Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies
The Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies (CRWS) is an interdisciplinary academic research center at the University of California, Berkeley, focused on studies of right-wing politics. It is housed at the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI). It was founded in 2009, originally as the Center for the Comparative Study of Right-Wing Movements.[1]
| Established | March 2009 |
|---|---|
| Chair | Lawrence Rosenthal |
| Location | , Berkeley , California , United States |
| Website | crws |
The CRWS researches right-wing movements in the 20th and 21st centuries,[1] and is one of the first institutions in the United States dedicated to scholarly research and analysis of right-wing politics and movements.[2]
Mission
editThe CRWS was founded in 2009 and describes itself as having two missions: "first, to identify right-wing movements, flesh out their twentieth-century histories (how they aligned and how they survived) while isolating their novel aspects in the 21st century; and second, to develop and apply principles of how right-wing thought, ideology and organizational capacities operate to understand the state of the contemporary Right and identify its likely directions and successes."[1]
The founding of the CRWS has been described by its founder, Lawrence Rosenthal, as being motivated by the diversification of right-wing movements after the Cold War, and because the center feels it is an understudied area.[2] Its research focuses on the past hundred years and likely future directions of right-wing movements, and studies these movements and ideologies across history and transnationally.[3] Its activities and programs include "publishing research findings, organizing working groups for faculty and graduate students, offering mini-grants to support undergraduate and graduate student research, providing fellowships and training opportunities to Berkeley students, and planning conferences, colloquia, and other public events" to support its mission.[3]
The CRWS also publishes a journal, the Journal of Right-Wing Studies (JRWS).[4] The CRWS and JRWS describe themselves as nonideological, and hope to influence "journalism, activism, and public policy."[4]
The CRWS has been cited in The New York Times,[5] ABC News,[6] as well as the Huffington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. "The extent in which we have become a kind of indispensable resource following things like the alt-right has been very significant," said Rosenthal.[7]
Funding
editThe CRWS was founded with a $777,000 anonymous donation in 2009.[2] It is funded entirely by private donations.[1]
In response to an email from The Daily Californian, a UC Berkeley student newspaper, Lawrence Rosenthal[7] said the donations vary in size, and that "Most are from Cal alums. We also receive funding for specific projects from foundations and non-profit organizations."
Programs
editThe CRWS supports interdisciplinary research on various facets of right-wing movements, ideologies, and actors in the U.S. and internationally. Its work includes operating a journal; the development and management of relevant archives; hosting symposia, conferences, and colloquia; and offering training and research opportunities to Berkeley students.[1]
Archives
editThe CRWS is actively building a multimedia archive of audio, video, and print materials on the right-wing, and makes these materials available to scholars and the public.[8]
As of 2024, this includes:[8]
- John Birch Society and Related Audio and Visual Recordings
- a Bibliography of academic theses and dissertations on the American right-wing
- a FBI FOIA archive of radical right-wing groups and individuals
- a collection of KKK newspapers
- Ephemera and recordings of conservatives from People For the American Way, a progressive advocacy group founded by Norman Lear
Student Engagement
editThe CRWS "offers mini-grants, fellowships and training opportunities to Berkeley students."[1] This has included work creating and maintaining the above archives through undergraduate work. Then senior Hollis Potts worked on "digitization of a variety of FBI materials, including memos, newsletters and pamphlets" and, then junior Kelly Jones worked on a proposal to "summarize and catalog rare audio and visual recordings from the John Birch Society" in 2018.[7]
Journal
editThe Journal of Right-Wing Studies (JRWS) is an open access academic journal operated by UC Berkeley's Center for Right-Wing Studies.[4]
People
editThe Center for Right-Wing Studies is chaired by Lawrence Rosenthal, and its Faculty Advisory Board is composed of Paola Bacchetta, Troy Duster, Carole Joffe, Michael Omi, William Russell Ellis, and Kim Voss. [9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "About CRWS | Institute for the Study of Societal Issues". About CRWS. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Cohen, Patricia (25 March 2009). "New Political Study Center? Turn Right at Berkeley". New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ a b "CRWS Research | Institute for the Study of Societal Issues". CRWS Research. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "About JRWS". Berkeley Journal of Right-Wing Studies. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Edsall, Thomas B. (3 April 2024). "Opinion: Trump's Backers Are Determined Not to Blow It This Time Around". New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Galloway, Kayla (14 January 2021). "'Markers were not sudden': US Capitol riot not surprising, chair of UC Berkeley's Center for Right-Wing Studies says". ABC. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Zhang, Phil (8 May 2018). "'Our mission is scholarship': Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies brings academic lens to conservative movements". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ a b "CRWS Archives". Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "CRWS People". CRWS People. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
External links
edit- Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies (CRWS) homepage
- CRWS Archives and Resources
- Journal of Right-Wing Studies website
- CRWS twitter