Digital Commons Network^™

[2024 Honorable Mention] Hasta Que El Cuerpo Aguante, Brisa Rosiles

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

The focus of this project revolves around a critical examination of the alarming occurrences of heat stroke-related deaths among field workers in California, with a specific emphasis on cases documented in the Salinas Valley. The core of my artistic expression lies in a digital painting that captures the reality of a laborer enduring the devastating effects of heat stroke in the agricultural fields.

[2024 Honorable Mention] Diversifying Local Histories: Religion’S Erasure Of Indigeneity, Christina Fultz, Helene Marie Kristensen, Camille Herrera

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

Our podcast explores the nature in which the Carmel Mission has been projecting a false narrative of their religious origins. Hence, erasing the indigenous culture and communities while developing the Mission System. Our research unveils the historical discrepancies, the accurate portrayal of Junipero Serra. While acknowledging the traumatic experiences of Indigenous communities when facing religious indoctrination.

[2024 Winner] Dreaming Ourselves Out Of Settler Colonialism, Lesley Solano-Alonso, Deborah Williams, Isela Delgado

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

This podcast episode explores Decolonization through the concepts of Settler Colonialism, our positioning within settler colonialism in the U.S., and how we can move toward decolonization.

John Xxiii Aids Ministries Christmas Party

Monterey County LGBTQ Histories Exhibit

No abstract provided.

John Laird And Matt Friday At Monterey Pride

Monterey County LGBTQ Histories Exhibit

No abstract provided.

[2023 Honorable Mention] What Does The Absence Of My History Do To My Identity & Pride?: Utilizing Autohistoría-Teoría Methodology To Trace Educational Experience, Jissel Antonio

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

Utilizing Gloria Anzaldúa’s Autohistoria-teoría methodology, this humanistic study explores embodied experiences in the education system, guided by the question, What does the absence of my history do to my identity and pride? Theorizing across historical and personal contexts, I weave together personal archival materials, including school test scores, magical thinking, storytelling, and historical legacies of colonialism and American education. Inspired by Anzaldúa’s method of inquiry, I explore the relationship between identity and education by theorizing the reverberations between history and personal/collective experience.

[2023 Winner] The Reclamation Of Two-Spirit Identity, Kelly Christensen, Paige Monier

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

Our project looked into the history of two-spirit people, briefly talking about what happened to them during colonization, with a deeper look into how the two-spirit identity as been reclaimed and used as a way for queer indigenous people to connect with both their culture, and their personal identity.

[2023 Winner] The Removal Of Beach Flats Community Garden: A Case Of Environmental Racism, Melissa June Boose, Alexandra De La Cruz Reyes, Palia Vang, Nizhoni Hawthorne

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

The Removal of Beach Flats Community Garden: A Case of Environmental Racism is a podcast that details the plight of the Latinx community in the Santa Cruz County area of the Beach Flats. The community reclaimed an abandoned plot of land over 25 years that was being used for drug deals and prostitution. The community changed it into a community garden celebrating the various cultures from South America. The Seaside Corporation owns the land, which, despite not using it for years, decided in 2016 they would like to reclaim the land to pave a storage parking lot. This podcast details …

[2023 Honorable Mention] Coerced Removal Of Indigenous Children: The Past And Present Native Child Welfare In The United States, Mad Bolander, Emily Greaves, Amada Villa Nueva Lobato

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

Our podcast attempts to convey indigenous healing efforts since the time of BIA schools in the United States. With the ICWA ruled unconstitutional, we ask what have the lived experiences been of native children who were forcibly removed from their families and tribes? And what does this mean for children who might now be taken away from their families again without the protection of the ICWA?

Spaces Defined By Objects, William Van Nes

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This is an exploratory written peace that attempts to define spaces, and how objects as well as people define them. The peace takes the viewer through various images, all captured by William Van Nes throughout the United States, and tries to explain meaning, and how we prescribe our own meaning to spaces. This peace will specifically address and explore the concept of defining a space, and what it actually means to define spaces.

Tales Of Uncertainty Told By Grief And Forgiveness, Jesika Gaston

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This is a collection of poems taking account of my experiences with grieving my father and dealing with not having reconciled with him beforehand. Grief can be tricky and sticky with any situation: relationships, periods of our lives, a person we used to be, death, etc. Though it looks different for everyone, no one size fits all or this or that. And it sure isn’t linear and that’s okay :)

Useless Molehill, Chad Hearon

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This piece was a combination of two things: The phrase “don’t make a mountain of a molehill” as well as the concept of a useless watch, or a watch that does not tell time. Time is impossible to manage, it is the ultimate uncertainty. I find that I can be consumed by it or I can just acknowledge it.

Oxicity, Alanah Hunsdorfer

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This piece is a critique on our current climate crisis. It is set in a future where trees have been killed off and oxygen is scarce. A certain billionaire has to deal with the ramifications of his actions.

Uncertainly Satisfied, Emilia Davies-England

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

Satisfaction within one's self can be hard to come by. The tug of war between two halves can be a minefield of uncertainty. This is especially present for women in a society that instructs women to be several things at once. This piece explores that internal battle.

Made For The Isolated, Aleesha Bardwell

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

My response to these two drawings is centered around isolation from a bedroom perspective. After canceling out my original idea of taking photos of peoples bedrooms, what's a more personal way to approach the isolation period during COVID-19? That would be with drawing. As I took up most of my time in the whole year of isolating dedicated to drawing, I thought this decision made the most sense to add my own personal touch. I will reference that these photos mainly came from the articles I have read from 2020 and what it meant to isolate in your own bedroom. …

Inanimate Uncertainty, Ethan Jones

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

I created a photo book of film photos shot of my friends with the inanimate object that they feel got them through quarantine. In a time of isolation and loneliness, people's relationships with objects became much more intimate and they were less likely to take them for granted. When people are left with nothing but their own devices, those devices gain a special place in their priorities and I wanted to show those things from the perspective of the people I love.

My Abroad Trail, Clémentine Jaillard

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

I decided to come here as an exchange student for one semester to discover the Californian life. I didn't expect it to be so uncertain. The moment I told bye to my parents and stepped a foot in the plane, I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

There's Still A Reason To Lace 'Em Up, Ryan Anderson

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This piece started from a brainstorm around the question: "What items did I hold on to in times of uncertainty?" For me, the answer was my basketball shoes. During the pandemic, playing basketball was my only remaining tie to the outside world. It helped me cope and continue to feel connected to the world that had all but disappeared.

Starry Night's Interlude, Joshua Rodriguez

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

In my piece, I go into the depths of the art piece, A Starry night and I explain the history of it and its importance to today's day. It shows the depths of the meaning behind the art piece from one's window and how it can be examined in different forms of solidarity. Seeking the component of fulfilment with this art piece, I reflect on my time as a student here at CSUMB. This piece of art was given to me by a close friend upon leaving for college and I moved to an entirely new life.

Pandemic Recollections (A Poetry Series), Gloria Salcido

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic stirred up a myriad of emotions as everyone faced the uncertainty of the virus. This series of poems reflects on those emotions, from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 to the present.

"How it started" recalls the initial spread of the virus and the changes it inflicted. In "Bored," we explore the myriad of ways that life at home was experienced. "Fidget" refers to a more personal experience of coping with the anxiety of the pandemic using a fidget cube. A common experience expressed by many has been a lack of mental clarity and …

What's Next?, Dolores Harris

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This painting is meant to capture the feeling of uncertainty. When I'm uncertain about a certain outcome, it can feel like my head is being pulled in multiple directions, of what I want to do and what I should do. Things seem a bit hazy and confusing because I cannot clearly see what's ahead. It can make feel It can be a scary feeling. But it can also be exciting and colorful. I wanted to capture all these complicated feelings in a painting, using watercolor.

Living In Dark Skin, Jenises Gonzalez

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

I wrote this piece to bring light the colorism that I have experienced as a dark skin woman. I also share the experience of struggling with my identity as a Mexican-American woman. I highlighted that this rejected also comes from within my culture.

Times Of Uncertainty, Connor Plant

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

I created this piece because graduation is around the corner, and with graduation brings new exciting beginnings but also a sense of uncertainty. COVID-19 has taught us more than ever before that the future isn't guaranteed. Art was a major inspiration for this piece as artist David Popa demonstrates his incredible and creative brain in his exhibit "Fractured."

Time Of Peace, Jared Williams

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

I decided to do a hand drawn reflection for my in depth piece. The globe is on a clock with a made from a peace symbol. The different color fist represent the diversity we see everyday. The two hands carrying a dove and a grenade represent the balance between peace and destruction.

One Day, Chase Crawford

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

In my piece called “One Day”, I discuss my journey with the uncertainty of a medical diagnosis at age 24. I talk about my past lifestyle, & how it’s dramatically changed recently because of my health. I also hope to encourage people to take better care of themselves & to never take a day for granted.

Pink Platforms, Alyssa Phillips

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This piece represents finding pride in femininity. Too often little girls are told that being feminine is synonymous with being weak, and not being taken seriously. Pink is usually seen as a color of softness, but in this piece I wanted to use a vibrant, hot pink that is not soft to the eyes in the slightest. I also wanted to use the subject matter of platform heeled boots, because platforms make me feel far more empowered than a simple pair of stilettos, which men seem to prefer. This piece is about learning to not only embrace the power and …

Suffocation, Alyssa Phillips

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This piece is about mental illness, and how it can leave you feeling constantly suffocated. Every day is a struggle when living with a mental illness, and it can feel as though your whole being is consumed by it. It has power over you, and it drains you to a point where you eventually surrender to its control. I chose to use a mimic octopus to represent it due to the unsettling size of the creature and its limbs, as well as its threatening patterns. This piece speaks of my own experience with uncertainty, when I had began to really …

My Heart's Map, Clémentine Jaillard

HCOM 434: Creative Publishing and Critical Storytelling, Spring 2023

This is a map of heart. It is decided into 7 pieces, each one representing what it is consisted of. Some of them are more happier than some other but each of them has its importance.

Adriana Camarena Makes A Supply Run To The Wildfires In Healdsburg And Petaluma During Covid-19

Teaching the Auntie Sewing Squad Oral History Excerpts in the Classroom

No abstract provided.

Theresa Hatathlie-Delmar Fundraises And Stock-Piles For Navajo Nation Prior To The National Two-Week Quarantine

Teaching the Auntie Sewing Squad Oral History Excerpts in the Classroom

No abstract provided.