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Comparative Ethnic Studies

Welcome

Welcome to the Comparative Ethnic Studies Library Guide

This library guide provides information on how to access the many resources at the UC Berkeley Library and the Ethnic Studies Library related to Comparative Ethnic Studies including resources related to communities of color and social movements.

Need information on the new UC Library Search system? Visit the UC Library Search page of this guide and the UC Library Search Library Guide!

Comparative Ethnic Studies Collections at UC Berkeley

Comparative Ethnic Studies is the critical and interdisciplinary study of race grounded in a deep understanding of the particular historical, social, economic, cultural, and political experiences of individual racialized groups as well as an analysis of the relationships among them. The UC Berkeley Library and the Ethnic Studies Library collects at a research level in the subject of Comparative Ethnic Studies, an interdisciplinary field which includes history, literature, political science, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies, etc.  Honoring the specificity, intersectionality, and diversity of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities, this library guide brings together information from Black / African American and African Diaspora Studies, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, Chicanx/a/o Studies, Indigenous and Native Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies and more that may be supportive to research initiatives in Comparative Ethnic Studies. 

The Ethnic Studies Library, with its departmental focus, features an Comparative Ethnic Studies Collection in connection with the Comparative Ethnic Studies Program within the Ethnic Studies Department.  The Comparative Ethnic Studies Collection features books, serials, archival materials, and media on the history, culture and politics of communities of color and the study of comparative ethnic studies and race relations. Examples of CES collections include the Ronald T. Takaki Papers and the June Jordan Poetry for the People Program Records. 

The Bancroft Library, in addition to being the UC Berkeley’s manuscript and archival collections, holds materials relevant to American ethnic groups in California, the Western United States and Mexico; see the Western Americana collection description for details. 

Books and resources related to Comparative Ethnic Studies are located in multiple campus libraries. Humanities and social sciences materials are located in the Main (Gardner) Stacks, with additional materials in subject specialty libraries such as (but not limited to) the Education/Psychology, Social Research, Anthropology, Environmental Design, Media Resources Center, and more. For more information on navigating the library system, feel free to reach out to the Comparative Ethnic Studies Librarian.

Comparative Ethnic Studies Program

The Comparative Ethnic Studies Program, one of the programs under the Department of Ethnic Studies, is founded in the understanding that the study of race should be grounded in a deep understanding of the particular historical, social, economic, cultural, and political experiences of individual racialized groups as well as an analysis of the relationships among them.  Established in 1975, our Comparative Ethnic Studies (CES) program builds on and extends beyond the groups covered in our other majors by analyzing the multiple and intersectional ways in which groups are racialized, operate within and contest various forms of power, and build alliances. Collectively our faculty provide a wide range of interdisciplinary analyses across geographical areas, among various racialized peoples, and with other markers of social difference such as gender, class, and sexuality.  Our CES program enriches the study of individual racialized and indigenous groups and has long provided a model for the development of other Ethnic Studies departments across the country.

The Ethnic Studies Library

The Ethnic Studies Library is the departmental library of the Department of Ethnic Studies. It was established in 1997 by merging the Asian American Studies Library, the Chicano Studies Library, and the Native American Studies Library. Since the founding of the Department following the Third World Liberation Front student strike in 1969, the collections of these libraries grew from student interest in collecting and preserving a perspective by and for racialized communities that they saw as lacking or marginalized in other campus libraries. The specialized ethnic studies books and serials, archival collections, posters, and audio collections from those three libraries live on in a centralized space on the ground floor of Stephens Hall, a short walk from Barrows Hall. The library consists of these four collections: Asian American Studies Collection; Chicano Studies Collection; Native American Studies Collection; Comparative Ethnic Studies Collection. In addition to our collections, the ESL regularly hosts events, ESL librarians provide reference and instruction for the department and larger campus community, and takes recommendations on purchasing books in the field of Ethnic Studies. Visit the Ethnic Studies Library website for more information.