News

News

$50,000 Andy Warhol Arts Writer’s grant

December 8, 2025
Congratulations Salar Mameni who last week received a $50,000 Andy Warhol Arts Writer’s grant to support the completion of his next book, Bahamut: Aesthetic Flows of the Arabian Sea.
The book studies art produced in the Arabian Sea’s coastal regions, looking specifically to...Read more about ,000 Andy Warhol Arts Writer’s grant

Berkeley Social Sciences students use storytelling to document border experiences in study abroad program

November 3, 2025

What began as a summer study abroad program became a cross-continental storytelling project for a group of Berkeley Social Sciences students who turned their experiences studying immigration and identity into a multimedia zine. They used the digital journal to document their personal...Read more about Berkeley Social Sciences students use storytelling to document border experiences in study abroad program

A Haven for the Humanities

October 30, 2025

On the evening of October 15, a sold-out audience heard Professor Catherine Ceniza Choy, who this year is a Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow at the Huntington Library, deliver a public lecture entitled, “Inventor of Magic Food: The Life and Legacy of Filipina Food Scientist Maria...Read more about A Haven for the Humanities

Long Le-Khac Featured in Berkeley News

September 30, 2025

Lila Thulin of Berkeley News has just profiled a fabulous new work by Long Le-Khac. Long's just published a 1,900-entry dataset that will enable scholars and students to investigate which works are discussed as "Asian American," and what's left out.

For...Read more about Long Le-Khac Featured in Berkeley News

Ruben Elias Canedo UC Berkeley News Feature

August 21, 2025

Berkeley News has just done a lengthy profile of one of our remarkable undergraduate alumni, Ruben Elias Canedo! Ruben's been doing amazing work building UCB's Undocumented Student Program and then the Basic Needs Center, among many other impactful projects. Please take a moment to read...Read more about Ruben Elias Canedo UC Berkeley News Feature

Salar Mameni Earns Tenure!

June 24, 2025
The Department is pleased to share this most splendid of updates --
Salar Mameni has just received his tenure letter, and has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor effective July 1, 2025!
As Salar's colleagues, we've had the pleasure of learning from his...Read more about Salar Mameni Earns Tenure!

Letters and Sciences Features Team-Taught Course on Prison Abolition

June 24, 2025
Spring 2025 marked the fourth iteration of a Big Ideas course on prison abolition, one born out of collaboration between Ethnic Studies, the AC Center, and the College of Letters and Sciences, and animated by critical and lived entanglements with the carceral state. This year, Keith Feldman...Read more about Letters and Sciences Features Team-Taught Course on Prison Abolition

New Keywords Essay on Antisemitism

June 24, 2025
Many of us are likely aware of a scholarly series put out by NYU Press on "Keywords.” Keith Feldman has co-authored an essay in their "Keywords Now" series that unspools the term "antisemitic" as a keyword...Read more about New Keywords Essay on Antisemitism

Announcing the Next Department Chair

May 8, 2025

Dr. Lorena Oropeza has graciously agreed to serve as the next Chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies, effective July 1, 2025!

Dr. Oropeza is an award-winning historian whose research sits at the intersection of race, empire, and Chicano Studies. She is the author of...Read more about Announcing the Next Department Chair

PhD Alum Jen Rose Smith Publishes First Book

May 8, 2025
Alumni from our PhD program continue to produce pathbreaking interdisciplinary scholarship. Case in point: Dr. Jen Rose Smith has just published her first monograph, entitled Ice Geographies: The Colonial Politics of Race and Indigeneity in the Arctic (Duke).

Catherine Ceniza Choy Elected to Society of American Historians

April 30, 2025
Catherine Ceniza Choy is a new elected member of the Society of American Historians. The Society of American Historians (SAH) was founded in 1939 by the journalist and Columbia University historian Allan Nevins and several fellow scholars to promote literary distinction in the writing of...Read more about Catherine Ceniza Choy Elected to Society of American Historians

“Resist, Document, Join Forces”: Grad Program Symposium featured in Berkeleyside

April 24, 2025

Berkeleyside, an excellent local news outlet, has just published a detailed feature about the Department’s recent symposium marking...Read more about “Resist, Document, Join Forces”: Grad Program Symposium featured in Berkeleyside

Noteworthy Media Mentions

April 10, 2025

Ethnic Studies scholars are routinely doing the work “out there,” engaging the public, offering much-needed insight and analysis. Here are a few noteworthy media mentions from the last few months.

Khatharya Um's community-engaged...Read more about Noteworthy Media Mentions

Incoming Doctoral Student Receives Prestigious Fellowship

April 10, 2025

Alex Rocha-Àlvarez, an incoming doctoral student, has just received a prestigious Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship!

Alex was born to Mexican...Read more about Incoming Doctoral Student Receives Prestigious Fellowship

Christian Paiz Receives L&S Blackwell Award

March 21, 2025
As we head into a much deserved spring break, I'm thrilled to share some good news, via Jennifer Johnson-Hanks, Executive Dean of Letters and Sciences!
Christian Paiz is receiving this year's David Blackwell Award! The Blackwell Award is given annually to a recently tenured...Read more about Christian Paiz Receives L&S Blackwell Award

L+S Amplifies 40 Years of our PhD Program

March 3, 2025

Berkeley's College of Letters and Sciences is uplifting the robust 40-year history of our PhD Program. Check out this...Read more about L+S Amplifies 40 Years of our PhD Program

Ethnic Studies Doctoral Student Publishes New Essay on the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

February 20, 2025
Our very own doctoral student, Dawny'all Hedari, has just published a new article in Common Dreams: "As a Cease-Fire Brings Some Relief to Gaza
...Read more about Ethnic Studies Doctoral Student Publishes New Essay on the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

Department News