Walking into my senior capstone course for the English major, I was a third-year student surrounded mostly by seniors headed out the door. Many people take these capstone courses in their final semester, but I took mine for English earlier to make room for a sociology thesis later.
My mind lives to create — so this expediting didn’t surprise me.
"I really like the existential movement, where nothing really has a purpose, apart from what you make of it," says new first-year student Esther Cannesson.
Brittany Hosea-Small for UC Berkeley
Weihong Bao, associate professor of Film & Media and East Asian Languages & Cultures, has been appointed to the Pamela P. Fong and Family Distinguished Chair in China Studies. Bao's appointment marks the first time the chair has been awarded to a faculty member from a humanities discipline.
The department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) is excited to announce a new major in East Asian Humanities. "This major will open doors," says Chair Robert Ashmore.
The Department of Art Practice within the Division of Arts & Humanities is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The department’s two-year MFA program, which supports on average a dozen graduate students, is also welcoming its 100th MFA class this fall with increased resources for students.
The protagonist of Susanna Hoffs' debut novel, Jane Start, probably listens to Dionne Warwick to hype herself up in the morning. Start is 33 and living with her parents – her days of pop stardom, for one song, are 10 years behind her. But in This Bird Has Flown, a romantic spark reignites a second chance for her creative endeavors, too. Hoffs tells NPR's Andrew Limbong how her own experiences as a rockstar influenced the story, which she's adapting into a feature film.
The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley is pleased to welcome professor Grace Erny as of July 1, 2023. Erny is an assistant professor in the Department of Ancient Greek & Roman Studies and specializes in the archaeology of early Greece from the end of the Late Bronze Age through the Archaic period.
The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce Professor Poulomi Saha as the new co-director of the Critical Theory program at UC Berkeley, effective July 1, 2023.
The Division of the Arts & Humanities is pleased to announce that Shannon Jackson will be chair of the History of Art Department, as of July 1, 2023. Jackson is the Cyrus and Michelle Hadidi Professor of the Arts & Humanities and holds appointments in the departments of Rhetoric and Theater, Dance and Performance Studies. She specializes in collaborations across visual, performing, and media art forms and the role of the arts in social institutions and in social change. She will serve as chair following outgoing chair and professor Greg Levine.
On July 1, 2023, the Division of the Arts & Humanities welcomed new chairs and directors for 12 departments, centers, and programs:
The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley welcomes Xueyin (Snow) Zhang as of July 1, 2023. Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy with a specialization in formal epistemology, particularly Bayesian.
The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley is pleased to welcome full professor Nicole Starosielski as of July 1, 2023. Starosielski is a professor in the Department of Film & Media and specializes in the global distribution of digital media.
UC Berkeley’s Division of Arts & Humanities is pleased to welcome professor Juan David Rubio Restrepo as of July 1, 2023. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Music and specializes in Chicanx music culture and history.
UC Berkeley’s Division of Arts & Humanities is pleased to welcome professor Luanne Redeye as of July 1, 2023. Redeye is an assistant professor in the Department of Art Practice, where her works utilize a Native lens to share her experiences and perspective of navigating a modern world as a Native woman.
The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley is pleased to welcome Full Professor Cathy Park Hong as of July 1, 2023. Park Hong is joining the Department of English and holds the Class of 1936 First Chair in the College of Letters and Science.
The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley is pleased to welcome Professor Nora Jacobsen Ben Hammed as of July 1, 2023. Jacobsen Ben Hammed is an assistant professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages & Culture with a specialization in the continued life of Islamic philosophy as it was absorbed and transformed in Islamic theology and mysticism.
The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley is pleased to welcome professor Liesl Yamaguchi as of July 1, 2023. Yamaguchi is an assistant professor in the Department of French with a specialization in linguistics and translation.
The Division of the Arts & Humanities is pleased to announce that Sylvia Tiwon will be Chair of the Department of South and South East Asian Studies, as of July 1, 2023.
The Division of the Arts & Humanities is pleased to announce that Kate Heslop will be Chair of the Department of Scandinavian, as of July 1, 2023.
The Division of the Arts & Humanities is pleased to announce that Mark Csikszentmihalyi will be Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, as of July 1, 2023.
