Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies

Last updated
Berkeley Center for Right Wing Studies
EstablishedMarch 2009
Chair Lawrence Rosenthal
Location,
Berkeley
,
California
,
United States
Website crws.berkeley.edu

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]

Contents

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

The 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

The 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

The 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

The 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]

Student Engagement

The 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

The Journal of Right-Wing Studies (JRWS) is an open access academic journal operated by UC Berkeley's Center for Right-Wing Studies. [4]

People

The 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]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About CRWS | Institute for the Study of Societal Issues". About CRWS. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Cohen, Patricia (25 March 2009). "New Political Study Center? Turn Right at Berkeley". New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 "CRWS Research | Institute for the Study of Societal Issues". CRWS Research. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "About JRWS". Berkeley Journal of Right-Wing Studies. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 1 2 3 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.
  8. 1 2 "CRWS Archives" . Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  9. "CRWS People". CRWS People. Retrieved 9 April 2024.

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