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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…

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….

Professors’ documentary shines light on U.S. border humanitarian group

It’s a heartbreaking task: Once a month, members of the humanitarian group Águilas del Desierto (Desert Eagles) trek into Arizona’s vast and often deadly Sonoran Desert looking for the remains of undocumented migrants who sought better opportunities in United States but never made it. The volunteers, most of them migrants themselves, come primarily from Southern California and since 2009 have been embarking on this solemn mission to give a measure of peace to families seeking closure about the fate of missing loved ones. The birth of the group came from personal loss: When local officials refused to help find the…

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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,…