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

Micro dosing concept. Dry psilocybin mushrooms and natural herbal pills on white background. Psychedelic magic mushroom as medical supplement.

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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Podcast

Interview

Chain gang of convicts engaged in road work. Pitt County, North Carolina. Autumn 1910. The inmates were quartered in the wagons shown in the picture. Wagons were equipped with bunks and move from place to place as labor is utilized. The central figure in the picture is J.Z. McLawhon, who was at that time county superintendent of chain gangs. The dogs are bloodhounds used for running down any attempted escapes

Published September 27, 2024

Prisoner Labor Legacies: An interview with Elizabeth Hargrett and Xander Lenc

While recent news has highlighted how prisoners have fought wildfires, prison labor is not a new phenomenon. Although incarcerated people have built highways, dams, and buildings, their contributions to American infrastructure are often made invisible. Both Elizabeth Hargrett and Xander Lenc have studied how prisoner labor has shaped America’s infrastructure with a focus on North […]

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Interview

Ross Doll and Coleman Mahler

Published September 11, 2024

Agricultural Modernization in China: Interview with Ross Doll and Coleman Mahler 

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features Matrix Postdoctoral Fellow Julia Sizek interviewing Ross Doll and Coleman Mahler, two scholars from different disciplines whose work focuses on the modernization of China. Ross Doll is Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography. He researches agrarian change in Asia drawing on political ecology, cultural […]

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Matrix News

Research Teams

UC-Berkeley-campus-overview-from-hills

Published August 5, 2024

Matrix Welcomes Seven Research Teams for 2024-2025

Social Science Matrix will welcome seven new Matrix Research Teams for the 2024-2025 academic year. This year’s funded teams — three faculty-led team and four graduate student-led teams — will address diverse social science topics, including industrial policy, computational social science, data mining and algorithms, and the language of biomedicine.

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Article

Interview

Claire Chun

Published July 22, 2024

K-Beauty in War: A Visual Interview with Claire Chun

Read our interview with Claire Chun, a Ph.D. candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, whose research explores how modern conceptualizations of “Korean” and “Asian” beauty, wellness, and aesthetics are shaped by overlapping forces of U.S. militarism, tourism, and humanitarianism.

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Alumni

Interview

Ángela Castillo

Published June 25, 2024

Anti-Mining Politics in Colombia: A Visual Interview with Ángela Castillo

What can the battle around a new mine in Colombia tell us about the past and future of environmentalist organizing in Latin America? Matrix Postdoc Julia Sizek interviewed Ángela Castillo, who is a recent PhD graduate from UC Berkeley’s Anthropology Department and is now Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Pitzer College.

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Matrix News

Iris Hui Memorial

Published June 15, 2024

Students Chosen for Iris Hui Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship

Two UC Berkeley graduate students — Emma Bates and Tanya Bertone — have been selected to receive the 2024 Dr. Iris Hui Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship. Established in 2021, this scholarship honors the vision and goals of Dr. Iris Hui, a PhD graduate of Political Science from UC Berkeley.

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