Faculty / Department

Kabuki actor Nakamura Kyozo in a performance of “Shujaku jishi” performance for UCLA students in November 2019. The event was sponsored by the Yanai Initiative and the Japanese Ministry of Culture.   UCLA College Communications | Melissa Abraham | January 15, 2020 UCLA has received a $25 million gift from Tadashi Yanai, the chair, president…

UCLA Newsroom | January 10, 2020 Alain Mabanckou, literature professor in the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies, has been named one of 2019’s 100 most influential Africans by leading politics and culture magazine, “New African.” A renowned novelist, poet and professor, Mabanckou is recognized for his contributions to the global literary scene. Known for…

The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) has selected Professor Nina Hyams to be a fellow for its 2020 cohort. Since the early ‘80s, Hyams has been a member of the LSA, an organization dedicated to fostering a community of linguistic professionals. The LSA aims to further advance the study of linguistics and promote public education,…

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…

UCLA Department of Linguistics celebrated the appointment of Professor Bruce Hayes to the newly established Theresa A. 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…

Héctor Calderón, a UCLA professor of Spanish American, Mexican, and Chicana/o literature and cultures, was awarded first place for Best Academic Themed Book at the 21st Annual International Latino Book Awards on Sept. 21. “The Aztlán Mexican Studies Reader, 1974­-2016,” (UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, 2018) which was edited and is introduced by Professor…

UCLA Newsroom | October 4, 2019 Shu-mei Shih, professor of Asian languages and cultures, has received a distinguished alumnae award from her alma mater, National Taiwan Normal University. Shih was recognized for her influential work in Sinophone studies. The award recognizes lifetime scholarly, artistic or professional achievement, as well as contribution to the university and to…

UCLA Newsroom | Robin Migdol | June 27, 2019 The inaugural Chancellor’s Award for Community-Engaged Research, which is supported by the Chancellor’s office and the UCLA Center for Community Learning, has allocated six $10,000 research grants to develop new undergraduate research courses.In each course, students will carry out research activities in partnership with local community organizations….

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…

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…

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: 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…

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…

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,…

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…

UCLA Daily Bruin BY JACQUELINE ALVAREZ Posted: April 7, 2019 at 11:45 pm UCLA will offer a professional writing minor for students to improve their practical writing skills. The minor offers an array of specialized writing courses in topics including web literacy, entertainment, business, science and technology, nonprofits and public engagement. Students can enroll in the minor…

By: Megan Reusche Hosted by the UCLA Spanish and Portuguese Department and co-sponsored by many entities on campus, the 7th Annual Latin American, Latinx and Iberian Film Festival: Women’s Voices will take place April 15-18, 2019 and feature free screenings of twelve films at multiple locations across UCLA’s campus, including the James Bridges Theater. Originally…

Free speech scholar Rae Langton presented the inaugural UCLA Distinguished Lecture in Philosophy Ellen Evaristo | March 19, 2019 While delivering her vision of how we might “reimagine free speech,” philosopher Rae Langton outlined four required conditions for a healthy free speech environment. First, free speech is for people not for corporations. Second, a successful free speech…

In her latest book, UCLA’s Kara Cooney notes how a ruler’s gender matters far less than whose agendas are served Jessica Wolf | March 08, 2019 Over the course of 3,000 years of Egypt’s history, six women ascended to become female kings of the fertile land and sit atop its authoritarian power structure. Several ruled only briefly,…