Global Cultures

In past historical eras and in contemporary global conditions, we at Berkeley continually explore the transnational reach of people and cultures across the world. In this theme, we consider the role of the arts in the formation of nation-states, the movements of diaspora, the history of refugees, the experience of migration, and amid all cultural forms that enable and dis-enable global connection.

Small model of the campanile sits atop a table with other design materials.

Summer 2021 Courses in the Arts + Design

Berkeley Arts + Design

Immerse yourself in Berkeley's creative landscape by enrolling in a summer course.

Author Talk Beth Piatote UC Berkeley Native American Studies Flyer

In “The Beadworkers” and In Life, Author Beth Piatote Seeks to Resurrect Indigenous Language

Andrea Madison, The Inquirer, Diablo Valley College

Indigenous language revival is a phrase that the author and UC Berkeley professor of Native American Studies, Beth Piatote, holds a passion for. It is also one that she says has gained momentum in recent years.

Viet Nguyen and Felicity Liao from the Berkeley Forum spotlighted on Zoom.

Berkeley Forum hosts Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen

Serene Chang, The Daily Cal

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and UC Berkeley alumnus Viet Thanh Nguyen discussed how his personal experiences and the political climate have shaped his writing at a Berkeley Forum event Thursday.

a faded sepia image of clouds in a sky.

Lift Our Gazes: UC Berkeley Summer Reading List for New Students, 2021

UC Berkeley Summer Reading

Dear New Cal Students,

Black and white headshot of Shirin Neshat

Spring 2021 Schedule Archive: Arts + Design Thursdays

Berkeley Arts + Design

Spring 2021 Schedule
Arts+Design Thursdays: Time-Based Media Art

Woman in red long sleeve touching touching and holding heads with older man with white headphones.

Spring 2021 Schedule Archive: Arts + Design Mondays

Spring 2021 Schedule
Arts + Design Mondays: Together: Reinventing Politics, Reimagining Health
 

Dancer Nitzan Lederman dancing onstage.

$10 Million Gift From Helen Diller Foundation Marks New Name for Berkeley Institute at 10 Years

Public Affairs, UC Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley, today (Tuesday, Feb. 9) announced a $10 million endowment gift from the Helen Diller Foundation that will ensure a lasting legacy for its Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies.

Boy riding the pink swing at the Mexican Border

Designer Ron Rael's Seesaws at the Border Captured the World's Imagination. Now He's Back in Mexico With an Ambitious New project

Sarah Cascone

It was an image that quickly captured the imagination: an austere black barrier seeking to prevent migrants from entering the US over its southern border suddenly transformed into a place of joy and connection, a hot pink beam slid between the slats to create a temporary seesaw for children in both countries to play on together.

 

American and Mexican families enjoying the Teeter Totter Wall, which crosses the Mexican border with US, in 2019.

Pink seesaws across US-Mexico border named Design of the Year 2020

Lanre Bakare, The Guardian

A collection of bright pink seesaws that allowed people to interact over the US-Mexico border has won the prestigious Design of the Year award, with its creators saying they hoped the work encourages people to bui

Philip Gotanda

Legacy Playwrights Initiative Award recipient Philip Kan Gotanda talks storytelling through identity

Nurcan Sumbal, The Daily Cal

The Dramatists Guild Foundation recently honored prolific playwright Philip Kan Gotanda, UC Berkeley’s own professor of playwriting and a creator of one of the largest canons of Asian-American-themed theatre, with the Legacy Playwrights Initiative Award.