzsche, a white man with a bushy moustache, a receeding hairline, and auburn hair. Quote: "no, it is precisely facts that do not exist, only interpretations"
  • Illustration of Gabor Mate. He is a white, Jewish man with white skin. He is pictured ina green jumper with blue hair and bushy eye brows. Quote: "We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds..."
  • Pencil drawing of Che Guevara, wearing his iconic beret with the star in the centre. He has light brown skin, a thin moustache and shoulder-length hair, and stands in front of a red background. Quote: "...If you are capable of trembling with indignation..."
  • Illustration of Cornel West. He is a Black American man wearing a suit. He has dark skin and a tall afro, and holds his fingers interlaced at his chest. Quote: "Quality leadership is netiher the product of one great individual nor the result of odd historicla accidents..."
  • Drawing of Betrand Russell, an older white man with striking blue eyes. He is wearing a suit and holds a pipe. Quote: "What will eb the good of the conquest of leisure and health, if no one remembers how to use them..."
  • Pencil drawing of bell hooks. She is a Black American woman with short hair. She wears a red jacket and holds her hand to the side of her face. She stands in front of a colourful background of geometric shapes. Quote: "Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploirtaion, and oppression..."
  • Illustration of Aileen Moreton-Robinson, a Goenpul woman, with dark skin and short brown hair. She wears glasses and a jacket, as she sits ona green couch, smiling. Quote says: So even as I work to undo injustices, I always do so as part of a system...'

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