Humanities News

History grad teaches English and blogs from China

This month, UC Santa Cruz grad Matthew Palm (Kresge, History, '10) writes in his periodic blog from China about his teenage students and the impromptu English speeches he asked them to give.

History graduate heading to Scotland on prestigious Marshall Scholarship

Five months after she graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in history, Cynthia Thickpenny has won a Marshall Scholarship--one of the most prestigious awards that American undergraduates can receive.

Time's White House correspondent returns to UC Santa Cruz

Michael Scherer, the White House correspondent for Time magazine and a UC Santa Cruz alumnus (Oakes, creative writing, '98) returned to campus Monday to describe how he went from random typing at UCSC to riding Air Force One with the president.

Latino Literary conference at UCSC, Nov. 5-6

The third biennial conference of the Latino Literary Cultures Project will take place at UC Santa Cruz on Friday and Saturday, November 5-6.

Ethics lecture examines moral boundaries of scientific research

"Advances in Biotechnology and Medicine: Stretching the Moral Boundaries" is just the beginning of a new series of ethics lectures that will be presented by the UCSC Humanities Division.

Humanities Division honors freshman writing students with new award

After more than three decades of guiding teachers and teaching college students, senior lecturer emeritus in writing Don Rothman has established an endowment to honor exceptional freshman students and their writing teachers.

Bill Ladusaw and Jim McCloskey elected fellows of Linguistic Society of America

UC Santa Cruz Literature professor nominated for National Book Award

Karen Tei Yamashita, professor of literature and co-director of the Creative Writing Program at UC Santa Cruz, has been nominated for a 2010 National Book Award.

Acclaimed author and journalist Gurcharan Das to deliver 2010 Maitra Lecture at UCSC on Oct. 17

The UC Santa Cruz Foundation presents the 10th annual Sidhartha Maitra Memorial Lecture--featuring acclaimed Indian author and columnist Gurcharan Das--on Sunday, October 17, at 3 p.m. in the UCSC Music Center Recital Hall.

Award-winning UCSC alumna gaining recognition for second novel

In 2007, UC Santa Cruz alumna Reyna Grande (creative writing/film & video ’99) received an American Book award for her debut novel, Across a Hundred Mountains.Her sophomore novel, Dancing with Butterflies--a story of four women in a Los Angeles-based folklorico group--has been steadily garnering acclaim.

UCSC names new Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Philanthropy

Jeffrey J. Shilling, former chief development officer for Stanford University’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation, has been named associate vice chancellor for strategic philanthropy at UC Santa Cruz.

Alison Galloway named campus provost at UCSC

The University of California Regents today (Thursday, September 16, 2010) approved the appointment of Alison Galloway as campus provost/executive vice chancellor (CP/EVC) of UC Santa Cruz. The appointment is effective immediately.

In Memoriam: George Hitchcock

George Hitchcock, poet, painter, publisher, and UCSC lecturer emeritus in Creative Writing (Literature), died on August 27 at the age of 96.

UC Santa Cruz professor one of top academic experts on Honduras

In late June, UC Santa Cruz history professor Dana Frank traveled to Honduras to observe the one-year anniversary of the country’s 2009 military coup that deposed President Manuel Zelaya. Frank is one of the top academic experts on Honduras in the United States

UC Santa Cruz professor co-authors landmark book to commemorate 100th anniversary of Angel Island Immigration Station

A new book co-authored by UC Santa Cruz professor emerita of American Studies Judy Yung provides the first comprehensive history of the Angel Island Immigration station in San Francisco Bay--known as "the Ellis Island of the West."

Deconstruction on campus: preservationists hope to tear down, rebuild historic barn

The Cowell Lime Works board hopes to save an historic hay barn on the base of campus, using an unusual rescue method: they want to have it taken down and put back together again.

UC Santa Cruz approves new major in Jewish Studies

Jewish Studies at UCSC had its origins in the mid-1980s after a campus visit by Schindler's List survivor Leopold Page--nearly a decade before Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film.

Greg O'Malley receives ACLS and Omohundro fellowships for research in early American history

Assistant professor of history Greg O'Malley has been awarded the 2010 ACLS Oscar Handlin Fellowship, plus the 2010 Omohundro Institute for Early American History and Culture's Mellon Fellowship.

UC Santa Cruz's Harry Berger Jr. honored with top UC award for emeriti faculty

The 2010 Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award, honoring emeriti professors in the University of California system, has been awarded to UC Santa Cruz professor emeritus of literature Harry Berger Jr.

UC Santa Cruz literature professor Nathaniel Mackey receives Guggenheim for poetry

UC Santa Cruz literature professor Nathaniel Mackey has been awarded a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship for poetry.

Sandra Chung elected vice president of Linguistic Society of America

UCSC professor of linguistics Sandra Chung has been elected as vice president and president-elect of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA).

UCSC Scholarship Benefit Dinner raises more than $160,000 to support students

More than 300 people turned out for the seventh annual UC Santa Cruz Scholarship Benefit Dinner that took place Saturday night at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.

Gail Hershatter elected vice-president of Association for Asian Studies

History professor Gail Hershatter has been elected vice-president of the Association for Asian Studies.

New UCSC training program fosters ethics and justice discourse in science and engineering

This spring, UC Santa Cruz, will launch a unique graduate-level training program funded by a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to cross-train scientists and engineers in humanities and social sciences, and vice versa.

UC Santa Cruz lecturer named first Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County

UC Santa Cruz humanities lecturer Gary Young has been named the first-ever Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County.

Humanities professor wins 2009 prize for scholarly outreach

Professor of classics and comparative literature Mary-Kay Gamel has been awarded the 2009 Prize for Scholarly Outreach from the American Philological Association (APA)--the national classics association

7th annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner to support UCSC students--Feb. 6 at Tech Museum in San Jose

UCSC will host its seventh annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner on Saturday, February 6, at the Tech Museum in San Jose.

Award-winning women writers to be featured in UCSC's 2010 Living Writers Series

How do women writers view history differently than men? That's the key question posed by "Another Look: Women Writers Re-Vision History"--the winter installment of UCSC's annual Living Writers Series.

Literature professor's book makes Choice magazine's list of Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009

Literature professor Rob Wilson's book "Be Always Converting, Be Always Converted: An American Poetics" (Harvard University Press) has been selected as one of Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009.