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 March 1, 2024

Surveillance and Privacy in a Biometric World

Watch the video (or read the transcript) of our Matrix on Point panel on how biometric identification might change our understanding of the relationship between people, private industry, and their government. Featuring John Chuang, School of Information; Lawrence Cohen, Anthropology and South and Southeast Asian Studies, and Jennifer Urban, Berkeley Law. Moderated by Berkeley Law's Rebecca Wexler.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published December 15, 2023

Matrix on Point: New Directions in Gender and Sexuality

While the last 20 years have marked a significant change in increased acceptance of varied gender expressions and sexual orientations, these changes haven’t made the importance of gender and sexuality as concepts disappear. If anything, they’ve become more relevant for understanding the world today. Recorded on November 30, 2023, this panel brought together a group of UC Berkeley graduate students from the fields of sociology, ethnic studies, and political science for a discussion of gender and sexuality through the lens of such topics as medicine, transnational migration, and marriage.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published October 21, 2023

Matrix on Point: The Future of College

 The pandemic has rocked higher education. From Zoom classrooms to students leaving higher education, colleges have needed to change modalities to adapt to public health risks and the emergence of new technologies. Enrollment patterns are also shifting in a changing economy: while selective flagship public institutions and not-for-profit private institutions are receiving more applications, […]

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published April 30, 2023

Matrix on Point: Border Crossing

For this Matrix on Point panel, we asked UC Berkeley PhD candidates — Pauline White Meeusen, Gisselle Perez-Leon, and Adriana P. Ramirez — to share their ongoing research on borders and migration. Moderated by Irene Bloemraad, Director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative (BIMI), which co-sponsored the event.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published April 17, 2023

Matrix on Point: Wealth and Taxes

Recorded on April 3, 2023, this panel featured Duncan Wigan from Copenhagen Business School and UC Berkeley's Gabriel Zucman discussing aspects of the global ecosystem of tax avoidance, including how corporations and individuals move across multiple legal jurisdictions to maintain wealth and avoid paying taxes. Moderated by Marion Fourcade, Director of Social Science Matrix.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published April 15, 2023

Matrix on Point: Myths and Misinformation

In this panel, recorded on March 15, 2023, a group of scholars who study false histories and conspiracy theories discussed how misinformation circulates, and the effects of such myths and stories on society.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published November 10, 2022

Matrix on Point: The Court and the People

On October 20, Social Science Matrix hosted a "Matrix on Point" panel featuring UC Berkeley experts discussing what the conservative turn in the Supreme Court means for the relationship between the Court and the people. Panelists included Erwin Chemerinsky, Thomas Biolsi, and Khiara M. Bridges, with Ronit Stahl, moderating.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published October 12, 2022

Humanitarian Technologies

Recorded on September 26, 2022, this "Matrix on Point" panel featured a group of scholars — including Daragh Murrah, Fleur Johns, and Wendy H. Wong — examining how technology raises new questions about the efficacy of humanitarian interventions, the human rights of recipients, and the broader power relations between donors and recipients. Moderated by Berkeley Law's Laurel E. Fletcher.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published May 18, 2022

One Million COVID Deaths

Recorded on May 10, 2022, this panel examined the physical, material and psychological toll of the past two years of rampant disease, on-and-off social distancing, and shifting economic ground. The panelists discussed the unequal distribution of the pandemic’s burden across the population and the long-term scarring that may ensue, and contemplated the (possibly more uplifting) lessons to be drawn for the future.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published May 9, 2022

Organize! Power and Collective Action

What can we learn from historical and contemporary cases about building organizations that engage, mobilize, and manage to wield influence on the political process? What kinds of infrastructural choices best support engagement and success in the long run? Recorded on May 5, 2022, this panel explored the varied and changing terrain of collective action to reflect on the nature, promises, and pitfalls of associational power in the 21st century.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published April 15, 2022

The Future of Money: Mobile Money, Social Media, and Cashless Economies

Focusing on forms of cashless payment, such as mobile money and apps, this "Matrix on Point" panel explored questions about how the social connections made through money are changing, and what the implications might be for our understanding of money, trust, and social connection. The panel featured Kevin Donovan, Lecturer in the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh; Lana Swartz, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia; and Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The panel was moderated by Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and Director of Social Science Matrix.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published March 16, 2022

Matrix on Point: The War in Ukraine and Its Consequences

In this Matrix on Point event, recorded on March 15, 2022, a panel of UC Berkeley scholars discussed the Ukraine-Russia War conflict and its implications. Panelists included John Connelly, the Sidney Hellman Ehrman Professor in the Department of History; Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Quantedge Presidential Professor in the Department of Economics; Gérard Roland, the E. Morris Cox Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science; and Katerina Linos, the Irving G. and Eleanor D. Tragen Professor of Law. Daniel Sargent Associate Professor of History at UC Berkeley, moderated.

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