Videos - Clips and Films

About Videos

A collection of video clips, and films produced by the American Cultures Center staff, students, faculty, and key partners is available for your streaming convenience!

Human Biological Variation, Integrative Biology 35AC

About Integrative Biology (IB) 35AC, 'Human Biological Variation,' explores human migrations and origins covering different regions worldwide, ending in the meeting of cultures in the Americas. The course addresses several powerful questions within evolutionary biology and human genetics: What role does biology play in identity formation and racial formation; What role does human biology have in public discourse on race; How does biology affect human interactions and social structures in America; How are genomic sequencing and consumer genetics changing the discourse on...

Bob Wing, 1969 TWLF Student Striker

About

Bob Wing has written about and engaged in social justice organizing and activism since 1968. His first organizing experience was in the 1969 UC Berkeley Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) strike, an experience that instilled a deep sense of purpose and commitment in Wing’s lifework. TWLF was a campuswide coalition of students of color that demanded an autonomous Third World College and a relevant curriculum for communities of color, led by students and community. The Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-Vietnam War movements inspired Wing, as...

Video Library

The American Cultures Center aims to strengthen the development of the curriculum through its support of course development workshops, community dialogue events and engagement with the rich diversity of students embarking on projects of social justice.

This video library aims to provide broad access to this work and foster our community of social justice practice at UC Berkeley and nationally.

College Writing

'Researching Water in the West,' cross-listed as College Writing 50AC and 150AC Instructor: Pat Steenland Semester: Spring 2015 - Present In College Writing (CW) 50/150AC, students learn of a history that is absent from the popular narrative of California 'water wars,' — the Paiute Native Americans who for hundreds of years developed a sophisticated system of irrigation canals that made the valley bloom. Their history was erased from the site's history by people who waged economic and land wars to control water rights. A primary goal in this class is to...

Curriculum Snapshot

History of American Cultures

2022 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.

Social Movements, Organizing & Policy Change, African American Studies 182AC and 197

In a time of a global pandemic, the 2020 election - the most historic election of our lives - was in peril. Freedom Summer 2020 gave students a chance to be part of a nationwide virtual movement for voter engagement ahead of the historic 2020 election. Joined with students from across the country, students in this summer course helped build the power and voice of low-wage worker voters who have been the most impacted by COVID-19.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has brought most voter outreach efforts across the country to a halt, Freedom Summer 2020 continued with a completely...

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.

Race - The Power of an Illusion Website

Race—The Power of an Illusion, one of the most widely-used documentary series ever in formal and non-formal education in the US, can now take advantage of a new companion website at www.racepowerofanillusion.org

The companion website was created by the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, the American Cultures Center, and the Media Resource Center at the University of California, Berkeley in partnership with the series...