History and Political Science | Mapping Bay Area Memory Places

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  An Animation Odyssey: Disney, Schulz, Lucas, and an Artist's Journey Through Their Places of Legacy in the Bay Area

  Sophia Shapiro

  The field of animation has defined human narrative in the most profound way since written history. Most would be quite shocked to learn the art of animation itself is less than two centuries old. This tour through Bay Area animation institutions highlights not only the significant histories of three integral animation artists (Walt Disney, Charles Schulz, and George Lucas) but also the development of animation itself for the future through the narrative of their work.

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  Behind Bars: A Look at California's Most Infamous Prisons

  Alycia Carrasco and Citlaly Molina

  Despite its position as the most liberal state, California currently houses more than 100,000 prisoners, making it the state with the second-highest prison population in the United States. The two most infamous prisons in the state Alcatraz and San Quentin have an extensive history of brutality and dehumanization of their prisoners, resorting to unusual and cruel punishment of its inmates. These prisons seek to move on from their histories of punitive justice and aim to provide rehabilitation for their inmates. Despite Alcatraz’s history, Alcatraz focuses on mass incarceration and the brutality of solitary confinement in prisons. San Quentin Prison, recently renamed to the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center by Governor Newsom, has aimed to undo its oppressive past and work on reforming conventional methods of incarceration.

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  Beyond the Gold Mountain: Chinese Immigrants in the Bay Area

  Sulgi Kim

  Following the discovery of gold in the American River in 1848, countless immigrants from around the globe flocked to San Francisco and settled in the Bay Area in pursuit of a better life. Among these groups were Chinese immigrants, who, fleeing difficult conditions in their homeland, arrived seeking jobs and a place to call home. Despite facing numerous laws aimed at suppressing Chinese immigrations and enduring widespread animosity, these individuals have become an integral part of the Bay Area’s history, particularly in San Francisco and Marin. This story map seeks to explore the significant historical sites that highlight the struggles, adaptations, and enduring contributions of Chinese immigrants to the Bay Area from 1848 to the present.

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  City Lights: "A Literary Meeting Place since 1953"

  Hunter Candrian-Velez

  Located in San Francisco's North Beach, City Lights Bookstore has been a literary landmark for over 70 years. City Lights Bookstore is located in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, initially founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin in 1953. City Lights began as a literary magazine run by Ferlinghetti whose parents were Italian immigrants from New York. After serving in the Navy, Ferlinghetti used his stipend from the G.I. Bill to get his masters at Columbia University and then his phD from University of Paris.

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  Flower Power is Not the Only Strength of the Hippies

  Tyler Bernius and Felicity Muro

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  Forgotten in Time: World War II Memories Left in the ‘40s

  Valentina Z. Scanagatta

  The impact of World War II on the world was profound, and San Francisco played an undeniable, yet understated role. The advantage of San Francisco terrain and its many ports helped the war effort incredibly, through operations including, but not limited to, shipbuilding, military activity (intelligence posts, naval installations, embarkation points, etc), United Nations conventions, and most importantly, the city stood as a symbol of freedom for soldiers embarking to defend their homeland and allies.

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  From Warships to Neighborhoods: Transformation of Marin City

  Arturo Flores

  How did Marin ship impact the war, geography, and opportunities for modern day Marin City?

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  Gothic Echoes: Cathedrals From the Bay Area to France

  Dalton Conden

  Gothic cathedrals have always captured the imagination, standing as true testaments to medieval craftsmanship and spirituality. These structures are more than just beautiful buildings though—they reflect a time when architecture was about ambition, devotion, and a deep desire to connect with something bigger than ourselves. The way these cathedrals rise up, with their breathtaking details and towering spires, still makes people stop and stare in awe, feeling a sense of amazement even today. But Gothic architecture is about more than just admiring its design; it’s about understanding how different places and times are intertwined with each other. In this project, I’ll explore the connections between Gothic architecture in France and the Gothic Revival style in the Bay Area. Focusing on three key places—Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Saint-Chapelle Cathedral in Paris, and Aix (Saint Sauveur) Cathedral in Aix-en-Provence—I’ll show how these structures link cultures across time while keeping alive a shared spiritual and historical heritage. Ultimately, this project shows how architecture can bring together both the past and present, and connect different parts of the world through common themes of faith, art, and shared human experience and memory.

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  Her Story: Tracing the Feminist Pulse of San Francisco

  Keyonee Neal and Gabrielle Simkins

  Imagine San Francisco in the early 20th century—a city rising in stone and steel, crafted by hands and minds that, by law, weren’t permitted to cast a vote in their democracy. Julia Morgan, a pioneering architect and the first woman licensed in California, left an indelible mark on the city’s skyline. She wielded her influence in an era that denied her and all women the basic right to shape the policies of the world they were physically building. Her buildings stand today not just as architectural achievements but as powerful symbols of resistance, resilience, and redefinition of what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated world.

  Following the footsteps of feminist movements in San Francisco, from the walls that house our history to the streets where women marched for change. Each location—the Women’s Building, Morgan’s architectural landmarks, grassroots meeting spots—reveals a chapter of a story that remains unfinished. Through these physical spaces, we trace the power of collective voices and memory through women's history and look toward the steps still necessary for genuine equality. By mapping the legacy of feminists, we’re reminded that the gains of the past demand action in the present and the future, creating a city, and society at large, that can continue to be reimagined by and for women.

  In San Francisco’s story, these landmarks stand not just as monuments of the past but as callings for the future, urging us to consider what remains to be built, reformed, and reclaimed in the pursuit of true agency and equality for all.

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  Hidden in Plain Sight: Native Land Under Stanford

  Katherine Chavez

  5,000 years before Spanish Colonization was the start of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. Between 1769 and 1834, the number of Indigenous Native Americans in the area went from 300,000 to 250,000. These people went through a shift of control from Spaniard Conquistadors to Mexican Rancheros taking control of land and ideology. Then, California was freed from Mexico, so this meant freedom for the Natives right? This is just the beginning of their struggle as land owners change and California goes through modernization and massacre. Many forget the roots of the land they step on, even those who may be taught about the history and it could have happened under their very school.

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  Lowriders and Chicano Identity on Sonoma's Streets

  Sheila Alvarez

  A story of Lowriding in Sonoma County told through the CRUISIN exhibit at the Museum of Sonoma County

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  Navigating the Coast: The Migration of the San Francisco 49ers

  DeShaun Cross

  The San Francisco 49ers are an infamous football team in the NFL with their 5 Super Bowl wins. The team draws their name from the 49ers, who originally flocked to San Francisco during the Gold Rush of 1848, allowing for a great mascot in Sough-dough Sam, who is dressed like the miners during that historical era of the Gold Rush. Although they are named the San Francisco 49ers, they are currently located at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. This has caused a lot of controversy for their loyal fans, who have had to travel farther and farther away from their home of San Francisco to watch their favorite team play football. Why is it that the 49ers have moved to a stadium that is so far away from their birthplace of San Francisco? Does their move to Santa Clara mean they have to change their name entirely, leaving behind their legacy and their fans? To answer this question, we'll have to travel all the way to the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park to Kezar Stadium.

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  Power to the People: The Black Panther Legacy from 1966-2024

  Olivia Wynn

  The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born in the heart of the Bay Area in 1966 when the struggle for civil rights escalated and the fight against racial oppression reached a boiling point. It was founded in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, two young political activists who were disappointed in the failure of the civil rights movement to improve the condition of blacks outside the South. The Panthers quickly became a symbol of defiance and empowerment, challenging not only systemic racism but also the foundation of inequality and police brutality. Though often vilified by the mainstream media, the Panthers’ legacy in the Bay area is undeniable. Founding over 60 community programs such as the free breakfast program, health clinics, and educational services, the Party sought to address the immediate needs of the black community while also pushing for systemic change.

  The history of the Black Panther Party offers invaluable insights into the complexities of racial, economic, and social justice in America. It provides a lens through which to examine the intersection of grassroots activism and institutional resistance, shedding light on how communities can mobilize for change in the face of systemic obstacles. Studying the history of the Black Panther Party not only enhances our understanding of the past but also offers lessons in the power of collective action, the challenges of political organizing, and the enduring fight against racial inequality–issues that remain relevant to today’s social justice movements.

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  San Rafael's Canal: A Story of Community Outreach and Change

  Neva Essex

  Since the founding of San Rafael, CA in 1817 to present day 2024, the Canal area has been built upon tight knit communities that are best defined by their cultural and demographic changes. In fact, due to the specific demographics of the Canal, it is considered one of the most segregated districts in the Bay Area-- less than 5% of residents identify as white despite the overwhelming white population throughout San Rafael. The ethnic and cultural groups that have come, gone, and stayed in the Canal have directly formed the community support and outreach in which many rely on. The many waves of unique experience and cultural background is the very reason that economic hardship and institutional racism has been braved with strength and dignity. This history and development of the Canal demonstrate the importance of immigrant communities in the Bay Area and the future of community based services.

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  The Marin County Mountain Bike Craze

  Logan Kemp

  “We just happened to be the guys who lived at the Waimea Bay of mountain Biking” Charlie Kelly on the creation of mountain biking in Marin County. Charlie Kelly is talking about how the creation of mountain biking could have happened anywhere. Charlie Kelly, Gary Fisher, and Joe Breeze would revolutionize the bike community with their creation and involvement of Repack which would be the start of a revolutionizing movement of mountain biking that would create a new culture in how bicycles are used, improved and viewed today.

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  World War II Home Front: Shipbuilding in America (1939-1945)

  Cassandra Blevins

  On December 29, 1940, a concerned but hopeful President Franklin D. Roosevelt took to the airwaves at 9:30 pm Eastern Time to address an increasingly restless nation on the sobering topic of war mobilization. Across the Atlantic, Britain was engaged in a death struggle with Hitler’s Germany, which had already laid claim to vast regions of Europe. For over 36 minutes, Roosevelt spoke to his captive audience about the importance of American engagement in the conflict. To preserve universal freedom, the president urged, “we must have more ships, more guns, more planes—more of everything. We must be the great arsenal of democracy.” His words captured the spirit of the early 1940s, when American society rapidly adapted to meet wartime demands, defining an era marked by collective industrial and military efforts. The idea of an "Arsenal of Democracy" soon became comparable with the era’s character, symbolizing the partnership of government, industry, and labor that focused the nation's vast productive capacity of ships on aiding the Allies and defending democratic values. Even before entering the war a year later, this unprecedented mobilization laid the foundation for the United States’ eventual victory.