Cal Humanities

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more when it is in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

Trailer: Regarding Susan Sontag

Please join California Humanities for a screening of Regarding Susan Sontag playing at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, followed by a post-screening discussion held at Congregation Sha’ar Zahav. Regarding Susan Sontag is an […]

Trailer: A Fierce Green Fire on American Masters

A Fierce Green Fire, a comprehensive history of the American environmental movement narrated by Robert Redford, Isabel Allende, and Meryl Streep, premieres nationally on the PBS series American Masters on Tuesday, […]

Trailer: The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room

What are you thinking about as you sit in the waiting room of your local hospital? What are you feeling? Fear that you won’t be able to afford treatment? Trust […]

Trailer: When Medicine Got It Wrong

When Medicine Got It Wrong - California Documentaries Project

Schizophrenia affects 2.4 million American adults. Until the 1970s it was believed that parents — specifically, mothers — caused the disease. That changed when a small group of middle-class San […]

Trailer: Chicano Rock! The Sound of East LA

Chicano Rock - California Documentaries Project

For some, Chicano Rock ‘n’ Roll is synonymous with Ritchie Valens, a teenager from the San Fernando Valley who became a superstar with his 1958 hits “Donna” and “La Bamba.” […]

Trailer: We Were Here: The AIDS Years in San Francisco

We Were Here: The AIDS Years in San Francisco - California Documentaries Project

When AIDS (or “gay cancer,” as it was first called) began ravaging San Francisco’s gay community in the 1980s, the epidemic raised profound personal and community issues and unleashed broad political and social upheaval. Despite the fear and turmoil, many Bay Area residents responded tirelessly in compassionate and creative ways.