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.

Matrix On Point

Recap

Published April 10, 2025

Mainstreaming Psychedelics

Psychedelics are steadily moving from the fringes of counterculture to the heart of mainstream society, driven by a growing body of research and shifting public perception. As psychedelics shed their stigma, they are catalyzing a broader conversation about mental health, spirituality, and the boundaries of human consciousness. Recorded on March 6, 2025, this panel featured Diana Negrin, David Presti, Charles Hirschkind, and Graham Pechenik, with Poulomi Saha moderating.

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COVID-19

Article and News

Published March 27, 2020

COVID-19: UC Berkeley Social Sciences Portal

A portal for insights about the COVID-19 pandemic from the UC Berkeley social science community

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Workshop/Symposium

Recap

Published March 21, 2020

2020 Advanced Workshop in Climate Change Economics

On January 31 to February 1, Social Science Matrix hosted the Advanced Workshop in Climate Change Economics, which brought together leading scholars from universities around the world to apply the tools of micro- and macroeconomics to understand and tackle the challenge of climate change.

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Matrix Lecture

Recap

Published March 20, 2020

Alexandra Gillies, “Crude Intentions”

Recorded on March 4, 2020, this video features a lecture by Alexandra Gillies, an expert on oil-sector corruption and author of the book "Crude Intentions: How Oil Sector Corruption Contaminates the World."

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Other Events

Recap

Published March 16, 2020

Immigration and the American Ethos

A panel discussion on the book Immigration and the American Ethos, by Morris Levy, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern California, and Matthew Wright, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia.

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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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Postcolonialism

Recap

Published March 10, 2020

Eros Ideologies: Writings on Art, Spirituality, and the Decolonial

Recorded on February 27, 2020, this “Authors Meet Critics” discussion focused on Professor Laura Eliza Pérez's book Eros Ideologies: Writings on Art, Spirituality, and the Decolonial (Duke University Press). Pérez, Professor of Ethnic Studies and and Chair of the Latinx Research Center, was joined by Natalia Brizuela and Julia Bryan-Wilson.

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