Dan White
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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.
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$2 million grant to propel UC Santa Cruz humanities careers
Since launching in 2023, the Employing Humanities initiative has provided hundreds of undergraduates with real-world work experience—as resource development coordinators, editorial writers, digital marketing interns, and archivists—that helps prepare them for impactful careers after they graduate. Underscoring the initiative’s impact, UCSC was just awarded a $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation.
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Humanities EXPLORE Fellows bridge history, culture, and community
This year’s Humanities EXPLORE Program fellows are adventurous and ambitious, transcribing 300-year–old texts, helping to revitalize forgotten languages, exploring archives, and learning from faculty mentors. This winter, two fellows were given film cameras to preserve and share their experiences of connection, creativity, and purpose.
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Humanities skills are transferable skills
UC Santa Cruz humanities students graduate with a toolkit of transferable skills in high demand across fields ranging from academia to the entertainment industry and high-tech startups. Here are the stories of UC Santa Cruz humanities graduates thriving in a wide range of jobs.
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Questions that Matter: Lessons on the good life from a Star Trek opera-in-progress
For the past decade, an eclectic group of professors, staff members, and show-business professionals has been working hard to bring a Star Trek opera to vibrant life. Now, they are inviting the public to delve more deeply into the philosophical heart of their interstellar project. Their talk, “How to Live Long and Prosper: Lessons from a…
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A candid conversation with Marion Nestle: How corporations and politicians decide what you eat
A few hours before delivering the Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture, the longtime nutrition scholar and tireless consumer advocate Marion Nestle gave a far-ranging, informal interview at The Humanities Institute (THI.) Nestle discussed the political structure of the American food system, arguing that corporate influence—from agricultural subsidies to supermarket slotting fees—shapes what people eat far…
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Distinguished Professor of Literature Carla Freccero dies at 69
Carla Freccero, distinguished professor and chair of the Literature Department and a beloved mentor to hundreds of graduate students, died this week at Stanford Hospital, surrounded by loved ones. She was 69.
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A vision of freedom: the overlooked Black women activists who rallied for the vote in the Pacific Northwest
Long before women gained the right to vote nationwide in 1920, Black women in the Pacific Northwest were already working to shape political life—organizing clubs, building party networks, and mobilizing voters. Assistant Professor of History Quin’Nita Cobbins-Modica’s research shines a light on these overlooked political strategists. Her scholarship has earned her the 2025 Judith Lee…
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Centering nourishment at The Humanities Institute
The Humanities Institute (THI) at UC Santa Cruz is exploring the theme of nourishment this year, inviting the campus and community to reflect on what sustains life, fosters connection, and makes flourishing possible. “What does it mean to be nourished in our bodies, our minds and our communities at a moment of profound social, political,…
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New book chronicles the life of an enslaved man on the run in the 1700s
David George was born enslaved in Virginia in 1742, but he never gave up on his fight for freedom. Running by night, fording rivers and crossing borders, George embarked on a decades-long odyssey in and out of captivity that carried him thousands of miles. Those repeated getaway form the heart of The Escapes of David…
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UC Santa Cruz Ethics Bowl team qualifies for national championships
A hard-working group of UC Santa Cruz undergraduate Ethics Bowl competitors is heading for the 2026 Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championships in St. Louis, MIssouri, in March.
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Uncovering the troubling legacy of racism in fairy tales
In Specters of the Marvelous: Race And The Development Of The European Fairy Tale, Literature Professor Kimberly Lau reveals how “innocent” stories often encoded virulent prejudice.