International & Area Studies

International & Area Studies 158AC - Social Movements, Urban Histories, and the Politics of Memory
Instructor: Sean Burns
Semester: Spring 2015 - Fall 2016

Dr. Sean Burns, winner of the Chancellor's Public Service Public Service-Learning Leadership Award, developed the ACES course International & Area Studies 158AC, "Social Movements, Urban Histories, and the Politics of Memory." This course surveys the history of progressive social movements in the San Francisco Bay Area.  In addition, by combining history, sociology, urban geography, and ethnic studies, the course addresses the following questions:

  • Why and how these movements emerged?
  • What cultural, racial, ethnic and political identities were drawn from, reconfigured, and created in these movements?
  • What kinds of knowledge and institutions were created by these movements? How have these legacies shaped the culture and politics of the area?

As part of the ACES Program, this course engages students in creating social movement documentation in collaboration with Bay Area activists and community organizers. Please click on the images below for sample of the students' work.