Humanities Division News and Events
April in Santa Cruz Creative Music and Arts Festival 2024: "A Time For Change"
March 18, 2024
The annual month-long celebration of the arts is back at UC Santa Cruz. There will be a dozen performances by talented professionals in art forms including dance, animation and much more.
Deep Read 2024 gears up
March 13, 2024
With book giveaways, email explorations, salons, community conversations, and more, The Humanities Institute is preparing an immersive experience with its latest Deep Read selection, the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning novel Trust.
UCSC Alumna Carolina Ixta debuts first novel
March 13, 2024
UCSC alumna Carolina Ixta debuts her powerful novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious: a coming-of-age story following two Latina teens in East Oakland.
New gifts launch projects and experiential learning in Sikh studies
March 11, 2024
Two new gifts to UC Santa Cruz will raise awareness and understanding of Sikhism through two distinct projects. Each project includes paid internships for students.
Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu launches her new book: "The Movies of Racial Childhoods"
February 29, 2024
To celebrate, Shimizu will be hosting a book launch on the University of California, Santa Cruz Campus at the Sesnon Gallery, where the book will be available for purchase from Two Birds Books. The book will be discussed in conversation with Shimizu and the Sesnon Gallery director Valeria Miranda.
Two History of Consciousness professors named to lead prestigious political journal
February 26, 2024
University of California, Santa Cruz History of Consciousness Professors Banu Bargu and Massimiliano Tomba have been named co-editors of the influential scholarly journal Political Theory.
The UCSC Music Department presents "The World Making Aura of Sonic Blackness" with Moor Mother & James Gordon Williams
February 26, 2024
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the University of California, Santa Cruz Music Department presents a very special performance by guest artist Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) and James Gordon Williams, assistant professor of music composition at UC Santa Cruz in the Recital Hall of the Music Center.
Upcoming exhibition will shine a light on vibrant Filipino American life on the Central Coast
February 20, 2024
Sowing Seeds: Filipino American Stories from the Pajaro Valley will run from April 12 through August 4 at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art And History in downtown Santa Cruz, highlighting the vitality, struggles, and resilience of the Central Coast’s Filipino migrant community
Alumna and award-winning author empowers the next generation
February 14, 2024
Renowned author and UCSC alumna Reyna Grande, recipient of multiple literary awards, traces her extraordinary journey to becoming a bestseller. Grande, now giving back to her alma mater through the Reyna Grande Scholarship, hopes to inspire Latinx students to pursue creative projects and amplify their cultural heritage.
Distinguished Emerita Professor Angela Davis receives the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for her contributions to architecture
February 13, 2024
University of California, Santa Cruz Distinguished Professor Emerita Angela Davis has been honored with the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for her influence on architectural culture.
After Man: Alterhuman Ethics and Poetics at the Climate Change Tipping Point
February 12, 2024
Join associate professor micha cárdenas for her talk about the meeting point between the end of humanity and contemporary art.
The UCSC’s African American Theater Arts Troupe presents Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage
February 9, 2024
Light-hearted comedy captures the struggles of the formerly incarcerated staff as they hope for a better life
The future of Wikipedia in an era of AI
February 6, 2024
Maryana Iskander, Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, is the featured speaker at this year’s Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture on Thursday, February 22, at the Cowell Hay Barn.
Undergraduate Public Fellows Program connects humanities studies with real-world impact
February 6, 2024
The Humanities Institute's Public Fellows Program offers a mutually enriching opportunity for students to bring the humanities skills and knowledge they acquire in their university courses to diverse roles at non-profit organizations, museums, cultural institutions, and publishing venues.
Music Professor Russell Rodriguez wins the Américo Paredes Prize
January 30, 2024
The American Folklore Society awarded UC Santa Cruz professor Russell Rodriguez the annual Paredes prize in recognition of his work in the arts with the local community and his contributions to folklore and tradition.
Renowned Sitarist Nishat Khan playing at UC Santa Cruz
January 30, 2024
The classical Indian musician will play at Music Center Recital Hall along with tabla player Nitin Mitta. The two are internationally recognized musicians. We will be welcoming Khan back after he last played in 2015.
We are all in this together: Favianna Rodriguez and the ecology of social movements
January 30, 2024
The redwood trees that tower over the UC Santa Cruz campus are glorious manifestations of an ecosystem built on symbiotic relationships. The mighty redwoods, the iconic banana slug, the small sorrel are all interwoven in their existence and survival.
The Center For Public Philosophy garners national recognition for its unique Outreach Invitational High School Ethics Bowl
January 29, 2024
UC Santa Cruz's Center For Public Philosophy is being honored for its Outreach Invitational High School Ethics Bowl program, which has received the Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs/
National Endowment for the Humanities gives $60,000 award to two UCSC faculty members
January 24, 2024
The National Endowment for the Humanities included two UC Santa Cruz professors in their most recent round of grants and awards. Drs. Jennifer Derr and Stacy Kamehiro are using their newly awarded funding to continue in the projects that focus on diverse groups and global impacts.
Three historians to share their insights on slavery’s origins in America at on-campus panel discussion.
January 22, 2024
Next week’s on-campus panel discussion, “What Actually Happened In 1619,” will provide a deeper understanding of the year 1619 as a turning point in slavery’s history. This talk takes place Thursday, February 1 at the Music Recital Hall on campus.
Duke University Press publishes Arts Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu’s new book: The Movies of Racial Childhoods
January 22, 2024
UC Santa Cruz’s Dean of the Arts Division, award-winning filmmaker and author publishes her fourth sole-written book, exploring contemporary representations of Asian American youth.
Historian Benjamin Breen explores the troubled birth of psychedelic science in acclaimed new book, Tripping On Utopia.
January 18, 2024
UC Santa Cruz Associate History Professor Benjamin Breen will read from his new book about the fraught history of Cold War-era psychedelic science at Bookshop Santa Cruz this Tuesday.
UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience partnering with EY on Open Science Data Challenge on Coastal Resilience for students
January 18, 2024
Climate change is here, and so are its impacts on our communities. Globally, coastal hazards produce increasing costs, often to the most vulnerable populations. That’s why UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) and the University of California Disaster Resilience Network (UCDRN) are partnering with EY on its 2024 Open Science Data Challenge, focused on coastal resilience. CCCR will be hosting an event on campus on Jan. 25 for interested undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty to learn more about this significant opportunity.
UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division secures $1 million grant for Employing Humanities initiative
January 16, 2024
Investment from the Mellon Foundation will propel new program focused on experiential learning and career readiness for humanities students.
Alumni and professor authors return to UCSC
January 16, 2024
Ten alumni authors and two former professors will be featured in the Creative Writing Program’s Living Writers Reading Series in Jan. through March.
Sage Michaels (Rachel Carson, ‘22, Intensive History) is sharing her passion for history
January 10, 2024
Sage Michaels discovered her passion for history while taking Humanities courses at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Now she works as an interpretive guide at two Massachusetts museums, where she’s focusing on the American Revolutionary War while getting ready to start graduate school.
Finding her voice: Farnaz Fatemi's poetry explores language, borders and selfhood with an emphasis on her Iranian American identity
January 9, 2024
Farnaz Fatemi (Porter ’91, American studies), UCSC alumna, Lecturer in Writing, and Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate for 2023 and 2024, talks about embracing her identity, her career at UCSC, and her current work as poet laureate.
Scholar, philanthropist Peggy Downes Baskin dies at 93
December 20, 2023
Peggy Downes Baskin, educator and scholar, advocate for women’s rights, and longtime philanthropic supporter of UC Santa Cruz, died at her home surrounded by her family on Dec. 11. She was 93.
Art and History of Consciousness Professor Sir Isaac Julien honored in 2023 ArtReview’s Power 100 list
December 12, 2023
ArtReview, one of the world’s leading contemporary art magazines, has named University of California, Santa Cruz Arts and Humanities Professor Sir Isaac Julien as the fifth most influential artist in its ArtReview Power 100 list, and prominently mentioned UCSC Anthropology Professor Anna Tsing and Professor Emerita in the History of consciousness and Feminist Studies departments Donna Haraway.
THI Graduate Public Fellows champion the relevance of Humanities education in a changing world
December 5, 2023
An innovative Public Fellowship Program at the Humanities Institute (THI) is showing the important real-world impact of doctoral students’ humanities skills and expertise and offering exciting possibilities for the future of graduate education and career pathways.
Celebrating the Humanities: Spring Awards 2022-2023
May 25, 2023
The UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division annual Spring Awards Ceremony recognizes undergraduate student, faculty, and alumni achievements. Thursday, June 1, 2023, from 4–6:30 p.m. at the Cowell Provost House.
Modernity, Conspiracy, and Open Education: Online Humanities Offerings from UC Santa Cruz
March 22, 2023
In the past year, some UC Santa Cruz Humanities faculty have opened their courses to the world through the campus partnership with Coursera.
Humanities Division Newsletter Fall 2022
December 16, 2022
Greetings from the Humanities at UC Santa Cruz! In early November, I had the opportunity to present at the National Humanities Conference. This fall, we also launched a new certificate program called “Humanizing Technology,” with new courses starting in winter 2023.
Humanizing the metaverse
December 12, 2022
A Humanities Institute fellowship brings trained humanists into high-tech companies, providing firms with creative and fluid thinkers while also giving scholars a view into how their expertise can be used in different positions.
Humanities Division Newsletter Spring 2022
May 18, 2022
Message from Dean Alinder: Welcome to our first Humanities Division Newsletter! As I near the end of my second year as Dean, I am excited about the initiatives underway in the Humanities Division. I look forward to keeping you up to date on our activities through this newsletter.
Celebrating the Humanities: Spring Awards 2021–22
May 13, 2022
Join us for our annual celebration recognizing student and faculty academic achievement in the Humanities Division at UC Santa Cruz.
Serious Wordplay
May 12, 2022
Professors in UC Santa Cruz’s creative writing concentration encourage risk and responsibility, leading a program that’s experimental, playful, smart, and fresh.
Miriam Ellis, lecturer emerita (1927—2022)
March 31, 2022
Miriam Ellis an indelible mark on students and colleagues in French, theater, music (especially opera), and administration
Legal studies major Aissata Ba selected to meet Michelle Obama
November 5, 2021
Aissata Ba, a second-year legal studies major, has been selected to participate in a special event with Michelle Obama on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
Talented leaders show why arts and humanities matter
October 25, 2021
UC Santa Cruz Magazine features Humanities Dean Jasmine Alinder and Arts Division Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu. Both are committed to raising the visibility of the humanities and arts, highlighting their power to deepen critical thinking, heighten sympathetic imagination, and prepare students to lead in a rapidly changing world.
Humanities Welcomes New Faculty and Staff
October 6, 2021
The Humanities Division welcomes new faculty and staff in the fall quarter of 2021.
KSQD: The Humanities Institute Fosters Community Engagement
September 29, 2021
Tune into KSQD's Talk of the Bay podcast for conversation about how UCSC’s Humanities Institute (THI) is nurturing graduate students and a connection with the Santa Cruz community. Host Suki Wessling is joined by UCSC's Dean of Humanities Jasmine Alinder and graduate student and THI Public Fellow Morgan Gates.
Celebrating Postdoctoral Scholars in the Humanities
September 20, 2021
The Humanities Division celebrates our postdoctoral scholars during National Postdoc Appreciation Week.
UC Santa Cruz celebrates 50 amazing years
March 18, 2015
UCSC to offer new B.A. degree in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
June 06, 2014
Beginning this fall, students at UC Santa Cruz can now declare a major in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES), leading to a new bachelor of arts degree.
Associate Professor Ochoa Publishes New Book
May 28, 2014
UCSC Feminist Studies Associate Professor, Marcia Ochoa, has publishes a new book entitled "Queen for a Day: Transformistas, Beauty Queens, and the Performance of Femininity in Venezuela". Please join the Feminist Studies Department in a conversation and book party on Wednesday, June 3rd, 5-7pm in Humanities 1, Room 210.
Humanities Division Hosts Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Speaker Series
November 1, 2012
Sunaina Maira, Professor of Asian American Studies at UC Davis, will give a lecture on Tuesday, November 13 at 4:00 p.m. in the Humanities 1 building, Room 210.
Uncommon People / Gail Hershatter: Bringing women's stories to light
October 15, 2012
Gail Hershatter built a career by talking to people left out of history.
UCSC History professor Dana Frank provides an op ed article for the L.A. Times
August 24, 2012
UCSC History professor Dana Frank provides an op ed article for the L.A. Times concerning the State Department and human rights in Honduras.
UC Presidential Chair in Feminist Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
July 01, 2012
Bettina Aptheker and Karen Yamashita received a highly prestigious University of California Presidential Chair in Feminist Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. Professors Aptheker and Yamashita will co-hold the Chair for a three-year period beginning July 1, 2012 and ending in June 30, 2015.
Gary Young has been named 2012 Artist of the Year
March 21, 2012
Gary Young has been named 2012 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.
Dr. Karan Singh to deliver Satyajit Ray Lecture at UCSC
September 8, 2011
Distinguished Indian statesman and diplomat Dr. Karan Singh will deliver the 2011 Satyajit Ray Lecture at UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, September 24, at 5:30 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall.
William A. Ladusaw Appointed Humanities Dean
July 14, 2011
William A. Ladusaw, professor of linguistics, has accepted an appointment as dean of the Division of Humanities.
Right-Wing Populism and the Crisis of Organized Labor
April 19, 2011
“Right-Wing Populism and the Crisis of Organized Labor” The Center for Labor Studies presents a lecture with Bill Fletcher, Jr. Right-wing populism is a phenomenon deeply rooted in the US system. It tends to emerge in a virulent form during times of economic distress and crisis. It plays upon fears and prejudices and is integrally connected to matters of race. Bill Fletcher, Jr. will address the importance of understanding right-wing populism and the role that a renewed labor movement can play in combating this irrationalist and divisive force.
Rethinking Capitalism conference
April 1, 2011
The second annual Rethinking Capitalism conference, April 7-9 at UC Santa Cruz, will investigate the economic and social systems that help prop up and preserve capitalism in the aftermath of the crisis of 2008. The conference is free and open to the public.
History grad teaches English and blogs from China
December 21, 2010
Get updates about our History alum, Matt Palm, and his adventures in China!
New Faculty Publication: Eric Porter "The Problem of the Future World"
December 8, 2010
Professor and Chair of American Studies, Eric Porter, has a new book out.
Bill Ladusaw and Jim McCloskey elected fellows of Linguistic Society of America
October 19, 2010
Two of our professors from Linguistics have been elected as fellows the Linguistics Society of America.
Karen Yamashita Named National Book Award Finalist for I Hotel
October 19, 2010
Literature Professor Karen Yamashita has been named a finalist in the 2010 National Book Awards for her novel, I Hotel.
UC Santa Cruz doctoral programs earn high marks in national review
September 29, 2010
Two Humanities doctoral programs have been identified as distinctions among research activity-based doctoral programs.
New Publications from Humanities Faculty
September 3, 2010
Check out the latest publications from some of our outstanding faculty
UC Santa Cruz professor one of top academic experts on Honduras
September 1, 2010
Dana Frank, Professor of History, has become one of the top academic experts on Honduras. Read why...
Professors to present New Orleans lecture on anniversary of Katrina
August 20, 2010
American Studies Professor Eric Porter will deliver a lecture on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in San Francisco
UC Santa Cruz approves new major in Jewish Studies
June 24, 2010
Dean's & Chancellor Award Recipients Announced for Humanities Division
May 14, 2010
Recipients of the Dean's and Chancellor's Award for 2009-10 have been announced
Tanya Honig wins Outstanding Staff award
April 30, 2010
Message from the Dean - Budget Update April 2010
April 22, 2010
Read about the latest installment of budget reduction the Humanities Division faces in 2010-11
Literature professor Nathaniel Mackey receives Guggenheim for poetry
April 21, 2010
Literature professor Nathaniel Mackey has been awarded a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship for poetry.
Sandra Chung elected vice president of Linguistic Society of America
February 17, 2010
UCSC professor of linguistics Sandra Chung has been elected as vice president and president-elect of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA)
UC Santa Cruz lecturer named first Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County
January 27, 2010
UC Santa Cruz humanities lecturer Gary Young has been named the first-ever Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County.