Around the early 1910s, coal miners began sending birds into mines as a way to detect the presence of carbon monoxide or other toxic gases. The phrase “canary in a coal mine” would soon become widely used shorthand to describe something that could be used as an early indicator of danger ahead. A UCLA symposium scheduled for Nov. 17 and…
Laure Murat, a UCLA distinguished professor of French and Francophone studies, has received the Medicis Prize in the “essay,” or nonfiction, category, one of France’s top literature awards. Murat was honored for “Proust and Me: A Family Romance” (“Proust, roman familial”), a genre-busting book that examines the influence of Marcel Proust’s work on Murat’s own life. The work blends nonfiction,…
The UCLA Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures received a gift of $345,000 from the Robert Lemelson Foundation to establish the Amazigh Studies Program Fund at UCLA, which will advance the global study of the language, history and culture of one of North Africa’s oldest indigenous populations. The project will be led by Aomar Boum, professor of anthropology and…
“A library is a focal point, a sacred place to a community; and its sacredness is its accessibility, its publicness,” author Ursula K. Le Guin famously said. “It’s everybody’s place.” To celebrate one such world-class resource, the UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library held its annual open house and adopt-a-book fair Oct. 7, inspiring more than 1,100 people to join in person.…
The Division of Humanities is proud to introduce its new faculty members for the 2023–24 academic year. These accomplished scholars represent nearly every department in the division and are at all ranks; their scholarship covers a wide range of subjects, from the ancient world to linguistics, from the digital humanities to health humanities — with some engaged in scholarship that…
Turning 50 this year — and looking not a day over diabolical — “The Exorcist” is one of the most influential, critically acclaimed and financially successful horror films of all time. (Based on a 1971 novel, the film even inspired a 2023 sequel, as well as some silly questions.) While its sensationalized depiction of demonic possession has all but defined this…
“Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit” at the Grammy Museum, which runs through Sept. 4, 2024, celebrates the genre’s 50th anniversary. It is co-curated by Adam Bradley, a UCLA professor of English and African American studies and founding director of the Laboratory for Race and Popular Culture (RAP Lab) at UCLA. The immersive exhibit explores music, fashion, activism and more to…
Justin Torres was just 31 years old when his first novel, “We the Animals,” caused a literary sensation. Narrated by a young boy of mixed heritage who is finding his way amid family struggles and a budding queer identity, the novel received the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award and became a bestseller as well as an award-winning film. Since its publication more…
When he was working on his master’s degree at the highly selective program at Syracuse University’s campus in Florence, Italy, Peter Weller experienced firsthand the challenges of graduate work in art history: hours of archival research, hours in front of the art itself, fluency in multiple languages and, of course, the expenses of travel, school and life. “It was extraordinarily…
A new page on the UCLA College website celebrates the wide range of authors and expertise among College faculty, students, alumni and staff. The Bruin Bookshelf catalogs books published by scholars affiliated with the College, and all are invited to bookmark the site and use it as a resource. Through a link on the site, College-affiliated authors can submit information about books they wish…
From June 24 to July 14, 2023, graduate students from UCLA, Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia explored the artistry of weaving in Geraki, a Lakonian village where generations of women have preserved and passed down their craft. This comprehensive project, which forms part of Gefyra, a partnership between the SNF Hellenic Centers at UCLA and SFU,…
Harryette Mullen has a singular way of connecting readers with the world around them. This spring, her work was included in a public art installation as part of New York City’s Park Poems initiative, a collaboration with the Poetry Society of America. Previously, and closer to home, Mullen wrote an original poem for UCLA Magazine that celebrated the small pleasures of everyday life, even amid…
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