Book Talk
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Event Date: May 5th, 2026
4:00pm-5:15pm
The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us
Join us on May 5 for a talk on "The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us," by Benjamin Recht, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley. The conversation will be moderated by Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology and Director of Social Science Matrix.
Learn More >Symposium
Recap
Published July 27, 2023
Jews and Other Groups Who Resisted the Nazis: Means, Motivations, and Limitations
Recorded on April 28, 2023, this video features talks and panels from an interdisciplinary, comparative symposium exploring what remains an under-examined topic in the history of World War II and the Holocaust: the multivarious paths through which ordinary men and women resisted the Nazis.
Learn More >Podcast
Interview
Published July 27, 2023
The Binational Politics of Return Migrant Activism: Interview with Caroline Tracey
Listen to (or read) an interview with Caroline Tracey, a PhD from the UC Berkeley Department of Geography, whose research uses ethnographic, archival, and literary methods to study the American Southwest, Mexico, and the US-Mexico border. Tracey argues that women and trans deportees and returnees play an important role in community-building and activism in Mexico that has improved emplacement for all return migrants.
Learn More >Economy
Interview
Published June 26, 2023
Balancing Property Taxes for Schools: An Interview with Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey
Read an interview with Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey, Assistant Professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Economics, about his research on how reforming property taxes can reduce inequality among school districts in the United States.
Learn More >Roundtable
Recap
Published June 13, 2023
Roundtable with Orlando Patterson: The Nature and Invention of Freedom
Recorded on May 2, 2023, this video features a roundtable conversation with Orlando Patterson focused on "The Paradox of Freedom," an interview with Patterson by David Scott conducted in 2013. Joining Patterson in conversation for this Social Science Matrix Roundtable were Ricarda Hammer, incoming Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley, and Daniela Cammack, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley. The discussion was moderated by Caitlin Rosenthal, Associate Professor of History at UC Berkeley.
Learn More >Lecture
Recap
Published June 7, 2023
Consent and Legitimacy: A Revised Bellicose Theory of State-Building with Evidence from around the World, 1500–2000
Recorded on March 9, 2023, this video features Andreas Wimmer, Lieber Professor of Sociology and Political Philosophy at Columbia University, presenting a talk entitled "Consent and Legitimacy: A Revised Bellicose Theory of State-Building with Evidence from around the World, 1500–2000."
Learn More >Matrix Lecture
Recap
Published June 6, 2023
Slavery and Genocide: The U.S., Jamaica, and the Historical Sociology of Evil
On May 1, 2023, Social Science Matrix was honored to present a Matrix Distinguished Lecture by Orlando Patterson, John Cowles Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. Professor Patterson’s lecture was entitled “Slavery and Genocide: The U.S, Jamaica and the Historical Sociology of Evil.” The event was co-sponsored by the Townsend Center for the Humanities, […]
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