2021 Student Prize Recipients

About

Since 2008, the American Cultures Student Prize has recognized and celebrated undergraduate achievements within American Cultures courses. The prize is awarded annually to undergraduates for projects they develop in an American Cultures course that promotes understanding of U.S. race, ethnicity, and culture and exemplifies a standard of excellence in scholarship.  Prior award-winning submissions have included essays, poetry, films, reflection statements on live performances, among other work produced for American Cultures courses. 

2021 Recipients of the American Cultures Student Prize

Morgan Su

The Dreamers

ESPM 50AC, “Introduction to Culture and Natural Resource Management” Instructor: Dr. Kenneth Worthy

"It was only after twenty full years of my life that I was first taught about a fully-fleshed, Asian-American story rather than an over-simplified SparkNotes equivalent: I was taught about false promises, adamant hope, mortifying discrimination, and fervent perseverance.

I wanted to highlight this narrative of strength—this adamant cry for equality and the consequent foundations laid through both metaphorical and historically significant imagery. The main focus of the painting, the woman, symbolizes the resistance of Chinese migrants against an institutional effort to erase them from history." 

Nina Narahari, Salomé Ragot & Sydney Pon

Submission: "Responding to COVID-19: Immigrants Face Major Barriers to Accessing Essential Services in the SF Bay Area"

Sociology 146AC, Contemporary Immigration in Global Perspective Instructor: Professor Irene Bloemraad

"Where can immigrants turn to for help during the pandemic? What barriers do they face in accessing necessary services? This brief summarizes key issues around immigrant service provision in the San Francisco Bay Area in the context of COVID-19, from economic aid to food assistance. It shines a light on the structural inequities that immigrants face, especially those who are low-income. In particular, the brief highlights seven key challenges: barriers to accessible healthcare, employment and housing vulnerabilities, obstacles to obtaining economic assistance, fear over using public benefits (even when eligible), going hungry, language barriers, and the digital divide." Read Report.