Sean Brenner

International Association of Egyptologists elects director of Cotsen Institute as president

Willeke Wendrich, director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, has been elected to serve as President of the International Association of Egyptologists (IAE) for the next four years. The IAE is a global organization of scholars and non-scholars alike who contribute to the field and study of Egyptology. Dr. Chris Naunton, the outgoing President, announced Wendrich as his successor at the 12th International Congress of Egyptologists (ICE), which met from Nov. 3–8 in Giza, Egypt. Held every four years, ICE is a unique opportunity for Egyptologists and others in the field from around the world to read and…

Theresa and Henry Biggs endow chair in Linguistics to honor Prof. Bruce Hayes

UCLA Department of Linguistics celebrated the appointment of professor Bruce Hayes to the newly established Theresa McShane Biggs and Henry P. Biggs Centennial Term Chair in Linguistics. The department held an installation ceremony and reception on October 30 in the California Nanosystems Institute. UCLA Dean of Humanities David Schaberg and Professor Patricia Keating, who is the current department chair, gave opening remarks. The Biggses endowed the new faculty chair, which was supplemented by the UCLA Centennial fundraising campaign. The Biggs Chair will fund both graduate and research support for Hayes. “It will be helpful to my individual area within the…

Teaching with teddy bears: Lecturer uses stuffed animals to engage classes

Every day, professors look for new ways to encourage active participation in their classes. Quyen Di Chuc Bui takes a unique approach. When teaching his introductory Vietnamese courses, the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures lecturer hands out stuffed animals to his students as a way of motivating and rewarding them for their work. After a Twitter video of his teaching method went viral with over 7.7 million views and counting, Chuc Bui found himself in the spotlight. In the viral Twitter video, Chuc Bui counts more than five stuffed animals that he plans to hand out to students…

Simone King, Korean Studies Major, Graduates From UCLA at 82

By: Megan Reusche Simone King graduated from UCLA in June 2019 at the age of 82 with a bachelor’s degree in Korean Studies. Achieving this life goal was no easy feat, and there are numerous life events and milestones that led Simone to become the individual she is today. After witnessing both World War II and the Korean War, running over 10 marathons and so much more, these life experiences enabled her to exhibit tremendous strength and use it as a life tool. “A lot of people don’t live through two wars, and this experience has given me the strength…

Celebrating 50 Years of Comparative Literature at UCLA

By: Megan Reusche In 2019, the Department of Comparative Literature at UCLA celebrates its 50th anniversary as UCLA marks its 100th. Beginning as an interdepartmental program (IDP) in 1969, it officially became recognized as a department in the early 1980s. On June 2, 2019, the department hosted a celebration featuring remarks by the current Comparative Literature Chair, David MacFadyen; Dean of Humanities, David Schaberg; Founder Arnold Band; and a panel of former chairs and students. In the Beginning Professor Arnold Band was one of the main founders of the department along with the help of Professor Ross Shideler, and Pier…

Professor Stephanie Jamison Elected as Correspondant Étranger at the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres

By: Megan Reusche Professor Stephanie Jamison in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and UCLA Program in Indo-European Studies was recently elected to the position of correspondent étranger (foreign correspondent) at the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres was founded in 1663 as a society of scholars brought together by a common interest in humanities research. The Academy plays a crucial role in the advancement of historical, archaeological, and philological scholarship. It also fosters discoveries and scholarship through the presentation of scholarly papers, awards, and publishing activities. Members are typically broken into four informal…

“Build Bridges, Paint Walls” Event to Strengthen Los Angeles Community Bonds

By: Megan Reusche Build Bridges, Paint Walls is a project hosted by the UCLA Arts Initiative and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese taking place from April 29 to May 5. The event will feature a documentary screening, the 16th Annual Spanish and Portuguese Graduate Student Conference, community programming, and an art exhibition at the Rendon Gallery. All events will be free and open to the public. The project director, Kristal Bivona, and the project coordinator, Isaac Gimenez, are both Ph.D. students in the Spanish and Portuguese Departments. Bivona will be graduating in 2019 and her research focuses on representations…

Professor von Falkenhausen Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

By: Megan Reusche Lothar von Falkenhausen, Professor of Chinese Archaeology and Art History at UCLA and head of the East Asian Laboratory at UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The Foundation receives over 3,000 applicants annually for the coveted fellowship and this year, 168 fellowships were awarded. As a Guggenheim Fellow, Falkenhausen plans to focus on writing a sequel to his book, Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC): The Archaeological Evidence (Cotsen Institute Press, 2006). “The Guggenheim Fellowship is wonderful because it’s one of the only…

Professor Meredith Cohen Discusses Rebuilding and Restoring Notre Dame Cathedral

By: Megan Reusche Feelings of grief and despair were felt across the globe on Monday, April 17, 2019, when a devastating fire erupted at Notre Dame Cathedral. Individuals around the world collectively mourned the state of the 850-year-old Paris landmark, posting photos and exchanging memories of the cathedral. After officials began to assess the damage, it became clear that it will take multiple experts to develop a plan to restore and rebuild the structure, including conservators, engineers, and art historians. Meredith Cohen, associate professor of medieval art and architecture in the UCLA Art History Department, is a specialist in Gothic…

Professor Shu-mei Shih Acquires Leadership Role in ACLA

By: Megan Reusche Shu-mei Shih, Professor of Asian Languages & Cultures, Comparative Literature, and Asian American Studies, has been elected second vice-president of the American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA). Founded in 1960, the ACLA represents the field of comparative literature and is a crucial meeting place for academics and students around the world, with a membership of around 3,000 individuals. This interdisciplinary and transnational field is a vibrant and vital area of humanistic inquiry, particularly because scholars must know three languages and use this proficiency to compare cultural texts amongst various languages, historical contexts, and cultures. Shih, who received her…