Grad Student Profile
Interview
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Land, Camps, and the Remains: Heba Alnajada on the History of Syrian Refugee Camps
Heba Alnajada is a Ph.D. Candidate in Architecture History at the University of California, Berkeley, and a 2021-2022 ACLS/Mellon Fellow. Her dissertation project situates the Syrian refugee crisis within an architectural and socio-legal history that spans from the late Ottoman period to present-day Jordan. Social Science Matrix content curator Julia Sizek interviewed Alnajada about her research, using images from her dissertation.
Learn More >Lecture
Recap
Transformation Through Trauma: How Women Living with HIV/AIDS Survive Injuries of Inequality
How do we remake, not simply rebuild, our lives after trauma? Recorded on October 4, 2021, this video presents a lecture by Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, and Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan. Professor Watkins-Hayes is also director of the Center for Racial Justice.
Learn More >Social Science / Data Science
Recap
Doing Academic Research with Amazon Mechanical Turk
Recorded on October 1, 2021, this panel brought together researchers to share their experience with the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. Moderated by UC Berkeley psychology professor Serena Chen, the panel featured Ali Alkhatib, Interim director of the Center for Applied Data Ethics at the University of San Francisco; Stefano DellaVigna, Daniel Koshland, Sr. Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Business Administration at UC Berkeley; and Gabriel Lenz, Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley.
Learn More >Podcast
Interview
Politics of Indigeneity in El Salvador
In this episode of the Matrix podcast, Julia Sizek, PhD candidate in anthropology, interviews Hector Callejas, a PhD candidate in Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and a 2021-2022 ACLS/Mellon Dissertation Completion fellow. Sizek and Callejas discuss how Indigeneity is understood in El Salvador, as well as contemporary Indigenous movements in El Salvador.
Learn More >Berkeley Conversation
Recap
Berkeley Conversation: Defending Against Disinformation
On September 21, UC Berkeley Public Affairs presented a panel discussion focused on the proliferation of disinformation and what can be done about it. The panel included: Geeta Anand, dean of the School of Journalism; Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley Law; Hany Farid, associate dean and head of the School of Information; Susan D. Hyde, chair of the Department of Political Science; john powell, director of the Othering & Belonging Institute; and moderator Henry Brady, former dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy.
Learn More >Matrix On Point
Recap
Matrix on Point: Leaving Afghanistan
On September 7, 2021, UC Berkeley’s Social Science Matrix and the Institute of International Studies (IIS) hosted a panel discussion, “Matrix on Point: Leaving Afghanistan,” that featured a group of scholars examining the geopolitical and humanitarian consequences of the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan. The panel featured Omar Sharifi, from American University of Afghanistan; Robert Crews, from Stanford University; Dipali Mukhopadhyay, from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs; and Georgi Derluguian, from NYU Abu Dhabi. UC Berkeley's Daniel Sargent, moderated. Watch the video, or listen to the discussion as a podcast.
Learn More >Podcast
Interview
Matrix Podcast: Interview with Juliana Friend, PhD Candidate, Anthropology
In this podcast, Julia Sizek interviews Juliana Friend, a PhD candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Anthropology, whose research focuses on the intersection of technology, privacy, and culture. Her dissertation, “Don’t Click Here! Porn, Privacy, and Digital Dissidence in Senegal,” examines how digital dissidents are transforming the idea of sutura (discretion or modesty), a concept used to describe the appropriate relationship between private and public life in Senegal.
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Interview
Matrix Podcast: The Past and Present of Teletherapy
In this episode of the Social Science Matrix podcast, Julia Sizek, a Phd candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Anthropology, interviews scholars Hannah Zeavin and Valerie Black, UC Berkeley researchers who study the history and present of teletherapy, which describes all forms of remote therapy, from letter-writing to chatbots.
Learn More >Cities
Interview
A Photographic Interview: Kaily Heitz on Black Oakland
Kaily Heitz, who earned her PhD from the UC Berkeley Department of Geography in 2021, studies how concepts of Blackness and Black culture are deployed in the making and marketing of Oakland, California. Her dissertation, entitled “Oakland is a Vibe: Blackness, Cultural Framings and Emancipations of The Town,” draws on Black feminist geographies and media studies to understand contemporary conflicts over gentrification in “The Town.” This interview by Julia Sizek, a PhD candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Anthropology, revolves around images from Kaily’s work that help reveal the arguments of her work.
Learn More >Social Science / Data Science
Recap
Julia Lane, NYU: “Democratizing our Data”
On August 26, 2021, Social Science Matrix and the D-Lab presented a lecture by Julia Lane, Professor at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, at the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress, and a NYU Provostial Fellow for Innovation Analytic. The talk, entitled "Democratizing Our Data," provided an overview of a research collaboration designed to improve the sharing of data across state agencies.
Learn More >California Spotlight
Interview
Kate Pennington on Gentrification and Displacement in San Francisco
What impact does new housing have on rents, displacement, and gentrification in the surrounding neighborhood? Read our interview with economist Kate Pennington about her article, "Does Building New Housing Cause Displacement?:The Supply and Demand Effects of Construction in San Francisco.”
Learn More >Methods
Interview
Metaketa: A Collaborative Model for Social Science Research
We interviewed Thad Dunning, Robson Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley, about his work on the Metaketa Initiative, a new model for collaborative research, and about his research on how the dissemination of information about candidates influences voter behavior.
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