Winter 2026 Special Topic: Power, Privilege and Statistics

The Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS) is excited to offer a special topics course Power, Privilege, and Statistics by CSSS core faculty and assistant professor of Sociology Dr. Sasha Johfre. This PhD-level course, offered in Winter Quarter 2026, invites students to critically examine the foundations of statistical methods through the lens of power dynamics, social theory, and epistemology. 

In this course, Prof. Johfre explores how statistical practices are embedded within broader social and scientific contexts and challenges the notion of quantitative methods as purely objective tools. Students will engage with the history of social statistics, the construction of knowledge, and the implications of methodological choices in shaping our understanding of the world. The Power, Privilege, and Statistics course aims to equip students with conceptual tools to conduct research that is ethical, conscientious, and socially aware. The course is designed to be complementary to other CSSS courses in statistical methodology and welcomes PhD students interested in the intersection of data society and justice.