Barbara Van Nostrand

UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Hellenic Center Gifted a Library Devoted to Modern Greek Poetry

The UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture (UCLA SNF Hellenic Center) has received a rare collection of Modern Greek poetry books from Koren Christofides, wife of scholar Constantine Christofides, who assembled the library. “On behalf of the Center, we warmly thank Koren Christofides for the generous donation of an outstanding collection of Greek poetry books that represent the broad intellectual interests of her husband,” said Sharon Gerstel, Director of the UCLA SNF Hellenic Center, professor of Byzantine Art and Archaeology, and George P. Kolovos Family Centennial Term Chair in Hellenic Studies. “It is an honor…

Linguistics student fulfills dream at UCLA

In honor of International Women’s Day 2021 on March 8, the UCLA International Institute is publishing a series of profiles of female Bruins. Abeer Ali Abdullah Al-Abbas, a UCLA graduate student in linguistics who hails from Saudi Arabia, grew up in the Farasan Islands, a group of coral islands in the Red Sea. A star student throughout her school years, Abeer set her sights on a college education as a young girl with her mother’s strong support. After graduating from high school in 2007, Abeer had to move to mainland Saudi Arabia to attend college. She chose linguistics among the…

Professors hope their film changes immigration policy

When UCLA professor Maite Zubiaurre decided to make a documentary about volunteers who search for the remains of migrants in the desert between the U.S. and Mexico, she wanted people to see what she believes has become invisible: not just the deaths, but how ignoring them enables policies that lead to even more deaths. Now she’ll have an opportunity to help bring that hidden reality to light. Her 14-minute film “Águilas,” co-directed with Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, a professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, has been selected to screen at both the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (Feb. 20–28) and SXSW…

UCLA establishes Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies

In a giant leap for our language studies programs, the departments of French and Francophone Studies, Germanic Languages, Italian, and Scandinavian have completed a merger resulting in the new Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies (ELTS). Chaired by Professor Dominic Thomas, ELTS strengthens our existing language offerings while providing a holistic approach to the future of the field. The merger also creates opportunities for interdisciplinary community-building among our faculty and graduate students, who have driven this transition from the ground up. At the UCLA Newsroom, you can learn more about this transition and the emerging vision and impact of…

Miwon Kwon named inaugural Walter Hopps Chair in Modern and Contemporary Art

Internationally renowned scholar and curator of contemporary art Miwon Kwon has been named the inaugural Walter Hopps Chair in Modern and Contemporary Art in the Department of Art History of the UCLA College. A UCLA faculty member since 1997, Kwon is a professor of art history and chair of the department whose research draws upon her training in architecture, urban studies, and contemporary art to explore the “space/spatial politics” of art. David Schaberg, senior dean of UCLA College and dean of humanities, said, “Miwon Kwon is an exceptional, highly accomplished scholar whose work has had a major impact in her…

Professor Michael Berry receives National Endowment for the Arts Literature Translation Fellowship

Los Angeles—Today, the National Endowment for the Arts announced that Michael Berry will receive a Literature Translation Fellowship of $12,500 to translate Soft Burial (Ruan mai) by Fang Fang into English. Michael Berry is one of 24 Literature Translation Fellows selected for fiscal year 2021. In total, the Arts Endowment will award $325,000 in grants to support the translation of works written in 16 different languages into English. “Supporting literary translation not only means that many of the world’s talented writers reach a new audience, but also new and different perspectives and experiences are made available to readers in this…

UCLA English major featured on new Transfer Nation podcast! #StudentStory: Bianca Trevizo

UCLA English major Bianca Trevino was interviewed for the #TransferNation podcast speaking about her experience as a transfer student at UCLA. In the podcast, Bianca, who is currently working on a research project on The House on Mango Street with Professor Marissa Lopez, talks about feeling uncertainty about which college to attend as well as how getting involved at her community college prepared her for UCLA. Listen below to her story: #StudentStory: Bianca Trevizo – YouTube

UCLA, Berggruen Institute announce lecture series featuring emerging visionaries

The UCLA Division of Humanities has partnered with the Los Angeles–based Berggruen Institute to launch “Possible Worlds,” a new lecture series that invites some of today’s most imaginative intellectual leaders and creators to deliver talks on the future of humanity. The series will kick off Feb. 18, 2021, with a lecture by Harvard classicist and political theorist Danielle Allen, followed by presentations by architect Alejandro Aravena (spring 2021), author Kim Stanley Robinson (fall 2021), and innovation and sustainability expert Darja Isaksson (spring 2022). The cross-disciplinary lectures will highlight innovative ideas and offer unique insights about our transforming world. The first collaborative project between UCLA and the Berggruen…

UCLA alumna awarded Mitchell Scholarship, first in 20 years

This time next year, Genevieve Finn ’20 will be studying creative writing at Trinity College in Dublin as one of 12 winners of this year’s prestigious Mitchell Scholarship. She is only the second UCLA alum to win a Mitchell Scholarship, and the first to win in 20 years. The George J. Mitchell Scholarship Program is a national, competitive scholarship sponsored by the US-Ireland Alliance. Up to 12 Mitchell Scholars between the ages of 18 and 30 are chosen annually for one academic year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland….

UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture receives gift in memory of Aristides G. Alexopoulos

The UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture (UCLA SNF Center) has received a substantial gift from former UCLA Professor Nicolaos (Nick) Alexopoulos and his wife, Sue Curtis Alexopoulos, in memory of Nick’s brother, Aristides G. Alexopoulos. The Aristides G. Alexopoulos Endowed Student Fund will provide assistance in the form of small grants to students in financial need, with preference given to undergraduate and graduate students of Hellenic descent or with parents of Greek citizenship. These grants will help students achieve their academic or professional goals as well as overcome unexpected challenges. Alexopoulos specified this as…