Social Science Matrix is honored to welcome our 2018-2019 cohort of Matrix Dissertation Fellows, four Ph.D. candidates whose research interests span diverse global challenges such as urbanization, discrimination in the workforce, self-immolation, and indigenous language preservation.

The 2018-2019 Social Science Matrix Research Teams will address a range of important social-science questions, including sexual harassment and sexual violence, the social impacts of cannabis production, gender and technology, genetic ancestry testing, child marriage, and more.

In this presentation, recorded on February 27, 2018, panelists discuss the various types of threats facing scholars around the world, as well as as solutions that have been developed by governments, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations, including Scholars at Risk, which works to protect threatened scholars and promote academic freedom around the world.

On January 31, 2018, Craig Calhoun, President of the Berggruen Institute and Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics, presented the UC Berkeley Social Science Matrix Distinguished Lecture, "Cosmopolitanism and Belonging."

UC Berkeley economics professor Dr. Martha Olney explains the importance of diversity in the field, and why she supports initiatives designed to welcome underrepresented groups to the major.

UC Berkeley economics professor Alan Auerbach works with Washington, D.C. policymakers in his quest for corporate tax reform—including implementing a tax focused on where products are consumed, not where they are produced.

Matrix was honored to host the 2017 Peder Sather Symposium, which focused on the theme, "Freedom of Speech Under Pressure in the World’s Liberal Democracies." Featured speakers include Azita Raji, Former US Ambassador to Sweden, and Dr. Knut Olav Åmås, Executive Director, Fritt Ord Foundation.

From improving census measurements in developing nations to exploring environmentally balanced livestock policies, this year's Social Science Matrix Dissertation Fellows are tackling important challenges that span disciplinary boundaries.

Dr. Charis Thompson analyzes our political moment and discusses working at the intersections of science, gender, and society.