California Cultures in Comparative Perspective -- UCSD

California Cultures Director's Statement*

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.