UC Berkeley’s flagship institute for social science research

Our purpose is captured in our name: we provide an organizational framework—a “matrix”—that supports cross-disciplinary research pursued by social scientists across the University of California, Berkeley campus and beyond.

Podcast

Interview

Published May 31, 2024

The Emotions of Dyadic Relationships: An Interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas, who at the time of the interview were Ph.D. candidates in the UC Berkeley Department of Psychology. The interview was conducted by Julia Sizek, Matrix Postdoctoral Fellow.

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Authors Meet Critics

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Event Date: September 16th, 2024
12:00pm-1:30pm

Authors Meet Critics: “Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex,” Juana María Rodríguez

Join us on Sept. 16 for an Authors Meet Critics panel on the book "Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex," by Juana María Rodríguez, Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley. Professor Rodriguez will be joined in conversation by Clarissa Rojas, Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis, and Milena Britto, Associate Professor of Literature at the Federal University of Bahia and currently a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley. The discussion will be moderated by Alberto Ledesma, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in the Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley.

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Social Science / Data Science

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Event Date: September 17th, 2024
2:00pm-3:30pm PT

Exploring the Roles of Segregation by Location and Lender on Racial Inequality Mortgage Access

Register to join us on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 for a lecture by Jacob Faber, Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Service in New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, with a joint appointment in NYU's Sociology Department. Professor Faber's talk will focus on the role of inequality across lending institutions in racial discrimination in mortgage lending.

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Matrix On Point

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Event Date: September 30th, 2024
12:00pm-1:30pm

Matrix on Point: War is Back

In this Matrix on Point panel, UC Berkeley experts will discuss the recent surge in warfare in Ukraine, Gaza, and other regions. The panel will feature Michaela Mattes, Associate Professor of Political Science; Andrew W. Reddie, Associate Research Professor at UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy; and Daniel Sargent, Associate Professor of History and Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Moderated by Vinod Aggarwal.

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Matrix On Point

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Event Date: October 21st, 2024
12:00pm-1:30pm

Matrix on Point: Voices from the Heartland

As the nation braces for a decisive election, this conversation — featuring scholars Arlie Hochschild, Jenny Reardon, and Lisa Pruitt — seeks to illuminate the frequently overlooked yet politically potent voices emanating from America's rural heartlands and small towns. Moderated by Cihan Tuğal.

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Matrix On Point

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Event Date: October 25th, 2024
12:00pm-1:30pm

Matrix on Point: Shifting Alignments in the 2024 Election

This Matrix on Point panel will examine the shifting demographic and political forces that are redefining the traditional bases of the Democratic and Republican parties and their efforts to build new electoral coalitions. The panel will include scholars Ian Haney López, David Hollinger, and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo, and will be moderated by G. Cristina Mora.

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Authors Meet Critics

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Event Date: December 3rd, 2024
12:00pm-1:30pm PT

Authors Meet Critics: “Sin Padres, Ni Papeles,” by Stephanie Canizales

Register to join us on December 3 for an Authors Meet Critics panel on "Sin Padres, Ni Papeles: Unaccompanied Migrant Youth Coming of Age in the United States," by Stephanie Canizales, Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and Faculty Director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative. Professor Canizales will be joined in conversation by Kristina Lovato, Assistant Professor of Social Welfare, and Caitlin Patler, Associate Professor of Public Policy. Sarah Song, Professor at Berkeley Law, will moderate.

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Article

Interview

Published July 22, 2024

K-Beauty in War: A Visual Interview with Claire Chun

Read our interview with Claire Chun, a Ph.D. candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, whose research explores how modern conceptualizations of “Korean” and “Asian” beauty, wellness, and aesthetics are shaped by overlapping forces of U.S. militarism, tourism, and humanitarianism.

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Alumni

Interview

Published June 25, 2024

Anti-Mining Politics in Colombia: A Visual Interview with Ángela Castillo

What can the battle around a new mine in Colombia tell us about the past and future of environmentalist organizing in Latin America? Matrix Postdoc Julia Sizek interviewed Ángela Castillo, who is a recent PhD graduate from UC Berkeley’s Anthropology Department and is now Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Pitzer College.

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Matrix News

Faculty Fellows

Published June 14, 2024

Matrix Faculty Fellows Selected for 2024-2025

Four UC Berkeley professors have been selected to be Matrix Faculty Fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year. Launched in 2022, the Matrix Faculty Fellows program supports assistant- and associate-level faculty members at UC Berkeley for work on research that has a significant impact in multiple disciplines in the social sciences.

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Podcast

Interview

Published May 31, 2024

The Emotions of Dyadic Relationships: An Interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Jenna Wells and Felicia Zerwas, who at the time of the interview were Ph.D. candidates in the UC Berkeley Department of Psychology. The interview was conducted by Julia Sizek, Matrix Postdoctoral Fellow.

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Podcast

Interview

Published May 1, 2024

Sugar and the Transformation of the American West: An Interview with Bernadette Pérez

For this episode of the Matrix Podcast, J.T. Jamieson, a 2022-2023 Matrix Communications Scholar, interviewed Bernadette Pérez, Assistant Professor of History at UC Berkeley. Pérez is a historian of the United States and specializes in the histories of Latinx and Indigenous peoples in the West. Her current research focuses on migrant sugar beet workers in Colorado, and explores intersections between race, environment, labor, migration, and colonialism in the post Civil War.

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Article

Recap

Published May 1, 2024

Faculty, Staff Celebrate Social Sciences Fest 2024

On April 18, faculty and staff from the Division of Social Sciences — along with their families — convened at the Faculty Club for Social Sciences Fest, the annual celebration of the social sciences at UC Berkeley. The event included Dean Raka Ray providing an overview of recent highlights and presenting the Distinguished Teaching and Service Awards.

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