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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Event Date: October 28th, 2026
3:30pm-5:00pm

Matrix on Point: The State of U.S. Immigration Enforcement and Surveillance

Federal immigration enforcement in the United States is increasingly shaped by the convergence of surveillance technologies, data systems, and on-the-ground policing practices. This panel will bring together a group of scholars from diverse disciplines to examine the social and political consequences — and the stakes for rights in an era of technological governance. 

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Workshop/Symposium

Published October 7, 2014

Behavior Measurement and Change

A Matrix seminar explored how mobile devices and other "sensors" are transforming how social scientists working in different disciplines can measure—and change—human behavior.

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Research Highlights

Article

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

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

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

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

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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