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 Protesters marched through the heart of downtown San Diego, Calif., April 9, 2006. When measured by virtually any standard, California is one of the most demographically and economically dynamic places on earth. The state's economic strength historically has created and sustained huge demands for labor; thus California has long served as a major entrepot to immigrants and internal migrants drawn to its expanding economy. Thus trends occurring in California are linked to and reflect transformations in other states and other nations around the globe. But with this vibrant social and economic reality the Golden state is also facing a host of challenges, including socioeconomic polarization, the erosion of the state's public education system, and continued political tensions among racial/ethnic groups over symbolic, cultural, and material resources. One of the greatest challenges facing California in the 21st century is diversity. UCSD is uniquely positioned to assume a leadership role in addressing the complex questions that affect the future of California's population. The California Cultures initiative will be a cutting-edge center of creative, interdisciplinary research, teaching, and collaboration among faculty, students, and the public to explore the broad implications of the history and current growth of the state's immigrant and people of color populations. As California is now a "majority minority" state, this focus becomes even more important. |
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 California: The Global Nexus
California has a history as a nexus in global and diasporic process. Once perceived as an island inhabited by imagined natives, the state now exemplifies the new populations and developments that illustrate the political, social-cultural and economics of global power, process and change. Characterized by starkly contrastive socio-political regions in urban centers, rural townships, coastal villages and native communities, California illustrates both geopolitical and nuanced borders not only with Mexico and the Americas but with Asia and the Pacific, as well as with the rest of the Continental United States. The California Cultures in Comparative Perspective Initiative (CCCP) supports research, dialogue and teaching that address the hierarchical, comparative and relational processes inherent in this contemporary global condition. As a cross roads to The Pacific, Asia and the Americas UCSD provides a specific niche that provides important contrasts and insights into this important nexus. This includes social movements, the military, borders and boundaries, diverse community history and rapidly changing populations. The goal of CCCP is to foster new dialogue, frameworks and collaborations in research and practice at both the University of California and with the broader regional, international and global community of which we are a part. Local communities are not only instrumental in this design but are at the heart of this understanding. The goal of the CCCP is not only to initiate new interdisciplinary dialogues directed at these issues and processes. CCCP emphasizes the need for new and inclusive knowledge that stems from the diversity of California’s people and to aim for social justice and a practical engagement with social change. |
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