Faculty/Department

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…

Professor Calderon’s groundbreaking anthology honored with MLA Panel, “Criticism in the Borderlands” at thirty years

On Saturday, January 9th, 2021, the Modern Languages Association will be hosting a panel session in honor of UCLA Professor Hector Calderon’s (Spanish and Portuguese) groundbreaking anthology, “Criticism in the Borderlands: Studies in Chicano Literature, Culture, and Ideology” thirty years after its first publication. This panel will bring together experts in the field to discuss how this anthology was the catalyst for the emergence of a Chicana/o literary and cultural studies field informed by feminist, poststructuralist, and Marxist theories. This panel is part of MLA’s 2021 Annual Conference, and aptly fits Professor Judith Butler’s presidential theme of Persistence. As Professor…

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,…