Criticism + Critique

Whether considering the role of philosophical critique in aesthetics or the professional function of the critic in our contemporary moment, this theme tracks the vital role of writers and thought leaders who engage in deep cultural and theoretical investigations of arts and culture. What is the role of aesthetics in the history of critique?  How has criticism changed in response to different art forms--film, art, literature, dance, theater? How has the role of the journalist and critic changed in a digital age where where "everyone's a critic?" 

Philip Kan Gotanda (right) performing his original music in 1979 with David Hwang.

How the Asian American movement began at Berkeley, sparked creativity and unity

Anne Brice, Berkeley News

In the second part of a three-part series, playwright and UC Berkeley professor Philip Kan Gotanda discusses how he began to write music during the emerging Asian American movement, which began at Berkeley in the late 1960s.

Four students are spotlighted on a Zoom meeting.

Theater, Dance and Performance Studies’ ‘Newsflash! A Mini Musical’ channels graduation anxieties

Grace Orriss, The Daily Cal

It’s appropriate that “Newsflash! A Mini Musical” is virtually premiering in May, because its subjects — collegiate high achievers who are now desperately scrambling to succeed in the real world — will likely resonate with a portion of this year’s senior class of UC Berkeley undergraduates.

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.

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
 

A worker at UC Berkeley removing the name "Kroeber Hall" from the exterior of the campus building.

UC Berkeley removes Kroeber Hall name, citing namesake's 'immoral' work with Native Americans

Melissa Gomez

A UC Berkeley campus building will be stripped of its name because of the legacy of its namesake, an anthropologist whose work included the “immoral and unethical” collection of Native American remains, the university announced Tuesday.

 

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.