History of Consciousness
Encyclopedia
The History of Consciousness program is an interdisciplinary graduate program in the humanities with links to the sciences, social sciences, and arts at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
The program was started in the first year of the Santa Cruz campus in a rather informal manner. A small group of faculty members, including the American historian Page Smith, philosopher Maurice Natanson, culture theorist Harry Berger, Jr., and psychology professor Bert Kaplan, approached the
University of California
system-wide Graduate Council with a proposal for a new type of graduate program for the new campus. According to the founding Chancellor of the campus, Dean McHenry
, they did not consult with him and the program was approved without his input.
For over a decade, there were no direct faculty appointments to the program and all faculty teaching in the program was done by members of established Boards of Studies (the UC Santa Cruz equivalent of departments). This led to problems in budgeting and program continuity, and coupled with the innovative interdisciplinary nature of the program, it also presented challenges in placing History of Consciousness graduates in teaching jobs. The appointment of Norman O. Brown
as Professor of Humanities in 1968 was in part intended to address some of these concerns.
The first graduate student in History of Consciousness was Harvey Rabbin. Perhaps the best-known graduate of the program is Huey P. Newton
, co-founder of the Black Panther Party
. Newton received his Ph.D. in 1980.
Historians Hayden White
and James Clifford
were among the first faculty members directly appointed to the department. White joined the faculty as Professor of History of Consciousness and Chair of the Board in July, 1978, having been recruited by then-Chancellor Angus Taylor to bring stability to the program. Under White's leadership, the program grew in the early 1980s to become one of the intellectual centers of theoretical innovation in the humanities and social sciences in the United States. In addition to White and Clifford, Donna Haraway
, Fredric Jameson
, Teresa de Lauretis
, Angela Davis
, and Stephen Heath joined the program, while professors in other disciplines taught "HistCon" courses, supervised HistCon graduate students, and participated in new graduate student admissions. Among those most active at this time were political theorists John Schaar
, J. Peter Euben, and Robert Meister, as well as philosopher David Hoy. The faculty currently consists of Gopal Balakrishnan, James Clifford, Barbara Epstein, Donna Haraway and David Marriott.
Notable faculty who taught in the program: Herbert Marcuse, Hayden White, Fredric Jameson, Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak, Carla Freccero, Stephen Heath, Victor Burgin, Kobena Mercer, Isaac Julien, Karen Barad, and Neferti Tadiar.
The program was started in the first year of the Santa Cruz campus in a rather informal manner. A small group of faculty members, including the American historian Page Smith, philosopher Maurice Natanson, culture theorist Harry Berger, Jr., and psychology professor Bert Kaplan, approached the
University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
system-wide Graduate Council with a proposal for a new type of graduate program for the new campus. According to the founding Chancellor of the campus, Dean McHenry
Dean McHenry
Dean E. McHenry was an American professor of political science, and the founding chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz....
, they did not consult with him and the program was approved without his input.
For over a decade, there were no direct faculty appointments to the program and all faculty teaching in the program was done by members of established Boards of Studies (the UC Santa Cruz equivalent of departments). This led to problems in budgeting and program continuity, and coupled with the innovative interdisciplinary nature of the program, it also presented challenges in placing History of Consciousness graduates in teaching jobs. The appointment of Norman O. Brown
Norman O. Brown
Norman Oliver Brown was an American classicist.-Life:Brown's father was an Anglo-Irish mining engineer. His mother was a Cuban of Alsatian and Cuban origin...
as Professor of Humanities in 1968 was in part intended to address some of these concerns.
The first graduate student in History of Consciousness was Harvey Rabbin. Perhaps the best-known graduate of the program is Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton
Huey Percy Newton was an American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.-Early life:...
, co-founder of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
. Newton received his Ph.D. in 1980.
Historians Hayden White
Hayden White
Hayden White is a historian in the tradition of literary criticism, perhaps most famous for his work Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe...
and James Clifford
James Clifford
James Clifford is an historian and Professor in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Clifford and Hayden White were among the first faculty directly appointed to the History of Consciousness Ph.D. program in 1978, which was originally the only...
were among the first faculty members directly appointed to the department. White joined the faculty as Professor of History of Consciousness and Chair of the Board in July, 1978, having been recruited by then-Chancellor Angus Taylor to bring stability to the program. Under White's leadership, the program grew in the early 1980s to become one of the intellectual centers of theoretical innovation in the humanities and social sciences in the United States. In addition to White and Clifford, Donna Haraway
Donna Haraway
Donna J. Haraway is currently a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States...
, Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
, Teresa de Lauretis
Teresa de Lauretis
Teresa de Lauretis is an Italian-born author and Professor Emerita of the History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She received her doctorate in Modern Languages and Literatures from Bocconi University in Milan before coming to the United States...
, Angela Davis
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
, and Stephen Heath joined the program, while professors in other disciplines taught "HistCon" courses, supervised HistCon graduate students, and participated in new graduate student admissions. Among those most active at this time were political theorists John Schaar
John Schaar
John H Schaar is a scholar and political theorist. He is a Professor Emeritus at the [University of California, Santa Cruz]. Schaar was born in Montoursville, PA, USA and raised on a farm in a Lutheran family....
, J. Peter Euben, and Robert Meister, as well as philosopher David Hoy. The faculty currently consists of Gopal Balakrishnan, James Clifford, Barbara Epstein, Donna Haraway and David Marriott.
Notable faculty who taught in the program: Herbert Marcuse, Hayden White, Fredric Jameson, Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak, Carla Freccero, Stephen Heath, Victor Burgin, Kobena Mercer, Isaac Julien, Karen Barad, and Neferti Tadiar.
See also
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