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

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High-tech industry in China. PCB and chinese flag background. Microprocessor manufacturing in People Republic of China. The printed circuit board is made in China. Export of Chinese radio electronics.

Event Date: April 18th, 2025
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT

Matrix on Point: Technology and China in the New Political Economy 

This panel brings together experts of the Chinese political economy and law and society in a conversation to discuss the political, economic, security, and social dimensions and complexities of technology in China’s internationalization during times of global tensions. This panel will feature Mark Dallas, Professor of Political Science and Science, Technology, and Society at Union College; Roselyn Hsueh, Professor of Political Science at Temple University and Visiting Scholar at the Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative; and Rachel E. Stern, Professor of Law and Political Science at U.C. Berkeley. AnnaLee Saxenian, Professor in the School of Information, will chair and moderate.

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Research Highlights

Article

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Published October 6, 2014

Credit and Class

Economic classification tools such as credit scores directly contribute to stratification and class division, according to Berkeley sociologist Marion Fourcade.

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Research Highlights

Article

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Published October 2, 2014

From Plantation to Corporation

A UC Berkeley historian explores how commonly used modern-day business practices evolved from methods used in the operation of brutal slave plantations.

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Research Highlights

Article

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Published September 30, 2014

Behind the Beef Machine

The origins of the modern U.S. beef industry go farther back than most people realize, says UC Berkeley historian Joshua Specht.

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Research Highlights

Article

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Published September 23, 2014

The Cuban Health Question

A book edited by UC Berkeley's Nancy Burke provides a comprehensive and critical look at the history, construction, and circulation of the Cuban healthcare system in a global context.

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Research Highlights

Article

Published September 23, 2014

Population and Climate Change

A team of UC Berkeley researchers warn that unless action is taken, certain countries will likely face dire rates of starvation and disease.

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Research Highlights

Article

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Published September 17, 2014

Invisible Users

Invisible Users, a book by UC Berkeley's Jenna Burrell, explores the youth culture of Internet cafés in Ghana, which upends expectations about the power and purpose of technology.

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