Title: UC Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies Records, 1963 – 2014

Dates: 1963 - 2014

Collection Number: CES ARC 2022/1

Creator/Collector:

Extent: 3.13 linear ft. (9 cartons)

Repository: UC Berkeley. Ethnic Studies Library

Abstract: The UC Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies Records contains materials documenting the UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Department from its founding in 1968 – 1969 to the 2010s. Originally composed of four academic disciplines: Afro American Studies, Chicano Studies, Asian American Studies and Native American Studies, the department of Ethnic Studies grew out of a student-led strike to a nationally recognized academic unit, producing some of the most dynamic and influential scholarship in the field and struggling since its inception to transform education.

Language of Material: English

Collection is Open for Research

Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the curator, Ethnic Studies Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-2360.

[Identification of item]. UC Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies Records, 1963 – 2014. Collection Number: CES ARC 2022/1. UC Berkeley. Ethnic Studies Library

This collection contains materials documenting the UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Department from its founding in 1969 to the 2010s. Originally composed of four academic disciplines: Afro-American Studies, Chicano Studies, Asian American Studies and Native American Studies, the department of Ethnic Studies grew out of a student-led strike to a nationally-recognized academic unit, producing some of the most dynamic and influential scholarship in the field. The origins of the department are rooted in struggles for self-determination and civil rights as in 1969, students united to demand systemic change and the creation of Ethnic Studies, a new discipline meant to challenge Eurocentric epistemologies and support scholarship that would empower and bring justice and material change for communities of color on and off campus. This collection documents the history of the newly formed discipline – the newly conceived array of courses; the proposals that shifted the structure, culture and dynamics of the discipline; the focus on student engagement with the community, the struggles between Ethnic Studies and UC Berkeley and UC administration, and the continued protests and strikes to guarantee the hard-earned victories of the students in the 1969 Third World Liberation Front. Contained within are extensive documentation of the departments as they evolved from a set of demands into a robust academic unit and the tensions within and outside the department related to institutionalization and changing global, national and local politics. Materials in this collection include administrative memorandum and correspondence, course catalogs, meeting minutes, curricula, news clippings, proposals, committee notes, and departmental reviews. These cover a span of over fifty years and include some of the formative moments in the history of the department including the separation of Afro-American studies from Ethnic Studies in 1974, strikes and protests, debates about departmental reorganization, external reviews, budget cuts and more.