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!

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.

AC 25th Anniversary

About

In Spring 2014, the American Cultures Center hosted a series of week long events in recognition of the American Cultures 25th Anniversary. Please visit the links below to find out more information on the events.

'FIRE,' Anthropology C12AC/ESPM C22AC

FIRE: Past, Present and Future Interactions with the People and Ecosystems of California

Description:
Most Californians today fear catastrophic wild-land fires that each year scorch millions of acres of land, cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fight, and destroy human lives and property. Yet people have not always lived in dread of conflagrations. This class emphasizes how our interactions with wildfires in California have changed dramatically over the centuries, and that there is much that can be learned from earlier fire management strategies—...

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...

Workshop: 2019 Teaching with Wikipedia

About the Workshop

On December 9, the Wiki Education Foundation, the AC Center, and the University Library discussed the potential impacts of building Wikipedia assignments into course instruction to support and enhance teaching. As an educational tool, developing Wikipedia articles allows students to create collaborative work with a visible impact on a global audience. Whether adding new sources to existing Wikipedia pages or creating new pages on notable topics, students gain deeper insight into their course material and learn to evaluate critically the...

2020 AC Prizes Virtual Ceremony

The AC curriculum has been the fulcrum of critical diversity work on this campus for a long time. Inspired by the struggles and dreams of the Third World Liberation Front fifty years ago this year, and created in the late 1980s, the energy for the AC requirement was formed not on campus but in our surrounding communities. In 1984 in San Francisco and Oakland, longshore workers were leading the Bay Area fight against South African apartheid. For decades the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) had stood against apartheid, refusing to touch South African cargo. Although the...

Workshop: 2017 Teaching Wikipedia as a Classroom Assignment

About

On September 6, 2017, the AC Center and Wiki Education presented a workshop on how to build Wikipedia assignments into course instruction. As an educational tool, the development of Wikipedia articles allows students to create collaborative work with a visible impact on a global audience. Whether adding new sources to existing Wikipedia pages or creating new pages on notable topics, students gain deeper insight into their course material and learn to evaluate critically the reliability of sources. With faculty and students reporting enthusiasm and high levels of...

Teaching Resources

Find in our library previous records of workshops or panels related to teaching AC courses.

Cal Day

Cal Day attendants and tents near Sather GateEvery year the American Cultures Center celebrates the accomplishments of its faculty members and undergraduates. In the past we have hosted events featuring Engineering Scholars as Engaged Scholars (ES²), community partners, Cal alumni as well as current undergraduates.

Please use the links from the navigational menu on the left to learn...

Anthropology

Anthropology 2AC - 'Introduction to Archaeology'

Instructor: Jun Senseri
Semester: Fall 2014 - Spring 2016

In Professor Jun Sunseri's ACES Course, Anthropology 2AC, 'Introduction to Archaeology,' students learn about the methods, goals, and theoretical concepts of archaeology by closely examining the impact of archaeology on and the history of the construction of various communities: the Native Americans, Latin Americans, and Euro-Americans. This course also explores professional and ethical problems affecting the practice of...