Cloisters

California— there's nowhere like it on earth. This course explores the allure of this state and the diverse groups of people who strive to make this place home.

When people hear about the California Dream, images of palm trees, beaches, movie stars and a sun-drenched landscape automatically come to mind. If you visit California, you will discover that this mythology rings true; you can get a glimpse a movie star, you’ll find that the weather is great, and that much of the landscape is just beautiful. Historian James Rawls states “… that there are as many versions of the California Dream as there are dreamers…”

A piece in The Los Angeles Times about the California Dream, suggests that “California’s history comprises the dream, by arrivals from all directions, of [people seeking] a better quality of life for themselves and their families.” These “arrivals,” began with the California Gold Rush when the entire world, for the very first time, rushed into California and “jump-started the demographic destiny” of the state.

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