Matrix On Point

Matrix On Point is a discussion series promoting focused, cross-disciplinary conversations on today’s most pressing issues. Offering opportunities for scholarly exchange and interaction, each Matrix On Point features the perspectives of leading scholars and specialists from different disciplines, followed by an open conversation. These thought-provoking events are free and open to the public.

Matrix On Point

Recap

Published December 5, 2020

The New Authoritarians

Recorded on November 30, 2020, this Matrix On Point panel considered not only the illiberal tactics these right-wing autocrats have used to consolidate power and further their objectives, but also what it will take to undo the damage they have inflicted upon democratic institutions.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published October 13, 2020

Matrix on Point: The Struggle for Hong Kong

On October 1, 2021, Social Science Matrix hosted a "Matrix on Point," co-sponsored by the Center for Chinese Studies, that considered both the history and future of Hong Kong’s democracy movement. Panelists included Ching Kwan Lee, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles; Alex Chow, a doctoral student in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography; and Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor's Professor of History at UC Irvine. Thomas Gold, Professor in the Graduate School at UC Berkeley, moderated the panel.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published September 28, 2020

Homelessness and the Bay Area Housing Crisis

On September 21, 2020, a panel of researchers, advocates, and medical practitioners joined a "Matrix on Point" discussion focused on homelessness and the San Francisco Bay Area’s housing crisis.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published March 10, 2020

Election Manipulation

Recorded on March 3, 2020, this Matrix On Point panel consider a wide range of issues related to the security and fairness of our elections.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published November 27, 2019

On IPCC, Climate Crisis

A "Matrix On Point" panel examined the climate crisis from diverse disciplinary perspectives.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published November 10, 2019

The Trump Impeachment

Recorded on November 5, 2019, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor Robert B. Reich discuss "The Trump Impeachment."

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published October 29, 2019

Matrix on Point: Brexit

The end of October 2019 marks the deadline for Brexit ("British Exit"), when the United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union. Following a revolt from within his own party, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has failed in his efforts to move ahead without a "backstop" and called a General Election for December 12. What's next for Brexit? And how might Brexit transform political and economic life in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the world? On October 24, three distinguished scholars—Mark Bevir, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for British Studies, Akasemi Newsome, Associate Director of the Institute of European Studies, and Ian Duncan, Florence Green Bixby Chair in the English Department—took on this important topic as part of "Matrix On Point," a new brown-bag series that promotes focused, cross-disciplinary conversations on today’s most pressing contemporary issues.

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