CAHSS Day of Giving-Student Events

The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences empowers students to critically examine their place in the world: to imagine, communicate, collaborate, create, and transform. Our graduates are engaged global citizens who have studied a wide range of topics, such as art, communication, film, language, and psychology. Our students learn to apply values, interdisciplinary knowledge, and skills, equipping them to provide creative and socially responsible solutions for the future.  Our talented faculty work alongside students and alumni in our local communities and beyond to produce award-winning scholarship, research, projects, and creative productions. We are building solid and active partnerships with industry, government agencies, and non-profits to provide our current students with high-impact experiences in the classroom and in the field that ultimately prepare them for future careers.

Our approach to language education and instruction is outcomes-based, innovative, and technologically driven. Rather than simply learning grammar and vocabulary, you will develop the language skills and cultural proficiencies that are in high demand in business, government, and education. You will also benefit from our instructional use of new technologies to enhance language acquisition and promote language instruction for traditional and nontraditional students. 

Students can also choose to study abroad for a life-changing experience that not only immerses you in another culture, but can help you build an understanding of the global community as a whole. You will return with a higher level of proficiency in the target language and enhance your knowledge and skills for  today's global job market.

A pioneer program in the field, the Global Studies degree program guides students in the critical 

analysis of complex and interdependent global systems. Through transdisciplinary learning including socio-cultural, political, economic, spiritual/religious, and ecological topics-students 

become engaged global citizens who contribute solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. 

The courses prepare students for an integrated study of global processes, forms of knowledge, and transdisciplinary methods, including centering voices from the Global South. Students explore issues related to conflict and peacemaking, cultural geography, development, ecology, gender, global political economy, global politics, humanitarianism, immigrant experiences, migration, religion, settler colonialism, and transnational labor, applying integrative knowledge and skills that address contemporary global problems through a capstone project.

“When my job asked me to find businesses to highlight for our social media channels because of my educational background in Ethnic and Gender Studies at CSUMB & Hartnell College, I actively chose to focus on Latinx, Black, & immigrant owned businesses. The lens that CSUMB has given me, helped me to see my work through a critical lens in order to emphasize stories that previously may have been left untold.”   -D. Guadalupe Castillon-Mendoza, ‘22   

Ethnic and Gender Studies is a major that gives students the intellectual knowledge and tools to be an agent of social change, to thrive professionally, and to flourish as a critic of social structures in the United States. Students in this program learn how multiple social identities – including ethnicity, race, class, gender, sexuality, and/or ability – intersect and shape our lives, contributing to our life experiences, our opportunities, and the challenges faced by members of our communities. Students also learn how communities can engage in collective action to resist and address oppression by affirming their agency and humanity. Upon completion, students will be prepared to take what they learn and apply it to work as educators, community organizers, policy makers, advocates, and leaders, and will be prepared to pursue many professions where knowledge of diverse communities is essential for success.

The Cinematic Arts and Technology Department is dedicated to the education of socially engaged and diverse filmmakers. At Cinematic Arts, we nurture the creative voice of the individual, develop critical consciousness, and foster meaningful dialogue and active engagement with the community.  Working as a close-knit interdisciplinary community and through project-based learning, the Cinematic Arts department allows students to master the conceptual and technical skills of the contemporary media artist and professional, while providing a historical, theoretical, and critical context for creative work.

Students are encouraged to develop their unique voices working within a variety of cinematic forms, including fiction, documentary, experimental, interactive cinema, and animation. Through our community partnerships they are provided with opportunities for social engagement and high-profile exhibition of their work. Our curriculum presents the cultural impact of cinema as art, industry, and technology. Additionally, it provides a framework for the development of innovative, ethical, and technically proficient media professionals to prepare students for graduate study and employment in related industries and careers as media artists.

The 57,500 cubic feet live room in the Music Hall offers a distinctive and flexible tracking space that includes a Steinway D grand piano. This space is managed and maintained in partnership with hardware and software technicians, skilled and knowledgeable staff, and students. Studio A is equipped with a Pro Tools HD3 system running a variety of DAWs, including Pro Tools and Reaper. The studio is built around an MTA 980 mixing console, which is perhaps best known as the console used on Radiohead's OK Computer. Along with the Pro Tools HDX system and a full slate of Universal Audio and Waves plug-ins, the studio has a sophisticated tiny telephone patch bay matrix offering access to a selection of outboard gear.

Social Sciences and Global Studies Department Chair Amanda Pullum serves as faculty advisor of the student journal Culture, Society, and Praxis-an online journal of undergraduate social scientific writing and artistic work.  The editorial board and authorship are composed entirely of undergraduate students.  Rather than simply studying peer-reviewed scholarship, CSP gives students an opportunity to experience first-hand how scholarly work is created and disseminated. CSP approaches peer review as an opportunity for students to further develop their writing and research skills; therefore no submissions are rejected that are both a) created solely by undergraduates, and b) relevant to social science, authors are asked to commit to revising their submissions until the work is of publishable quality.  

Aside from musical performances, our students also present musical theater productions (Sweeny Todd in 2023, The Addams Family Musical in 2024) through coursework and in partnership with The Performing Otters.  Other events include the “Love Raft” dating show and Associated Student debates and speeches.  

Students pursuing a music degree can look forward to a variety of learning experiences with particular emphasis on the fact that ALL forms of art are interdisciplinary collaborations among artists.  At the core of our collaborations are applied music and new technologies working together to enhance individual creativity.

We bring together musicians, composers, singers, visual artists, actors, choreographers and others together to work, learn, create, and perform using new tools and technologies.  Music students produce concerts, scores, mixes, musicals, sound installations, texts, talks, performances, electroacoustic compositions, and interactive and experimental multimedia work in a variety of collaborative, independent, and cross-disciplinary projects.  We are on the cutting edge in training students to take their place as musicians, singers, recording engineers and technicians in areas of performance and production.  Our goal is to prepare our students for professional careers in a rapidly-changing technological industry.

Through the generous support of our donors, the Department of Psychology is able to provide travel support for students to present their research at prestigious conferences such as the Western Psychological Association Annual Convention.

Our annual  Social Justice Colloquium is a collaborative effort across the college spanning a week or more of guest speakers in keynote, plenary, public, and classroom workshops across the campus community. This hallmark event is now in its 27th year of actively engaging students, faculty, staff, and our community members in thoughtful discussions and exploring critically current issues on a variety of social justice topics.  Each year, the planning committee selects a theme around which the Colloquium is organized. 

Now in our 6th year, the Monterey Jazz Festival and CSUMB educational partnership hosts a series of jazz education activities and events for the campus and community. This partnership includes a master class featuring jazz leaders for Music students and public performances open to all.  We also provide more than 100 student tickets to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival as well as internship opportunities.

Visual & Public Art’s annual Día de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration includes a processional, large­ scale altar, performing Aztec dancers, traditional Mexican refreshments, club, sorority and fraternity altars, student artwork, and a cross section of students, faculty, staff and local community members. It also includes a series of hands-on workshops, interdisciplinary class presentations, support for the development of club altars, and the preparation of materials such as paper banners, flower arches, student temporary digital projects, and community youth projects.

This annual series provides the campus with an opportunity to engage with some of the best contemporary authors, known and emerging, in the United States.  These authors bring important perspectives on key concerns and issues confronting our nation and the world. The subject matter — including migration, ethnic histories, transnational histories, and sexual identity — are relevant and important for our students and community, while also aligning with our curriculum. The series addresses the complex cultural differences that students bring to our campus, helping to foster a welcoming university community that engages diversity in the service of student learning. 

The Festival of Languages, Cultures, and Ideas brings together all the members of the CSUMB community to celebrate our connections in a global world and emphasize the value of cultural diversity.  This annual event features keynote speakers, a t-shirt screen printing workshop, cultural tabling and performances, a Japanese tea ceremony, musical performances, panel discussions, a karate kaya and Taiko drum performance.

Writing Waves publishes student creative work, research essays and art. All work is submitted by students, edited by upper-division students, and published with the goal of promoting student leadership, activism, and resume-building. The journal is directed by faculty in the Department of Humanities & Communication.

Cinematic Arts and Technology students are socially engaged and diverse filmmakers. Whether our students are hosting a film festival of student films, capstone film sneak preview nights, or screen and discuss nights, CAHSS provides several venues on campus perfect for these showcases.  Our 200-seat film screening room, 440 seat theater, and Cinematic Arts and Technology studio offer our students room to screen, view, and explore their craft.

Humanities and Communication students-and all with an interest in poetry-have the opportunity to engage with Monterey County Poet Laureate Rachelle Escamilla. Aside from classes, student events include poetry slams and readings as well as larger-scale poet laureates in conversation with President Vanya Quiñones.