News
Employing Humanities: Bridging the gap between the classroom and the workforce
December 11, 2024
Launched just a year ago, the Employing Humanities initiative at the University of California, Santa Cruz is already transforming the lives of undergraduate students. The initiative was made possible by a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation and is led by Humanities Dean Jasmine Alinder.
Of Unfinished Revolution: Call and Response of Palestine and Lebanon
November 6, 2024
CRES Professor Jennifer Mogannam published an article in Jadaliyya, an independent ezine produced by the Arab Studies Institute.
UCSC artist micha cárdenas sounds the alarm on climate catastrophe in Toronto exhibition
October 06, 2024
micha cárdenas’s "Probability Engine,” opening in Toronto, explores climate tipping points through immersive art and augmented reality, urging audiences to imagine a more just and survivable future
UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division welcomes new Associate Dean of DEI Eric Porter
October 04, 2024
Eric Porter, a professor of History, History of Consciousness, and Critical Race and Ethnic studies at UC Santa Cruz, has a longstanding fascination with power and resistance. His approach to history will inform his new position as Associate Dean of DEI for the Humanities.
UCSC Humanities Division welcomes new faculty members
September 25, 2024
The University of California, Santa Cruz Humanities Division is proud to announce the recent hires of eight outstanding new faculty members whose disciplines range from Literature and Writing to Applied Linguistics and African history.
Why the ACLU is suing UC Santa Cruz for banning students who participated in spring protests
September 11, 2024
From EdSource: Civil rights groups allege that more than 110 students and faculty were unlawfully banned from the UC Santa Cruz campus.
Civil Rights Groups Sue UCSC for Unlawful Campus Bans and Response to Student Protests
September 9, 2024
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the Center for Protest Law & Litigation, and civil rights attorney Thomas Seabaugh filed a lawsuit against the University of California Santa Cruz for banning more than 100 students and faculty members from campus after they were arrested at a pro-Palestine protest this past May.
From The Lookout: "Ethnic studies controversy in PVUSD: New advocacy group forms as district explores its options"
July 29, 2024
From The Lookout Santa Cruz, teachers and community members formed a new group, Pajaro Valley for Ethnic Studies and Justice, or PVESJ. ”We are a community coalition for ethnic studies positioned against a school board that has proven itself to be largely hostile to ethnic studies in an area where the power structure has historically not reflected the interests of the majority of people in the community,” said CRES professor Christine Hong.
From CalMatters: UC moves to limit where academic departments post opinions against backdrop of Gaza War
July 19, 2024
"So for us, this is not at all opinion, this is about the expertise of the department in which many of us write critically about state power, war, genocide," says CRES chair Felicity Amaya Schaeffer in a CalMatters article.
From Lookout Santa Cruz: "UCSC rescinds some campus bans for pro-Palestine protesters even as criminal charges linger"
July 5, 2024
CRES professor Marisol LeBron and CRES graduate Jamie Hindrey are featured in an article from the Lookout Santa Cruz, discussing their experiences following arrests at the pro-Palestine encampment.
THI Technology Series: micha cárdenas
May 10, 2024
Associate Professor of Critical Race & Ethnic Studies and Performance, Play & Design cárdenas discusses the role of new technologies in dehumanization.
From KSBW: UC Santa Cruz students camp overnight to protest war in Gaza
May 3, 2024
"I'm very pleased to see so many of our students and faculty and staff are so animated. I mean, coming together to really say that this genocide is not okay in our name," Sophia Azeb, a UCSC Assistant Professor for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, said.
UCSC Faculty for Justice in Palestine in Support of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment
May 2, 2024
The UCSC chapter of Faculty for Justice in Palestine unequivocally supports the UCSC student encampment calling for the end to the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Palestine; for UCSC’s full disclosure of all investments in and dividends and grants from Israeli and warmaking industries, and for full divestment from the military industrial complex.
Three University of California, Santa Cruz professors receive Mellon Foundation Affirming Multivocal Humanities grants
April 29, 2024
The Mellon Foundation has awarded three University of California, Santa Cruz, departments prestigious grants of $100,000 each for work that champions groundbreaking research in the realms of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.
Can't make sense of record-breaking weather? Take a trip to Art Souterrain
April 3, 2024
For 2024, the Montreal festival is tackling climate change, and these 9 projects, including "The Probability Engine" by micha cardenas, are must-sees.
UC regents postpone vote on contentious policy that would limit faculty speech
March 21, 2024
“It’s very clear what this was motivated by,” said Christine Hong, a professor of critical race and ethnic studies at UCSC. In Hong’s view, the timing of the policy is no coincidence. She sees it as an effort to censor faculty who have criticized Israel’s war in Gaza. “I don’t trust these regents not to exercise repression,” she said.
University of California Could Bar Political Speech on Some Web Pages
March 20, 2024
With anger rising over pro-Palestinian protests, the university’s regents are set to vote on a proposal that would draw tighter boundaries around speech. The regents' proposal “delegitimizes the work that we do in ethnic studies,” said Felicity Amaya Schaeffer, a professor at Santa Cruz.
Amid faculty objections, UC considers limiting what faculty can say on university websites
March 14, 2024
UC wants to keep opinions from UC's main landing pages. Opponents say the policy change aims to limit comment on Israel's war in Gaza. “The Academic Senate came out with very clear recommendations,” said Christine Hong, a professor of ethnic studies at UC Santa Cruz. “We have a group of regents who are running roughshod over what you would think would be the core commitments of the university to academic freedom and to the principle of shared governance.”
Advancing diversity and writing excellence: Oakes College’s new leadership
March 12, 2024
The Division of Undergraduate Education at UC Santa Cruz, is pleased to announce the appointment of two new associate provosts of Oakes College, Xavier Livermon and Jody K. Biehl. The appointments, in effect since December 2023 and January 2024, respectively, offer Oakes College with leaders who will bring unique perspectives and experiences to their roles.
Grad Student Spotlight: Marina Segatti (Feminist Studies)
February 15, 2024
Marina Segatti is pursuing a Feminist Studies PhD with a designated emphasis in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Latin American & Latino Studies. She sat down with fellow CRES DEs and grad reps Anny Mogollon and Em Padilla to discuss her research on and fieldwork in Brazil.
Curated Conversations with Camilla Hawthorne: The Black Mediterranean
February 15, 2024
The Curated Conversations: Exploring the Politics of Migration through Ideas (Season I) podcast series examines the past, present, and possible futures of migration within and from the African continent. In Episode 8, Camilla Hawthorne traces the history of Europe’s perceived border with Africa, from antiquity up to today’s mobilisation of second-gen migrants.
Demands, Democracy, and Divestment: Community Confronts UC Regents at First Meetings of 2024
February 14, 2024
From City on a Hill Press: Seated on the ground, legs crossed and arms intertwined, students and alumni from the University of California (UC) staged a non-violent sit-in at the UC Board of Regents’ first meetings of 2024. Calls to divest from war profiteering and invest in student and worker welfare rang from behind a barrier separating the public from the regents.
A network for the future
February 13, 2024
UCSC Student Serena Campbell’s senior thesis leads to a comprehensive network between critical environmental researchers on campus.
UC Ethnic Studies Requirement Waylaid by Israel-Hamas War
January 8, 2024
Is anti-Zionism core to ethnic studies? Should it matter? These questions have stoked debate about plans for a University of California admissions requirement.
UCSC Humanities Division welcomes 11 new faculty members
November 13, 2023
The Humanities Division is proud to announce the recent hires of 11 outstanding new faculty members whose disciplines range from Critical Race & Ethnic Studies (CRES) to the History of Consciousness, Philosophy, Languages and Applied Linguistics.
Shut It Down for Palestine - Nov 9
November 7, 2023
The department will be observing the November 9 all-day sit-in at the base of campus. Skip school and work. Do not look away from the genocide. No business as usual! Education, food, art, vigil and ofrenda, and more.
Transfer student, STARS staffer, and mother of two
October 27, 2023
STARS staff member, DeShonne Keller (’24, critical race and ethnic studies), is working towards her UCSC degree with the help of the Silver Slug Scholarship.
UC Santa Cruz Students March for End to Israel-Hamas War
October 25, 2023
The Santa Cruz Sentinel covers the UCSC student protest against the Israeli siege of Gaza. Professor Jennifer Mogannam spoke at the rally, "Today we say no to business as usual, no to the U.S. complicity in the genocide of Palestinian people, and no to the UC’s complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
Calls for Academic Institutions to End Genocide against Palestinians
October 23, 2023
We call on everyone—including scholars, researchers, organizers, and administrators worldwide —to act now to end Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza.
Call for a Global General Strike
October 20, 2023
As a department, we are observing the Palestinian-led Global General Strike and will not conduct university business as usual on 10/20/23.
CRES Statement of Support for the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism
October 11, 2023
We condemn the recent public attacks, the institutional backlash, and the campaigns of harassment against organizers from the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism (ICSZ). The study of Zionism in the context of power is more imperative than ever.
CRES Welcomes Three New Faculty!
August 8, 2023
We are pleased to introduce three new faculty, Jennifer Mogannam, Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu, and Kriti Sharma, to the department! Read more about their research here.
Can Tourism Be Liberatory?
July 27, 2023
From "Jewish Currents," Raphael Magarik speaks with Jenny Kelly about the history of solidarity tourism to Palestine, its political possibilities and ethical challenges, and how Palestinian guides are reimagining tourism.
A North Korean defector captivated U.S. media. Some question her story.
July 24, 2023
Christine Hong is quoted in this Washington Post article about Yeonmi Park. Conservative audiences are enthralled by Yeonmi Park’s tales of communist dictatorship — and her claim that liberals are steering America onto the same path. But critics say her accounts of life in the brutal regime don’t add up.
UCSC Class of ’23: Strikes, storms, pandemic made for turbulent four years, but some are grateful for the experience
June 15, 2023
From the Lookout: College is often branded as a time for young adults to engage in self-discovery. While a series of campus strikes, power outages and a pandemic meant that this year’s UC Santa Cruz graduating class might not have received the romanticized ideal of college life, many say the experience was nonetheless a positive one.
THI Travel Series with Felicity Amaya Schaeffer - Unsettled Borders
May 12, 2023
Professor of Feminist Studies Felicity Amaya Schaeffer discusses the impacts of border surveillance on cosmic Indigenous sovereignty. Read more.
THI Faculty Profile: Professor Alice Yang
May 11, 2023
Professor of History Alice Yang discusses her community-engaged scholarship, and the importance of multiethnic, multiracial, and transnational campaigns to defend human rights. Read more.
THI Travel Series with Eric Porter - How to Read an Airport
April 21, 2023
Professor of History, History of Consciousness, and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies Dr. Eric Porter writes about the airport as a microcosm of ideology and interrelationality. Read more.
Read Insight into Diversity's Article on "Invisible Labor," featuring Christine Hong
April 19, 2023
Diverse employees are often expected to take on additional duties that assist students, colleagues, and the institution. It's time to properly acknowledge these unrecognized tasks.
Black Studies minor builds momentum
March 17, 2023
The Black Studies minor at the University of California, Santa Cruz has grown in size and influence at a time when the United States continues to grapple with its long history of racism.
Yitong Lei: "Feeding Hungry Ghosts: A History of Santa Cruz China Towns"
March 16, 2023
CRES student Yitong Lei writes a moving article on the history of Chinatowns in Santa Cruz.
Celebrating Ronaldo Wilson's Residency at Wake Forest University Artist Residency and Performance
February 13, 2023
Wilson will use the Gallery as a venue for performances, events, exhibitions, and interactions, including a free public poetry reading and performance on Wednesday, February 15, at 5 pm. Events are co-sponsored by the William R. Kenan Jr. Chair in the Humanities, Hanes Gallery, the Interdisciplinary Arts Center, and the Department of English.
Hitting the Books: That time San Francisco's suburbs sued the airport for being too loud
January 22, 2023
Read engadget's article and excerpt from Eric Porter's book, "A People's History of SFO: The Making of the Bay Area and an Airport."
Jennifer Lynn Kelly on Anticolonial Solidarity Tourism
January 11, 2023
In episode 146 of Imagine Otherwise, host Cathy Hannabach interviews feminist studies and ethnic studies professor Jennifer Lynn Kelly about her new book Invited to Witness: Solidarity Tourism across Occupied Palestine.
Congratulations to micha cárdenas on being awarded one of the "Anonymous Was a Woman" 2022 Artist Grants
January 5, 2023
Anonymous Was a Woman Picks Most Diverse Group of Winners to Date for Beloved Artist Grant Program
Congratulations to Eric Porter on His New Book, "A People’s History of SFO"!
January 5, 2023
Please join us in celebrating the publication of CRES faculty, Eric Porter's (HIS, HISC) recently published, "A People's History of SFO: The Making of the Bay Area and an Airport" (UCPress 2023).
CRES Faculty Letter in Support of UAW Strikes
November 16, 2022
The CRES faculty has released a letter in support of the ongoing UAW strikes. Read the full statement by following the link.
UC Ethnic Studies Council Letter in Support of UAW Strikes
November 16, 2022
The UC Ethnic Studies Faculty Council has drafted a letter in support of the ongoing UAW strikes across the UCs. Read the full letter by following the link.
Camilla Hawthorne Awarded RnB4 Culture Award for Innovation in the Study of Italian Culture
November 8, 2022
Established in 2021 by RnB4Culture, this award recognizes the vibrancy of research in Italian culture and its evolving nature expressed in a variety of ways such as innovative uses of technology, or originality of approach, or contribution to wider questions and trends in the Humanities at large.
STARS celebrates National Transfer Week; shines the spotlight on nine Transfer Excellence Leaders
October 18, 2022
National Transfer Week is October 17 - 21. To help celebrate, STARS is shinig the spotlight on nine transfer excellence leaders. Read their stories!
CRES Chair Christine Hong Awarded 2022 Mary C. Turpie Prize from ASA
October 12, 2022
Please join us in congratulating CRES Department Chair Christine Hong for winning the THE 2022 MARY C. TURPIE PRIZE from ASA! This award recognizes “outstanding abilities and achievement in American studies teaching, advising, and program development.”
micha cárdenas's book, Poetic Operations: Trans of Color Art in Digital Media, Awarded the Gloria Anzaldúa Book Prize by The National Women's Studies Association
October 4, 2022
Please join us in congratulating CRES faculty micha cárdenas for being a co-winner of the 2022 Gloria E. Anzaldúa Book Prize for her book Poetic Operations: Trans of Color Art in Digital Media! The prize is awarded for groundbreaking scholarship in women's studies that makes significant feminist contributions to the topic of women and labor.
CRES Alum Jasmine Djavahery Curates Art Show and Food Pop Up, Jeweled Rice
August 26, 2022
Check out KQED's article on CRES/Art alum Jasmine Djavahery's temporary gallery and food pop-up series now open in Oakland. "Jeweled Rice" is displayed at Crisis Club Gallery (5887 San Pablo Ave., Oakland) through Sept. 25. The gallery is open Friday to Sunday from 2–7pm. Bademjoonam will pop up on Sunday, Aug. 28, 3–7pm. Mishmish’s rescheduled pop-up will occur in September. Additional pop-ups will be announced on @KabobKidCrafts. Entry is free.
Building communities to stand up against anti-black racism
August 22, 2022
This month, the Center for Racial Justice (CRJ) at UC Santa Cruz held its first-ever Summer Institute, “Political Education and Liberatory Knowledge,” complete with immersive, hands-on workshops that emphasized solidarity against systemic oppression and community-based strategies to fight anti-black racism and imperialism.
BAR Book Forum: Marisol LeBrón’s “Against Muerto Rico”
August 4, 2022
In this series, Black Agenda Report asks acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Marisol LeBrón. Her book is Against Muerto Rico: Lessons from the Verano Boricua/ Contra Muerto Rico: lecciones del Verano Boricua, translated by Beatriz Llenín Figueroa.
Graduate Student Spotlight: Kiley McLaughlin (Literature)
August 1, 2022
CRES DE, Kiley McLaughlin (Literatures) was interviewed at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year by fellow CRES DE, Talib Jabbar (History of Consciousness) about the various aspects of her dissertation project.
New book traces the scientific and technological development of militarized border
July 29, 2022
In her new book, Professor of Feminist Studies and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Felicity Amaya Schaeffer draws stunning connections between indigenous ways of life and relationships to the land with modern-day, militaristic border surveillance technologies.
The Humanities Division honors faculty, alumni, and students at the 2021-22 Spring Awards
July 07, 2022
UC Santa Cruz’s Humanities Division marked the end of the school year with their Spring Awards, a ceremony that celebrates the achievements of students, instructors, and alumni.
The Battle Over California’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum
June 24, 2022
While major Zionist organizations lobby to change California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, many Jewish students and scholars across California have a different outlook on the issue – and are being overlooked in the debate.
Associate Professor Nick Mitchell receives 2021-22 Distinguished Teaching Award
June 06, 2022
Nick Mitchell was honored for his positive impact on students and the leading role he has played in creating new programs that foster the intellectual development of students and UC Santa Cruz
Imagination Series: Vilashini Cooppan and Ronaldo V. Wilson
June 3, 2022
For THI's last Imagination Series piece, Profs. Cooppan and Wilson continue a dialogue about theory and love that they began in a graduate seminar. Read more.
Seeking Okinawan rights
June 01, 2022
UC Santa Cruz doctoral candidate Lex McClellan-Ufugusuku appeared before the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, exploring whether the people of Okinawa could be recognized as Indigenous—meaning they might have the right to block or stop new military bases under guidelines about Indigenous people set up by the U.N.
Chailen August
May 31, 2022
Chailen August’s time at UC Santa Cruz put him on a path he never expected. Not only did he embark on a study of drill rap and its interpretation in Ghana, Africa, but, as part of a study-abroad program, he also had a visceral experience of what his enslaved ancestors may have endured.
Sociology doctoral candidate wins national fellowship for research on travel programs that teach youth about the African diaspora
May 25, 2022
Theresa Hice-Fromille was one of five top scholars selected nationwide for the American Sociological Association’s 2022-2023 Minority Fellowship program. Funding from this and other recent awards will support her dissertation research on travel abroad programs led by Black women that teach youth about the African diaspora.
Fellowships support graduate students studying queer movies, Mau Mau Uprising
May 24, 2022
Raed El Rafaei is examining queer movies made by artists from Lebanon and the diaspora, and Christian David Alvarado is investigating how the Mau Mau Uprising, which ran through the 1950s in Kenya, fits in with the larger processes of decolonization in Africa.
Professor Christine Hong Speaks on KPFA
May 23, 2022
Professor Hong is a guest on KPFA's "Flashpoints" program, speaking about Biden's trip to Asia and the fight for ethnic studies. Listen to the entire episode here!
New Department of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies invites students to think critically about race during a time of global reckoning with racism
May 10, 2022
CRES was first introduced as a degree program in 2014 and, thanks to its rapid growth and strong faculty and student advocacy, gained departmental status in 2021.
Statement in Support of the UC A-G Ethnic Studies Requirement
May 6, 2022
The CRES Department supports the UC A-G Ethnic Studies requirement, as drafted by experts in the field, which centers what has historically been marginalized in traditional curricula: namely, the lived experiences of Native peoples and communities of color, their epistemologies, and their struggles within and against systems of colonialism and racism.
Invisible Labor, or Labor of Love? Transforming Structures of Whiteness.
May 2, 2022
City on a Hill Press, the student-run weekly at UC Santa Cruz, published an article on the toll of invisible labor for faculty of color, highlighting the CRJ’s “Calling Out Whiteness” event series.
Onyx: Black Faculty and Staff Association Officially formed
April 20, 2022
After a year of efforts, UCSC’s Black faculty and staff affinity group, 'Onyx', became the campus's first official ethnic affinity association on March 22. A special thanks to Shauntay Larkins, CRES Assistant Manager, for her dedication to this effort.
CRES/FMST Major Receives First Fellowship for Humanities Students at the American Prospect
April 13, 2022
Unique partnership between The Humanities Institute, a leading national media outlet, and a generous UC Santa Cruz donor amplifies opportunities for UC Santa Cruz students.
Jenny Kelly: Touring the Colonial Present and Imagining a Decolonized Future
April 8, 2022
In this THI profile on the "Imagination" faculty series, Jenny Kelly explores the imaginative potential of tourism in Palestine.
CRES Supports the "Students for Sustaining Black Wellness" Referendum
April 4, 2022
Read the CRES Department's statement of support for the Black Student Union (BSU) and African American Theatre Arts Troupe (AATAT) referendum on Black Student Wellness.
micha cárdenas' Book Listed by Lambda Literary
March 8, 2022
Poetic Operations is listed in Lambda Literary’s list of most anticipated LGBTQIA+ books in March!
Upcoming Virtual Talks with CRES/DANM Faculty, micha cárdenas
March 8, 2022
See article for details and registration links to the virtual events with Assistant Professor, micha cárdenas (CRES/DANM).
Christine Hong's Book Awarded the 2022 Association for Asian American Studies Book Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literary Studies
March 3, 2022
Congratulations to Christine Hong, who has been awarded the 2022 Association for Asian American Studies Book Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literary Studies for A Violent Peace: Race, U.S. Militarism, and Cultures of Democratization in Cold War Asia and the Pacific. Christine will be honored at the 2022 AAAS conference in April.
Black Women in Tech: A.M. Darke
February 18, 2022
TONL sat down with CRES/AGPM Assistant Professor, A.M. Darke as part of their "Women Techmakers" storytelling series highlighting Black women in tech.
CRES Major Receives First Jay Family Humanities Scholarship
February 17, 2022
CRES Major Mikayla Jordan (Kresge, '23) received the first Jay Family Humanities Scholarship, a new scholarship that honors the Jay family's humanities legacy.
CRES DE Anny Mogollón Profiled in THI
February 11, 2022
Mogollón, a Literature PhD student and CRES DE, explains her academic and activist engagement with domestic workers.
Black Hair in Video Games Is Terrible. These 3D Artists Are Changing That.
January 10, 2022
Please check out this Vice News article and interview with CRES and AGPM Assistant Professor, A.M. Darke!
micha's book, "Poetic Operations: Trans of Color Art in Digital Media" Out Now!
December 22, 2021
Available on Kindle!
A.M. Darke to Give Talk at Yale CS Colloquium
December 1, 2021
A.M. Darke (Assistant Professor of CRES and Digital Arts and New Media) will be discussing her development of the Open Source Afro Hair Library, a queer, feminist, antiracist 3D database for Black hair textures and styles at the Yale Computer Science Colloquium at 1:00PM PST on Friday, December 3rd.
FMST Professor Neel Ahuja publishes new book: Planetary Specters
November 19, 2021
Congratulations to Neel Ahuja, whose new book – Planetary Specters: Race, Migration, and Climate Change in the Twenty-First Century – was recently published by UNC Press. Click through to learn more ...
KT Yamashita Accepts National Book Award Lifetime Achievement Award
November 18, 2021
Karen Tei Yamashita is recognized with the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, presented by Viet Thanh Nguyen. The presentation begins at 43:17.
CFP for Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Palestine
November 10, 2021
Lila Sharif, Somdeep Sen, and Jenny Kelly are co-editing Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Palestine in the Detours series at Duke University Press.
Camilla Hawthorne Receives Leonardo Da Vinci Society Humanities Award
November 1, 2021
Please join us in congratulating Camilla on being the 2021 recipient of the Leonardo Da Vinci Society Humanities Award for Early-Career Italian-American Researchers and Scholars!
Trans of Color Poetics and Lesbian Potentiality
October 3, 2021
micha cárdenas (Theater Arts and Digital Arts and New Media) has a series of upcoming virtual talks about her forthcoming book Poetic Operations: Trans of Color Art in Digital Media.
Camilla Hawthorne to speak at the virtual GeoWoche2021
October 2, 2021
Journal Lecture of the Geographica Helvetica at the virtual GeoWoche2021 will be delivered by Camilla Hawthorne (SOCY) on October 5th at 7pm (CET) and is titled: Black Mediterranean Geographies. Please find the abstract below.
"Opinion: I created the first ethnic studies program at my high school. Here’s what awoke my identity."
September 16, 2021
Izadora Lopez McGawley is a 2nd year CRES and Community Studies student.
Karen Tei Yamashita to receive 2021 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
September 13, 2021
UC Santa Cruz emerita professor of literature Karen Tei Yamashita will be awarded the 2021 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from The National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards.
A.M. Darke Profiled in Killscreen
August 6, 2021
Please check out this interview with CRES faculty, A.M. Darke, Assistant Professor in DANM (Digital Arts and New Media)!
Critical Ethnic Studies Journal: Volume 6, Issue 2 Now Live!
August 2, 2021
Jenny Kelly (FMST/CRES) and Camilla Hawthorne's (SOCY/CRES) guest-edited "Borderland Regimes and Resistance" issue of the Critical Ethnic Studies Journal (CES) is now live! Please check it out!
UPON Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America
July 29, 2021
Professor Ronaldo Wilson's (LIT) incredible poem, "UPON Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America" was recently published on poet.org
Racial and colonial histories offer insights on refugee crisis in ‘The Black Mediterranean’
July 22, 2021
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Camilla Hawthorne coedited a first-of-its-kind new book called "The Black Mediterranean," which examines the African diaspora within the region.
Doctoral student wins Ford Foundation fellowship for work on gender, race, and policing
June 09, 2021
Uriel Serrano recently won a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to support his research on how gender ideologies are formed in relation to carceral violence.
Congratulations to Camilla Hawthorne on Her Book, "The Black Mediterranean"!
June 4, 2021
Please join us in celebrating the publication of CRES faculty, Camilla Hawthorne's (SOCY) landmark edited volume, "The Black Mediterranean: Bodies, Border, and Citizenship" (Palgrave 2021).
Congratulations to Eric Porter on His New Book!
May 29, 2021
Please join us in congratulating Eric Porter, CRES faculty (HIS) on the release of "Sound Changes: Improvisation and Transcultural Difference".
CRES and FMST welcome Marisol LeBrón!
May 18, 2021
CRES Statement of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Nakba Day
May 15, 2021
CRES stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Please see our statement issued May 15th, Nakba Day.
The Judy Yung Memorial Fund
May 11, 2021
In honor of Judy Yung, emerita professor of American studies, author, scholar of Chinese American history
CES Publishing Workshop for Graduate Students
April 19, 2021
The current co-editors and managing editor talk publishing in critical ethnic studies and its sister disciplines.
Global Racial Justice Podcast with Camilla Hawthorne
April 15, 2021
CRES faculty Camilla Hawthorne and activist Shailja Patel talk about global racial justice
Congratulations to Christine Hong, CRES Director (LIT) on the publication of her article "White Terror, 'Red' Island": a People's Archive of the Jeju 4.3 Uprising and Massacre
April 8, 2021
Congratulations to Christine Hong, CRES Director (LIT) on the publication of "White Terror, 'Red' Island": a People's Archive of the Jeju 4.3 Uprising and Massacre," a special forum of the abusable past, the online companion to Radical History Review. The Abusable Past is a digital venue that emerges from the work of the Radical History Review. For over forty years, Radical History Review has stood at the nexus of historical scholarship and active political engagement. The Abusable Past provides a space for critical scholarship and rigorous debate with implications for how we think through the past, understand the present, and envision the future.
CRES Principal Faculty, A.M. Darke receives major award from UCSC Arts Research Institute
April 5, 2021
Please join us in congratulating A.M. Darke (Assistant Professor DANM/AGPM/CRES) who was recognized for her work “Open Source Afro Hair Library”!
CRES DE, Ka-Eul Yoo's research paper recognized by the Association for Asian American Studies
April 2, 2021
Literature Ph.D student and CRES DE, Ka-eul Yoo received the Best Graduate Student Paper Award from the Association for Asian American Studies.
Campus launches first Black studies minor
February 26, 2021
UC Santa Cruz's Black Studies minor offers students grounding in the intellectual histories, political movements, cultural expressions, and critical theories of the Black diaspora.
CRES Faculty Jenny Kelly and Camilla Hawthorne on "Border Regimes" Research Cluster
February 19, 2021
FMST professor Jenny Kelly and SOCY professor Camilla Hawthorne speak about "Border Regimes and Resistance in Global Perspectives," one of three research clusters connected to THI's 2020-2021 theme "Memory."
Graduate Student Spotlight: Theresa Hice-Fromille (Sociology)
February 10, 2021
CRES DE, Theresa Hice-Fromille (Sociology), spoke with fellow CRES DE and grad rep, Jane Komori to discuss her love of travel and research around community-based roots travel organization (CBRTO)--an educational space in which youth participants learned about themselves and Blackness and came to form their racial identity.
Anthropologist Savannah Shange wins book award for insights on race and education
February 01, 2021
Anthropology faculty member Savannah Shange received one of the most prestigious honors in the field when she was awarded the 2020 Gregory Bateson Book Prize from the Society for Cultural Anthropology.
Italian newspaper ranks sociology professor among top women of the year
January 20, 2021
Camilla Hawthorne is being recognized for shedding light on emergent Afro-Italian identities and activism during a time of racial reckoning in Italy and beyond.
Graduate Student Spotlight: Uriel Serrano (Sociology)
January 12, 2021
CRES Designated Emphasis (DE) student, Uriel Serrano (Sociology), sat down with fellow CRES DE and grad rep, Jane Komori at the end of last quarter to discuss his research in youth studies, critical race theory, and critical carceral studies.
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
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.
Sociology PhD candidate named UC Free Speech Fellow
May 28, 2019
Saugher Nojan, a PhD candidate in sociology, has been selected as a 2019-20 fellow of the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.
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.
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.
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.
