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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…

UCLA English major featured on new Transfer Nation podcast! #StudentStory: Bianca Trevizo

UCLA English major Bianca Trevino was interviewed for the #TransferNation podcast speaking about her experience as a transfer student at UCLA. In the podcast, Bianca, who is currently working on a research project on The House on Mango Street with Professor Marissa Lopez, talks about feeling uncertainty about which college to attend as well as how getting involved at her community college prepared her for UCLA. Listen below to her story: #StudentStory: Bianca Trevizo – YouTube

UCLA, Berggruen Institute announce lecture series featuring emerging visionaries

The UCLA Division of Humanities has partnered with the Los Angeles–based Berggruen Institute to launch “Possible Worlds,” a new lecture series that invites some of today’s most imaginative intellectual leaders and creators to deliver talks on the future of humanity. The series will kick off Feb. 18, 2021, with a lecture by Harvard classicist and political theorist Danielle Allen, followed by presentations by architect Alejandro Aravena (spring 2021), author Kim Stanley Robinson (fall 2021), and innovation and sustainability expert Darja Isaksson (spring 2022). The cross-disciplinary lectures will highlight innovative ideas and offer unique insights about our transforming world. The first collaborative project between UCLA and the Berggruen…

UCLA alumna awarded Mitchell Scholarship, first in 20 years

This time next year, Genevieve Finn ’20 will be studying creative writing at Trinity College in Dublin as one of 12 winners of this year’s prestigious Mitchell Scholarship. She is only the second UCLA alum to win a Mitchell Scholarship, and the first to win in 20 years. The George J. Mitchell Scholarship Program is a national, competitive scholarship sponsored by the US-Ireland Alliance. Up to 12 Mitchell Scholars between the ages of 18 and 30 are chosen annually for one academic year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland….

UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture receives gift in memory of Aristides G. Alexopoulos

The UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture (UCLA SNF Center) has received a substantial gift from former UCLA Professor Nicolaos (Nick) Alexopoulos and his wife, Sue Curtis Alexopoulos, in memory of Nick’s brother, Aristides G. Alexopoulos. The Aristides G. Alexopoulos Endowed Student Fund will provide assistance in the form of small grants to students in financial need, with preference given to undergraduate and graduate students of Hellenic descent or with parents of Greek citizenship. These grants will help students achieve their academic or professional goals as well as overcome unexpected challenges. Alexopoulos specified this as…

Alumnus and former UCLA Anderson dean’s gift will support the study of American Jewish Studies

The UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies has received a $500,000 gift from AIG Life and Retirement’s SunAmerica Director’s Charitable Award program as designated by Harold M. Williams ’46, a former SunAmerica Director, UCLA alumnus and former dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management. The gift will establish the Williams Family Endowed Fund in honor of Williams’ parents, Sophie and Louis Williams. Williams, who died at the age of 89 in 2017, was also a former UC regent, philanthropist and arts advocate. The gift will provide broad programming and student support in the areas of American Jewish studies,…

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…