News
micha cárdenas: Sin Sol / No Sun
January 7, 2021
CRES faculty, micha cárdenas (Art & Design: Games and Playable Media) and her AR game, Sin Sol featured in two recent articles.
This artist is creating a “belligerent algorithm” to expose AI bias
January 7, 2021
Artist and game maker A.M. Darke is creating a system based on their own prejudices to highlight the problem of AI bias, calling for programmers to be held accountable for algorithms that govern everything from credit ratings to criminal convictions. The art project has been commissioned by the Open Data Institute (ODI), which has made Darke its research and development artist-in-residence. Darke is writing an algorithm that is overtly biased against the demographic predominantly designing the algorithms influencing our lives: white men. The ongoing project seeks to flip the usual narrative, in which the inherent biases of this demographic are unwittingly reflected in the AI systems they build...”
A.M. Darke, Open Source Afro Hair Library
January 7, 2021
CRES principal faculty, A.M. Darke was named one of this year’s most impactful people in the game industry for her development of Open Source Afro Hair Library. She was featured in the online series "GI 100 | Game Changers -- Part Ten" on GamesIndustry.biz.
APEX Express Radio Interview with CRES DE, Jane Komori
October 30, 2020
APEX Express is a weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of the community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Last month the hosts interviewed Jame Komori (History of Consciousness doctoral student ) as part of a series about Asian diasporic activists where she discussed political education with the hosts.
CRES Director Christine Hong Publishes A New Book
October 12, 2020
Christine Hong, Associate Professor of Literature, principal faculty member in CRES, and current CRES director, has published a new book titled "A Violent Peace: Race, U.S. Militarism, and Cultures of Democratization in Cold War Asia and the Pacific."
THI Graduate Profile: Noya Kansky, Feminist Studies Doctoral Student
October 1, 2020
Noya Kansky is a PhD Student in the Feminist Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz researching the history and enduring legacies of settler colonialism.
The Morning After: A (Post)Election Conversation
September 24, 2020
In this Cultural Studies event, CRES principal faculty member Savannah Shange, Gina Dent, and Debbie Gould will start a conversation the morning after the November 3rd US Presidential election. We will gather as a community the morning after to process the preceding night (and preceding years) and to think together about the weeks, months, and years to come.
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Introduces Black Studies Minor
September 22, 2020
Amid nationwide protests in support of Black Lives Matter, the UC Santa Cruz critical race and ethnic studies (CRES) department unveiled a new minor — Black studies.
New art game explores intersection of personal trauma and climate induced wildfires
September 10, 2020
Sin Sol (No Sun) is an augmented reality game that allows players to experience the feelings of a climate change event. Set 50 years in the future, it tells the story of environmental collapse from the past—which is our present in 2020.
History professor Eric Porter examines musical improvisation as a response to crisis
August 31, 2020
"Playing for Keeps: Improvisation in the Aftermath" is an exploration of the various ways that musical improvisation can be used as a method for responding to crisis and dealing with trauma and stress.
A.M.Darke: Conceptual Artist and Game Designer
July 16, 2020
The Art of Change hosts in depth interviews with artists from the University of California, Santa Cruz who believe in the transformative power of art-making and are committed to proactive social engagement. Hosted by Lyle Troxell, in February of this year he sat down with A.M. Darke, Assistant Professor in Digital Arts and New Media and CRES principal faculty.
Mikael Owunna’s Photographs Show the Essence of Black Healing
June 12, 2020
Anney Traymany is a library worker and a recent graduate in CRES (2020). She has an interest in archival work, particularly pertaining to the Southeast Asian diaspora. Anney conducted this interview with photographer Mikael Owunna for Aperture, a not-for-profit foundation, that connects the photo community and its audiences with the most inspiring work, the sharpest ideas, and with each other—in print, in person, and online.
Announcing the Black Studies Minor
June 11, 2020
CRES is thrilled to announce the approval of the Black Studies minor, effective Fall 2020.
Artist-Made Tools Resist Algorithmic Racism and Empower Communities
June 10, 2020
“How can I be useful as an artist?” Many contemporary artists are critically engaging with technology to answer that question. Here are five artist-made tools that support protests on the ground, resist surveillance’s biased gaze, fight back against social alienation and combat technologies imbued with anti-Blackness. micha cárdenas, an artist, poet and professor at UCSC discusses how she helps empower communities that regularly face systemic violence.
Dear Class of 2020
June 9, 2020
New Banana Slug alumna Nyereath Nhial, was one of the featured profiles showcasing the breadth of talent, scholarship and achievement in this year's graduating class!
K-12 Teaching Credential Workshop for Humanities PhDs
June 1, 2020
In this workshop, learn more about simultaneously pursuing a teaching credential and master's degree in education while completing your doctoral degree in the humanities! Explore the possibilities of public school teaching in California for a union-backed career. Ethnic studies students, learn about how you would be positioned to roll out ethnic studies in the public high school curriculum statewide!
Queer Convoys: American Imperial Militarism and Global Asian Cultural Production
April 2, 2020
CRES DE in Literature Department, Talib Jabbar, describes how their work searches for a queer politics in the age of permanent war, a politics that dissents the normativizing logic of American-led imperial warfare.
Why Nick Mitchell Is Returning the Chancellor’s Achievement Award for Diversity
February 21, 2020
Professor Nick Mitchell shares why he returned his Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity and expresses solidarity with the COLA campaign.
CRES Solidarity Statement with COLA Campaign
February 10, 2020
CRES faculty stands behind striking graduate students and their fight for a cost of living increase
CRES Graduate Spotlight--Christian Alvarado (History of Consciousness)
January 13, 2020
Christian Alvarado, a CRES DE in the Department of History of Consciousness discusses with Jane Komori, also a CRES DE in the same department, his interdisciplinary research around education and culture in (anti)colonial (as well as post-colonial) Kenya.
Transgender Studies Quarterly Journal Issue, Co-edited by CRES Faculty, micha cárdenas
December 2, 2019
CRES faculty micha cárdenas co-edited Volume 6, Issue 4 of Transgender Studies Quarterly
Sociology PhD candidate named UC Free Speech Fellow
October 2, 2019
Saugher Nojan will examine free speech and civic engagement among Muslim students across UC system
Nick Mitchell Speaks at Ithaca
September 19, 2019
Nick Mitchell is the first speaker for a discussion series, “Roots and Routes: Reflecting Toward Change" at Ithaca College's Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, celebrating the 50th anniversary of ethnic studies nationally. He gave a presentation Sept. 10 on the history of student movements and the creation of the ethnic studies department at San Francisco State.
Nick Mitchell and Saugher Nojan Receive Chancellor's Diversity Awards
June 11, 2019
Professor Nick Mitchell (FMST and CRES) and Saugher Nojan (CRES DE) each received a 2019 Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity.
Graduate Spotlight: Christine Rosales (Psychology)
June 7, 2019
CRES grad student Christine Rosales traces forms of everyday resistance for Latinx women in the Santa Cruz area.
Nick Mitchell to Give Kresge Commencement Address
June 6, 2019
Professor Nick Mitchell (Feminist Studies and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies) will be giving the commencement address for Kresge College's celebrations on June 15, 2019.
Graduate Spotlight: Claire Urbanski (Feminist Studies)
May 16, 2019
CRES graduate Claire Urbanski's project explores the ways that the San Francisco Bay area was able to develop by evacuation, desecration, and museum collections of Ohlone dead. This is done in order to question how the dead and the space of afterlife are central to the formation of settler colonial expansion and capital production.
Congratulations: 2018-19 Dean's Undergraduate Research Award Recipients!
May 3, 2019
Summer Session Information
April 19, 2019
Hello CRES majors! Thinking about Summer Session? Here are some fast facts on what that could look like for you!
Graduate Spotlight- Dana Ahern
March 23, 2019
CRES graduate student Dana Ahern shares their project and how it tracks the development and movement of transgender knowledge and bodies. It also looks for the origin points of transgender medicine and research and examines the histories and presences of colonialism and imperialism required to make transgender medicine possible, and so much more.
Graduate Spotlight- Saugher Nojan (Sociology)
March 1, 2019
CRES graduate Saugher Nojan depicts the struggle the Muslim student community and their struggle to have a dedicated prayer space at UC Santa Cruz through their photovoice project.
Graduate Spotlight- Sheeva Sabati (Education)
January 10, 2019
CRES graduate DE student Sheeva Sabati depicts the settler colonial imaginaries and the naming of the first UC campus.
Graduate Research Spotlight - Jess Whatcott (Politics)
January 10, 2019
CRES graduate student Jess Whatcott shares their research on eugenics-based policy-making in California history that enacts state violence.
CRES Faculty Condemn Recent Police Violence against Student Protesters
January 4, 2019
CRES principal faculty sent a letter to Napolitano, Blumental, and Tromp as a response to the violence UCPD brought upon students on Friday, November 16, 2018.
Graduate Student Spotlight- Trung PQ Nguyen (History of Consciousness)
December 13, 2018
CRES graduate DE student Trung PQ Nguyen shares their research on how the U.S. used visual culture to distort the history about the war in Southeast Asia.
Micha Cárdenas's Plenary Address at the National Women's Studies Association
December 13, 2018
CRES principal faculty member Micha Cárdenas was honored as a plenary speaker on the "Future of Gender." This plenary panel also featured nationally renowned scholar-activists and cultural producers Cathy Cohen, Tourmaline, C. Riley Snorton, Dean Spade, and Kendall Thomas.
New CRES Faculty Spotlight: Jenny Kelly
November 8, 2018
An interview with new CRES faculty member, Jenny Kelly, with Robert Parke, CRES and biochemistry double-major.
2018 CRES Newsletter
November 1, 2018
Read the latest from the CRES community, including a welcome message from Director Atanasoski, introductions to CRES faculty and student representatives, announcements and news, and information on course offerings.
Graduate Research Spotlight - Ka-eul Yoo (Literature)
October 17, 2018
CRES graduate DE student Ka-eul Yoo researches Hansenin, or Hansen’s disease (leprosy), patients in South Korea.
Central Valley Freedom Summer registers voters, changes lives
October 02, 2018
For most kids who grow up in the Central Valley, the goal is to get out. But this summer, 25 UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced students turned that narrative on its head and returned home, eager to give back to their communities.
2017 CRES Newsletter
October 2, 2017
Read the latest from the CRES community, including a welcome message from Director Atanasoski, introductions to CRES faculty and student representatives, and information on courses.
The Long, Dirty History of U.S. Warmongering against North Korea
April 25, 2017
Christine Hong, associate professor of Literature and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, contributed an article to The Progressive, giving a historical perspective to the current rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.
UCSC to offer new B.A. degree in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
June 06, 2014
Beginning this fall, students at UC Santa Cruz can now declare a major in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES), leading to a new bachelor of arts degree.
