Humanities
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Art, research, and Night at the Museum: The flourishing partnership between UC Santa Cruz Humanities and the Museum of Art and History
Over the past ten years, the Humanities Division and The Humanities Institute have had a unique and successful partnership with the Museum of Art and History, working closely on exhibitions, public programming, student fellowships, and research initiatives that connect the university with the broader Santa Cruz community.
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A path shaped by passion: Alumnus David Gleason’s lifelong dedication to Russian studies and supporting the Humanities
UC Santa Cruz alumnus David Gleason supports the university through charitable gift annuities. His philanthropic support of UC Santa Cruz is rooted in a deep gratitude for how his time there shaped the path that followed—working for Apple in the Soviet Union at one of the most pivotal moments in modern history.
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Alumnus John Kim receives multiple film festival selections for his debut independent feature film Reunion
John Kim’s (Porter ’84, creative writing and literature) debut independent feature film Reunion follows an Asian American funeral home worker who attends his high school reunion hoping to jump-start his life, only to be mistaken for a successful alumnus from another school—a billionaire whom no one has seen since graduation.
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A reckoning in fiction: Karen Tei Yamashita returns to Bookshop Santa Cruz with acclaimed new novel Questions 27 & 28
Bookshop Santa Cruz will host the celebrated novelist and Emeritus Professor of Literature Karen Tei Yamashita for the launch of her new book, Questions 27 & 28, in conversation with History Professor Alice Yang.
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The language of food: entrepreneur Kendra Baker (Crown, ‘01, language studies) is this year’s Humanities Alumni Award honoree
Kendra Baker, co-founder of the Penny Creamery and The Picnic Basket, is this year’s UC Santa Cruz Distinguished Humanities Alumni Award recipient, an honor that highlights a career shaped by the study of language and culture.
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Alumna and Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei and civil-rights activist Dolores Huerta named in Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026
Daniela Amodei graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2009 with a B.A. in literature and a minor in politics. In 2022, UCSC’s Research Center for the Americas was renamed in honor of social justice icon Dolores Huerta; the university continues to collaborate with the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
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United by loss, a Palestinian and Israeli walk together on a path to peace
Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian peacebuilder, and Maoz Inon, an Israeli entrepreneur and activist, will speak on Monday, April 20, in Santa Cruz about their work promoting understanding and reconciliation in the region.
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A Deep Read interview with Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life
The British biologist Merlin Sheldrake, this year’s featured author for The Humanities Institute’s (THI) seventh annual Deep Read, spoke with UC Santa Cruz about the strange, generative intelligence of fungi and what it can teach us about connection, creativity, and survival.
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UCSC alumna Quressa Robinson expands representation in publishing
As a literary agent, Quressa Robinson (Oakes ‘03, literature) uses her influence to bring diverse, nuanced stories to young adult readers.
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Long days, snacks, and scan-a-thons: student archivists stepped up to save a treasure trove of Okinawan-American memories
In a cramped conference room, a small group of students spent countless hours digitizing the photos, slides and artworks of the Okinawan American community in Los Angeles County. These students work for the Okinawa Memories Initiative.
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Making ethics accessible
Alumnus Tim Shannon (Cowell ’71, history) has philanthropically supported the Humanities at UC Santa Cruz for 15 years. His support of the Norcal Regional Highschool Ethics Bowl, hosted annually at UC Santa Cruz, has opened doors for public schools across the region.
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Damming the Nile and the devastating cost of human progress
In her upcoming Nauenberg History of Science Lecture, World Wounds: The Damming of the Nile River and the Transformation of Medicine, Associate Professor of History Jennifer Derr will explore how massive infrastructure projects contributed to widespread illness, and offer insights into the global history of medicine.