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Humanities Welcome

The Humanities Welcome, held at the beginning of each academic year, invites faculty, staff and students to come together to showcase the Humanities at UCLA.

The event introduces students to the benefits of Humanities coursework and degrees, with an introduction by Dean Alexandra Minna Stern, a Humanities faculty member offering an inside peek at their research, and a first-person account of what it’s like to study in the Humanities by a current undergraduate student.

It all takes place Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Schoenberg Music Building! (map)

Stop by for some free Humanities swag, and stay for a reception afterwards with free refreshments, representatives from Humanities-related clubs and plenty of opportunity to mingle with Humanities faculty, staff and students.

Space is limited! Students, staff and faculty are strongly encouraged to register using the form below.

Alexandra Minna Stern, Dean, Humanities Division

Alexandra Minna Stern, Ph.D., has served as dean of the UCLA Division of Humanities since November 2022. As dean, she has prioritized strengthening programs in urban, public, environmental and health humanities, expanding access to language courses — in particular for less commonly taught languages — and rebuilding community in the division following the COVID-19 pandemic. Stern has faculty appointments in the UCLA departments of English and history, and in the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics. She has received numerous grants for her research, including funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Hannah Čulík-Baird, Associate Professor of Classics

Hannah Čulík-Baird is a UCLA associate professor of classics, with research interests in premodern racial thinking represented by classical texts, particularly of the Roman era. She teaches ancient race and ethnography, both in translation and in the original Latin, as well as a wide range of other undergraduate and graduate courses, including the introductory undergraduate course, “Discovering the Romans” (Classics 20), which will next be offered during spring quarter 2025. Together with her collaborator Mathias Hanses (Penn State), she is working on a book on the rhetoric of race in the writings of the ancient Roman orator and intellectual Marcus Tullius Cicero.

She is a co-organizer of an annual digital conference called Res Difficiles (“difficult things” in Latin), which addresses inequity within the field of classics by examining issues arising out of intersectional vectors including race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, class and socioeconomic status . She is also co-founder and co-editor of “Res Difficiles, The Journal,” a Green Open Access Journal, which publishes articles addressing “difficult things” in classics and related fields.

Jack Perry, Class of 2025

Jack Perry is a senior majoring in European languages and transcultural studies, with emphases in French and Italian literature, language and culture. Having previously volunteered for the U.S. Army, Jack met people from many different cultures and backgrounds, which inspired him to major in foreign languages and cultures. Perry’s particular academic interest is the Italian Renaissance and the period’s lasting impacts on human history and culture. Perry transferred to UCLA from Foothill Community College in the Bay Area; he hopes to earn a Ph.D. in Romance languages and literatures and to become a professor at a community college.

Perry, who was named the top ELTS major for the 2023–24 academic year, is a member of the UCLA French and Italian clubs and an officer on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club team, and he served as a volunteer for UCLA Bruin Day. In addition, he works for The Azzurra, a nonprofit organization that promotes Italian culture in Southern California. Perry was awarded a position on the National Italian-American Foundation’s Voyage of Discovery, which provides college students with free two-week trips to Italy to explore their heritage and family history.

Join us Sept. 25, 2024, at 2 p.m. at Schoenberg Music Building!

Registration

Online registration is now closed. Attendees are welcome to register on site at the event, beginning at 1:15 p.m.