The Carsey-Wolf Center logo Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara

Representation is the axis of media and democracy. Whether through networked social movements, artistic activism, or ink on ballots, the work of engaging in democracy is the work of engaging through mediated representations. The Carsey-Wolf Center’s research on media and democracy is committed to the study of media as a way of naming, engaging, and challenging formations of power in the contemporary world.

Media & Democracy events

CWC Docs: A Thousand Cuts
CWC Docs: A Thousand Cuts
April 20, 2023
Ramona S. Diaz (director)
CWC Docs: A Thousand Cuts
April 20, 2023
Ramona S. Diaz (director)
Murder in Paris: The Assassination of Dulcie September
Murder in Paris: The Assassination of Dulcie September
April 12, 2022
Jean Beaman, Leonard Cortana, and Ricado Jacobs
Murder in Paris: The Assassination of Dulcie September
April 12, 2022
Jean Beaman, Leonard Cortana, and Ricado Jacobs
The Global Imagination of Racial Injustice Symposium: Coalition, Comparativism, Community
The Global Imagination of Racial Injustice Symposium: Coalition, Comparativism, Community
April 8, 2022
The Global Imagination of Racial Injustice Symposium: Coalition, Comparativism, Community
April 8, 2022
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
April 7, 2022
Ann Kaneko (director)
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
April 7, 2022
Ann Kaneko (director)
CWC Virtual: 40 Years a Prisoner
CWC Virtual: 40 Years a Prisoner
May 4, 2021
Mike Africa Jr. (activist and documentary subject)
CWC Virtual: 40 Years a Prisoner
May 4, 2021
Mike Africa Jr. (activist and documentary subject)
Roundtable: The New Ethereality
Roundtable: The New Ethereality
February 18, 2021
Marisa Duarte, Shannon Mattern & Rahul Mukherjee
Roundtable: The New Ethereality
February 18, 2021
Marisa Duarte, Shannon Mattern & Rahul Mukherjee
Subversives: Short Films about Intersex Life
Subversives: Short Films about Intersex Life
February 4, 2021
Aubree Bernier-Clarke, River Gallo & Pidgeon Pagonis
Subversives: Short Films about Intersex Life
February 4, 2021
Aubree Bernier-Clarke, River Gallo & Pidgeon Pagonis
Subversives: Salt of the Earth
Subversives: Salt of the Earth
January 21, 2021
Gabriel Meléndez (author of Hidden Chicano Cinema: Film Dramas in the Borderlands)
Subversives: Salt of the Earth
January 21, 2021
Gabriel Meléndez (author of Hidden Chicano Cinema: Film Dramas in the Borderlands)
CWC Virtual: And She Could Be Next
CWC Virtual: And She Could Be Next
July 30, 2020
Grace Lee (Director/Producer) and Marjan Safinia (Director/Producer)
CWC Virtual: And She Could Be Next
July 30, 2020
Grace Lee (Director/Producer) and Marjan Safinia (Director/Producer)
Television, Politics, Publics conference
Television, Politics, Publics conference
April 26, 2018
Television, Politics, Publics conference
April 26, 2018
¡Las Sandinistas!
¡Las Sandinistas!
February 11, 2020
Jenny Murray (director/editor/producer)
¡Las Sandinistas!
February 11, 2020
Jenny Murray (director/editor/producer)
LAND HACKS: Masculine Media Anxiety Disorder (or 55 Film Locations Near Bakersfield)
LAND HACKS: Masculine Media Anxiety Disorder (or 55 Film Locations Near Bakersfield)
January 22, 2019
John Caldwell (director)
LAND HACKS: Masculine Media Anxiety Disorder (or 55 Film Locations Near Bakersfield)
January 22, 2019
John Caldwell (director)
Nadie
Nadie
January 15, 2019
Miguel Coyula (writer/director/co-producer) & Lynn Cruz (actor/co-producer)
Nadie
January 15, 2019
Miguel Coyula (writer/director/co-producer) & Lynn Cruz (actor/co-producer)
RBG
RBG
November 5, 2018
Julie Cohen & Betsy West (co-directors)
RBG
November 5, 2018
Julie Cohen & Betsy West (co-directors)
An interview with Co-Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen
An interview with Co-Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen
November 5, 2018
Julie Cohen & Betsy West (co-directors)
An interview with Co-Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen
November 5, 2018
Julie Cohen & Betsy West (co-directors)
Symposium: Rediscovering U.S. Newsfilm
Symposium: Rediscovering U.S. Newsfilm
October 25, 2018
Symposium: Rediscovering U.S. Newsfilm
October 25, 2018
Media in the Americas conference
Media in the Americas conference
April 26, 2018
Media in the Americas conference
April 26, 2018
Lukács and the World: Rethinking Global Circuits of Cultural Production
Lukács and the World: Rethinking Global Circuits of Cultural Production
April 20, 2018
Lukács and the World: Rethinking Global Circuits of Cultural Production
April 20, 2018
14: Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark, & Vanessa Lopez
14: Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark, & Vanessa Lopez
March 8, 2018
Anne Galisky (Director)
14: Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark, & Vanessa Lopez
March 8, 2018
Anne Galisky (Director)
In the Green Room with Jordan Peele
In the Green Room with Jordan Peele
February 6, 2018
Professor Anna Everett (Film and Media Studies, UCSB)
In the Green Room with Jordan Peele
February 6, 2018
Professor Anna Everett (Film and Media Studies, UCSB)
Trans Media: Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen
Trans Media: Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen
May 23, 2017
Kortney Ryan Ziegler (Director)
Trans Media: Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen
May 23, 2017
Kortney Ryan Ziegler (Director)
Water is Life: Standing with Standing Rock
Water is Life: Standing with Standing Rock
May 17, 2017
Water is Life: Standing with Standing Rock
May 17, 2017
Trans Media: Free CeCe
Trans Media: Free CeCe
May 10, 2017
Jacqueline Gares (Director) & CeCe McDonald (Documentary Subject)
Trans Media: Free CeCe
May 10, 2017
Jacqueline Gares (Director) & CeCe McDonald (Documentary Subject)
Trans Media: Transparent
Trans Media: Transparent
May 6, 2017
Amy Villarejo (Performing and Media Arts, Cornell University)
Trans Media: Transparent
May 6, 2017
Amy Villarejo (Performing and Media Arts, Cornell University)
Trans Media: Raising Zoey
Trans Media: Raising Zoey
May 4, 2017
Dante Alencastre (Director)
Trans Media: Raising Zoey
May 4, 2017
Dante Alencastre (Director)
Starving The Beast
Starving The Beast
February 28, 2017
Lane Hall (English, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Starving The Beast
February 28, 2017
Lane Hall (English, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
The Look of Silence
The Look of Silence
November 12, 2015
Bhaskar Sarkar (Film and Media, UCSB) & Janet Walker (Film and Media, UCSB)
The Look of Silence
November 12, 2015
Bhaskar Sarkar (Film and Media, UCSB) & Janet Walker (Film and Media, UCSB)
Marwencol
Marwencol
November 4, 2015
Jeff Malmberg (Director)
Marwencol
November 4, 2015
Jeff Malmberg (Director)
Occupy the Farm
Occupy the Farm
April 14, 2015
Todd Darling (Director) & Ashoka Finley (Activist)
Occupy the Farm
April 14, 2015
Todd Darling (Director) & Ashoka Finley (Activist)
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Media & Democracy projects & initiatives

Faculty Research Support Grant: Kai Thaler, Global Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Kai Thaler, Global Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Kai Thaler, Global Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant: Amit Ahuja, Political Science

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Amit Ahuja, Political Science

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Amit Ahuja, Political Science

Faculty Research Support Grant: ann-elise lewallen, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant:
ann-elise lewallen, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant:
ann-elise lewallen, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant: Janet Afary, Roger Friedland, and Maria Charles

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Janet Afary, Roger Friedland, and Maria Charles

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Janet Afary, Roger Friedland, and Maria Charles

Faculty Research Support Grant: Laila Shereen Sakr, Film and Media Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Laila Shereen Sakr, Film and Media Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Laila Shereen Sakr, Film and Media Studies

Faculty Research Support Grant: Elana Resnick, Anthropology

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Elana Resnick, Anthropology

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Elana Resnick, Anthropology

Faculty Research Support Grant: Matto Mildenberger and Leah Stokes, Political Science

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Matto Mildenberger and Leah Stokes, Political Science

Faculty Research Support Grant:
Matto Mildenberger and Leah Stokes, Political Science

Workshop: Lane Hall

Workshop: Lane Hall

Workshop: Lane Hall

The GALA Committee

The GALA Committee

The GALA Committee