Berkeley Art and Ethnography (BAE)
Berkeley Art and Ethnography (BAE) is an experimental research collaborative at the University of California, Berkeley, sponsored by the Townsend Center for the Humanities. The group investigates art and media in contemporary and historical societies around the globe, broadly conceived. Founded in 2021, BAE has included members from multiple programs on campus, including Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, Musicology, Sociology, Geography, Political Science, and others. Each week during the academic year, BAE organizes presentations, theoretical discussions, and writing sessions for graduate and postdoctoral students to workshop their ideas. BAE aims to push the boundaries of interdisciplinary dialogue, exploring the capacity of experimental ethnography and archival research to shed new light on the politics of media, aesthetics, and globalized society.
Current Board (2025-26):
Jonathan Wu, Executive Chair
Ryan Gourley, Financial Officer
Caitlin Romtvedt, Interdepartmental Coordinator
Max Jefferson, Member Recruitment CoordinatorIncoming Board (2026-27):
Ceyda Cekmeci, Executive Chair
Gus Holley, Financial Officer
Onur Yildiz, Interdepartmental Coordinator
Ian Mahanpour, Member Recruitment CoordinatorOur Alumnæ:
Sarah Plovnick (Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard University)
Junius Brown V (Visiting Assistant Professor, Duke Kunshan University)
Chris Cristóbal Chan (Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University)
