Take a course, change your future: The American cultures engaged scholarship program at the University of California, Berkeley

Abstract

In a nation with persistent inequities, it is increasingly important that colleges and universities prepare students to be critically engaged in working for the public good while also understanding the inequitable impact of laws, policies, and cultural practices on people from diverse backgrounds. At the University of California, Berkeley, the American Cultures Engaged Scholarship program offers a model for building students’ ethical and active participation in public life through the transformative effects of linking diversity education with public scholarship and engagement. This chapter aims to show the importance of joining diversity education with civic education and share a high-impact, replicable model that others can adapt for their institutions.