Upcoming Events

In their new book, "Normalizing Inequality," sociologists G. Cristina Mora and Tianna S. Paschel illuminate how middle-class Californians perceive and come to accept the inequalities that surround them. At this Authors Meet Critics event, Professors Mora and Paschel will be joined in conversation by Desmond Jagmohan and Lisa García Bedolla, with Nicholas Vargas moderating.

In ancient Greece, demokratia meant “rule by the people”—but what people, and how did they rule? In this book, Daniela Cammack argues that demokratia meant rule by the crowd that assembled when a public meeting was held. This crowd was the demos, which the Greeks distinguished from orators, generals, councilors, public benefactors, and other civic leaders. Drawing on literary and epigraphical evidence as well as the key theoretical insights of Aristotle and Hobbes, Cammack explains how constantly changing masses of ordinary ancient Greek men ruled while their leaders were ruled over.

California is one of the wealthiest states in the country, yet it also faces persistent poverty, stark economic inequality, and some of the highest costs of living in the nation. This panel brings together leading scholars to examine the forces shaping wealth and poverty across the state. Featuring David Grusky, Marianne Page, and Samuel Trachtman.

This panel will bring together advanced graduate students from UC Berkeley whose research examines the forces shaping green energy transitions around the world. Drawing on emerging scholarship spanning energy systems, technological change, environmental policy, and social equity, the discussion will explore how societies can navigate the opportunities and tradeoffs of decarbonization, and what is at stake for communities, economies, and the future of the planet.

Federal immigration enforcement in the United States is increasingly shaped by the convergence of surveillance technologies, data systems, and on-the-ground policing practices. This panel will bring together a group of scholars from diverse disciplines to examine the social and political consequences — and the stakes for rights in an era of technological governance. 

This Authors Meet Critics panel will focus on the book "Until the Last Ton: Fossil Fuels in India from Empire to the Climate Crisis," by Matthew Shutzer, Assistant Professor of History at UC Berkeley — the first history of fossil fuels in colonial and post-colonial South Asia. Professor Shutzer will be joined in conversation by Youjin Chung and Daniel Aldana Cohen, with Michael Watts moderating.