Faculty/Department

Gift establishes lectureship in the Center for the Study of Religion

The Center for the Study of Religion in UCLA’s humanities division has received a landmark $150,000 commitment from 10 families in the Jain community to establish the Bhagawan Abhinandan Jain Lectureship in Jainism and Religions of India. The lectureship will be in place for three years and includes funds for course offerings and public programs. Housed in the Center, which is an interdisciplinary hub for research, teaching and public programs in religious studies, the Jain lectureship will allow UCLA students to learn about Jainism and other ancient religions of India such as Hinduism and Sikhism. Senior dean of UCLA College…

UCLA humanities professor launches second edition of “LA Escena”, a festival of Spanish classical theater, November 12-16, 2020

Diversifying the Classics is delighted to announce the second edition of Los Angeles’ Festival of Hispanic classical theater, LA Escena 2020 , now in a largely virtual mode. Since launching our biennial celebration in 2018, we have been planning for this new opportunity to present Hispanic classics, from inventive productions of the original texts to translations and adaptations inspired by the Golden Age. Amid the devastating theater closures over the past few months, we have been impressed by the resilience and creativity of artists who have found possibility in adversity. The new forms and collaborations that have emerged as a…

Picturing Mexican America by Marissa López illuminates the value of public-facing scholarship in the humanities

Marissa López F’19, Professor of English and Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), always felt there needed to be a mobile app connecting Mexican history to the present in an open, accessible way. It wasn’t until she learned of the Mellon/ACLS Scholars & Society Fellowship program, she realized she could create it herself. In 2019, López was awarded a Scholars and Society fellowship for her project, Picturing Mexican America, in partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) to develop a mobile app displaying historical images and information about “Mexican Los Angeles” that coincides with the user’s location….

Shu-mei Shih named inaugural Edward W. Said Professor of Comparative Literature

Humanities scholar Shu-mei Shih has been named the inaugural Edward. W. Said Professor of Comparative Literature in the UCLA College division of humanities. A UCLA faculty member since 1993, Shih is a professor in the departments of comparative literature, Asian languages and cultures, and Asian American studies and is vice president of the American Comparative Literature Association. David Schaberg, senior dean of UCLA College and dean of humanities, said, “This prestigious endowed professorship recognizes Shu-mei Shih’s distinguished record of scholarship and teaching in comparative literature. We are proud that the legacy of Edward Said’s contributions to scholarship will live on…

Alumna’s gift will support the study of contemporary Chinese culture

A $250,000 donation from economics alumna May C. Chong has established the Heritage and Hope Endowment in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. Augmented by $125,000 from the Humanities Centennial Match, the gift will support students and faculty researching contemporary global Chinese culture and/or religion, specifically Buddhism. “We are deeply grateful for May Chong’s generous gift, which will firmly embed contemporary Chinese cultural studies on our campus,” Dean of Humanities David Schaberg said. “More broadly, this gift further empowers UCLA in its mission to educate global citizens and foster greater cultural understanding.” Chong, who graduated from UCLA in 1979,…

Department of Art History establishes Diane C. Brouillette Graduate Fellowship

The UCLA Department of Art History has established the Diane C. Brouillette Graduate Fellowship in Art History, thanks to a $250,000 tribute gift in memory of the late UCLA alumna Diane Brouillette. The gift qualified for an additional $125,000 in matching funds from the UCLA Humanities Centennial Matching Gift Fund. The fellowship will help fund tuition, travel costs and research awards for Ph.D. students of French Medieval Art and Architecture, and reflects Diane’s lifelong passions for medieval art history and French culture. Department Chair Miwon Kwon, said, “The Brouillette Fellowship will leave a lasting legacy by providing crucial support for…

New endowed term chair in Hellenic Studies at UCLA

UCLA has received a gift commitment from Demos and Carol Anagnos and the Aris Anagnos Foundation to establish the Aris Anagnos Family Chair in Hellenic Studies in the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture. The chair, which will provide funds to support the work of a distinguished scholar and graduate students in Hellenic Studies, honors the memory of Demos’ father, Aris Anagnos, a UCLA alumnus, real estate developer, humanitarian and social justice activist who passed away in 2018. Demos Anagnos serves on the UCLA College Division of Humanities Advisory Board. Dean of Humanities David…

COVID 19 Fiat Lux Seminars: Shedding Light on the Pandemic (Part 1)

With many of us now living under government-issued stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders, Raymond Knapp is taking a musical approach towards how people are coping. Knapp is the Academic Associate Dean at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and a distinguished musicology professor. He also serves as the Director of the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities, and is among the many UCLA faculty members teaching a Spring 2020 COVID-19 Fiat Lux seminar. Knapp’s Fiat Lux seminar, titled “COVID-19: Inspirational Songs from Musicals in a Time of Crisis,” focuses on how many turn to songs from musicals during difficult times, oftentimes…

Center for Jewish Studies Director Sarah Stein named to new Viterbi Chair in Mediterranean Jewish Studies

Prominent historian Sarah Abrevaya Stein has been named the inaugural holder of the Viterbi Family Endowed Chair in Mediterranean Jewish Studies in the UCLA College divisions of humanities and social sciences. Stein, who directs the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies and is a history professor, has received prestigious accolades for her scholarship, writing and teaching, including two National Jewish Book Awards, the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award. She previously held the Maurice Amado Endowed Chair in Sephardic Studies at UCLA for 12 years. Stein’s 2019 book, “Family Papers: A Sephardic…

Maite Zubiaurre’s “Talking Trash: Cultural Uses of Waste” receives Vanderbilt University Press award

“Talking Trash: Cultural Uses of Waste” by Maite Zubiaurre is the winner of the 2020 Norman L. and Roselea J. Goldberg Prize. Awarded by the Vanderbilt University Press, the book has been recognized as the best book in the area of art or medicine. Zubiaurre’s book explores the often overlooked significance of litter in the urban landscape, particularly looking at litter in its early stages. “Talking Trash” touches upon a variety of disciplines and areas of interest, from anthropology and sociology to visual media and material culture. The book also focuses on the non-urban desert landscape, where clothing and other…