The Strikers of Coachella - A Video and Social Media Project
Christian Paiz, Professor
Ethnic Studies
Applications for Spring 2026 are closed for this project.
This apprenticeship focuses on farmworker history in the Coachella Valley, a small agricultural desert in Southern California. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Coachella Valley played a critical role in the development, successes, and challenges of the United Farm Worker (UFW) movement, one of the most important agricultural labor movements in U.S. history. Regular people, many of them grandparents or teenagers, joined the UFW to empower their voices and produce a society that protected and celebrated farmworker communities. These workers won significant reforms and created a militant farmworker history. The latter, in turn, offer students today a wide array of food and farm-labor justice visions for the 21st century.
These are the central themes in my book, The Strikers of Coachella: A Rank-and-File History of the UFW Movement (2023). The book provides a history the Coachella Valley’s agricultural development in the twentieth century, as well as the long histories of Filipina/o and Mexican agricultural workers in the region and in the U.S. West. As the title suggests, the book’s focus is on the UFW members in the Coachella Valley – on their thoughts and politics, their experiences, memories, and stories, on how they see the future developing.
In this apprenticeship, students will work with my book to produce digital and visual tools that help younger students to read and engage my book. As a class, we will read the book, discuss its merits and shortcoming, and decide on how to make its arguments accessible to students. I am imagining a collection of short videos and social media that guide students on how to approach each chapter. But perhaps you have a better suggestion? If so, please share!
By the end of the semester, you will:
• Be an expert in Coachella Valley history and in the UFW and Chicana/o movements.
• Be introduced to historical research, oral history methods, and archival collections.
• Develop a plan for future research, such as a thesis, to support a future academic career.
• Be introduced to academic trajectories, practices, and networks.
• Find a fun community of young scholars like yourself.
Qualifications: Curiosity, consistency, collaboration, and creative - and key!
Please take a look at the schedule to determine if you have the bandwidth to commit to this project.
UNIT 1 – Beginning The Strikers of Coachella
UNIT 1 will focus on learning about each other, the project, and the semester’s plan. Students will complete some reflection tasks and then dive into reading The Strikers of Coachella. Please take notes while reading, submit weekly tasks by the deadline, and participate in our in-person discussions. This initial month in the semester will be critical for the final product.
UNIT 2 – The Strikers of Coachella & a social media project
In UNIT 2, students will form groups of three or four people. This group will be students’ home base. We will all read The Strikers of Coachella, but our future media project will be divided in accordance with these groups. As a result, please meet (zoom is best) as a group for at least 30 minutes before our weekly meetings.
UNIT 3 – Social media project
In UNIT 3, students will deepen their ties with their group by completing the chapter study guide.
UNIT 3 is also the most student driven section in this course. Student preparation in the early part of the semester will be critical for participating in and empowering the groups. Communication, planning, collaboration, and strategic choices are key – and they reflect broader research strengths.
Hours: 3-5 hrs
Social Sciences