In episode 202 of the Berkeley Talks podcast series, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik discusses liberalism — what it means, why we need it and the endless dedication it requires to maintain.
Liberal democracy, he said at a Townsend Center event in April, depends on two pillars: free and fair elections and the practice of open institutions, places where people can meet and debate without the pressures of overt supervision.
From May 28-June 1, the Townsend Center for the Humanities and the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes hosted a delegation of 176 scholars, staff, and students from around the world to examine the state of risk for scholars in increasingly hostile environments at home and abroad. This gathering was a unique space where humanities scholars, practitioners, and administrators considered the fundamental questions of humanities research alongside the practical challenges of humanities research and program management.
Ozzie Jauregui is a transfer student who studied drama and business at Modesto Junior College before transferring to UC Berkeley. “I transferred as an English major, that way I could be involved with the arts and entertainment, to get my foot in the door.”
Recalling his past educational experience, Bradley Pultz recognizes his growth as a student. “I had a pretty large gap between high school and college.” After high school, “I was not the most exemplary student, I struggled with many classes, I barely passed high school. I did not think I was going to go to college.” After enrolling in courses at his community college, Pultz successfully resumed his educational path to Berkeley.
"One day I woke up and decided I wanted to learn every language on the planet." David J Peterson has created fictional languages for "Game of Thrones," "The "Witcher," "Dune" and other major works. He talks about his gift and love of language, as well as how going to Cal played a role in his career.
Listen to the full interview:
When you start with language, whose meaning is more often than not taken for granted and then use it to mean differently, multiply, and unconventionally, in literature, you enter a world where resolution won’t be found or even assumed. At best, you will propose a sufficiently acceptable explanation of meaning, something we have to acknowledge is temporary, experimental, and hopeful.
It won’t be the last reading or the only one, but it will reflect your effort, your humility, and your sense.
How often do undergraduates get a chance — in person — to ask a best-selling writer about their creative process?
Of the four finalists for this year's University Medal, two of them are Arts & Humanities majors. Meet Skylar Li Song (Art Practice), Bryce Wallace (English and Linguistics), and their fellow finalists for Berkeley's highest academic honor for undergradautes.
We talked to graduating senior Wilson Wang about his experiences at Berkeley. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
It isn’t every day that we get to interact with musical treasures from the 16th and 17th centuries, held in a special UC Berkeley collection. But last week, Berkeley public middle school students got to do just that.
Professor Akash Kumar is a scholar of medieval Italian literature. He specifically focuses on the history of science and philosophy, Mediterranean Studies, and digital humanities. Professor Kumar is also a founding member of the Cosmopolitan Italies Collective; a member of the executive committee of the Critical Race, Diasporas, and Migrations Caucus of the American Association of Italian Studies; and has served as a member of the editorial board of Digital Dante.
How does a Film degree prepare you to launch a company that became a household name?
As part of Creative Careers week in the Division of Arts & Humanities, Jill Foley (Film ‘00) returned to campus on April 3 to speak with Dean Sara Guyer. Foley explained how the skills she learned at Cal have served her every step of the way: from her first post-college job with a North Bay theater company to co-founding and serving as VP of Apparel for Peloton.
Michelle Robertson (English ‘16) describes the path that led to her current role as BART storyteller and explains why an English major will give you an edge in the workplace.
Seven alums of the Division of Arts & Humanities were among the 188 Guggenheim Fellows whose names were announced on April 11, 2024.
(B.A. English ‘03)
English Poet & Assistant Professor, Department of English, California State University, Fresno
For the first three years of Justin Davidson's childhood in Chicago, his mom spoke only Spanish to him. Although he never spoke the language as a young child, when Davidson began to learn Spanish in middle school, it came very quickly to him, and over the years, he became bilingual.
Now an associate professor in UC Berkeley's Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Davidson is part of a research team that has discovered where in the brain bilinguals store language-specific sounds and sound sequences. The research project is ongoing.
When Nathanael Stephen Payne ’23 was developing Wrestle with Jimmy for UC Berkeley’s “Introduction to Playwriting” class, he had no idea where the project would take him. His answer came several years later, when he crossed the stage at graduation as one of two students to receive the Larry Belling Promising Writers’ Award.
There are countless English varieties in the U.S. There's Boston English and California English and Texas English. There's Black English and Chicano English. There's standard academic, or white, English. They're all the same language, but linguistically, they're different.
Spanish speakers in the United States, among linguists and non-linguists, have been denigrated for the way that they speak, says UC Berkeley sociolinguist Justin Davidson. It's part of the country's long history of scrutiny of non-monolingual English speakers, he says, dating back to the early 20th century.
In Berkeley Talks episode 193, science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson discusses climate change, politics and the need for "angry optimism." Robinson is the author of 22 novels, including his most recent, The Ministry for the Future, published in 2020.
The Diversity Office in the Division of Arts & Humanities is thrilled to announce a new program titled New Directions in Latinx Research in the Arts & Humanities as part of the Advancing Faculty Diversity in the Arts & Humanities Initiative launched last year. The program will launch as a special speaker series featuring the research from three current UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellows.
