Experience the Humanities

How do we create a healthy democracy in a time of political polarization? How do we carry out our responsibilities as citizens in an increasingly interdependent world?

“What Does Democracy Look Like?” is a short piece examining the nature, history, and approach of individuals and societies building and living in democratic societies.

Money has been a hot topic in the 2012 election—from how the campaigns are being financed post-Citizens United to the 99 percent and the national debt and Mitt Romney’s offshore bank accounts.

We tend to think that both democracy and diversity are good things; many of us even say that diversity is a strength.

In a world where traditional media is under fire, and the way we get information is in a period of rapid transition, what does vigilance mean?

After Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in Tucson, pundits spent extensive time wringing their hands over the lack of civility in American political discourse.

The world moves so fast now that democracy can’t keep up. China, Singapore, and some other undemocratic countries can make smart, long-term fiscal decisions faster.

A Zócalo/Cal Humanities "Searching for Democracy" event with poet Philip Levine and Stuart Leavenworth of the Sac Bee.

One of the most controversial fights of today concerns the policy of birthright citizenship. What if no one were to be granted automatic U.S. citizenship regardless of the nationality of his or her parents?

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, author of California Reads selected book Farewell to Manzanar (with husband James D. Houston), talks about how the very personal story of her family’s life in an internment camp became a cautionary tale about civil rights violations read by hundreds of thousands of students in the United …