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Compelling Love Story Earns Selection by Sundance Institute
Professor of Visual Arts Amy Adler’s film “Rag Dolls”—which she wrote and co-directed with Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez—was one of 12 projects selected at this year’s Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab, a highly coveted opportunity for talented filmmakers to push boundaries.
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Press Clips 2024
News clips compiled on March 27, 2024
UC San Diego Today: Creating AI That Helps, Not Harms
How can we empower more experts to build ethical artificial intelligence systems? Professor of Data Science and Philosophy David Danks illuminates a roadmap at the Institute for Practical Ethics keynote event.
Autre Magazine: The Perfect Specimen: An Interview of Lauren Lee McCarthy
In Lauren Lee McCarthy’s Bodily Autonomy exhibition at UC San Diego’s Mandeville Art Gallery, she explores two very specific aspects of the way that we engage with science and technology… “A lot of my work is about trying to embody some of the things that are happening around us. It can often feel very-large scale and opaque, like when we hear about AI, or about other technologies that are shaping our lives, like surveillance,” said McCarthy.
Del Mar Times: Del Mar Heights Resident and Her Co-Author Awarded Coveted Prize for History
More than a decade ago, Rebecca Jo Plant (History) received a visit from her friend, Francis M. Clarke, a Civil War historian and author with whom she had attended graduate school. They co-authored “Of Age” a comprehensive inquiry into the subject of underage combatants in the war between the states, which was awarded the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize.
UC San Diego Today: Q&A: Robert Brill on Designing the Stage for Alicia Keys’ Musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
In this Q&A, Professor of Theatre and Dance Robert Brill shares how the design concept took shape and his personal connection to Hell’s Kitchen.
The Face: King Britt is Honouring the Black Origins of Dance Music
As a professor at University of California San Diego, King Britt (Music) teaches and curates the course Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music, which is based at all University of California campuses and engages over 500 students who are all eager to learn about club music’s Black and Brown roots.
UC San Diego Today: NEH Grant Awarded to Uncover the Lost Histories of the Chichimeca
Professor of History Dana Velasco Murillo has received funding to complete research on the nomadic Chichimeca peoples of northern Mexico.
San Diego Union-Tribune: The Best Things to Do This Week in San Diego: March 25-29
“Bodily Autonomy” exhibit: UC San Diego presents media artist Lauren Lee McCarthy’s two-part exhibit at Mandeville Art Gallery, “Bodily Autonomy.” It features two series, titled “Saliva” and “Surrogate,” that both examine human relationships, bio-surveillance, genetic development, reproductive technologies and data privacy.
Knox News: Big Ears 2024: See Concerts from Knoxville's Biggest Music Festival!
This year’s Big Ears Festival—which “creates joyful, meaningful, and transcendent cultural experiences that defy boundaries, fuel curiosity, ignite the spirit, and nourish the soul—featured numerous performances and talks by UC San Diego Music faculty, including Yvette Jackson, King Britt and Charles Curtis.
News clips compiled on March 22, 2024
Dance Magazine: Ana María Alvarez Redefines the Dance Program at UC San Diego
After carving her own path, building a thriving company, and receiving recognition for her work—[Ana María Alvarez (Theatre and Dance)] found the job opening at UC San Diego. “It literally was describing who I am as an artist…So much of my own artmaking practice is about asking questions and grappling with the world, and there is no better place to be doing that than inside of a university.”
Outland: Shock Therapy: Lauren Lee McCarthy’s Art Takes on Surveillance Capitalism with the Shock Effects of Radical Performance and an Equally Radical Politics of Care
Lauren Lee McCarthy…is one of the few performance artists I know of working today who regularly makes me feel uncomfortable and disturbed…Her exhibition “Bodily Autonomy,” at UC San Diego’s Mandeville Art Gallery through May 25, showcases her two latest projects, Surrogate (2021–) and Saliva (2023–), which take her strategy of embodiment in new directions.
UC San Diego Today: Creating AI That Helps, Not Harms
There are plenty of reasons to love artificial intelligence (AI). But what happens when helpfulness turns into harm—like autonomous vehicles that go haywire, or when personal information is monitored without consent? This is one of the big questions that occupies David Danks, a professor in UC San Diego’s Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute and Department of Philosophy.
San Diego Union-Tribune: Kyoto Prize winner uses surreal art forms to make sense of the world’s ugly realities
On hosting Kyoto Prize winner and internationally renowned artist Nalani Malani at UC San Diego, Director of UC San Diego’s Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts Michael Trigilio said, “Malani courageously forged a way for women artists in India in the 1960s during a time when such a career path was inconceivable,” he said. “Her efforts to reflect the possibility of a better world are nothing short of visionary.”
San Diego Magazine: New UCSD Exhibit Explores Power, Anxiety & Spit
Indeed, consent is at the core of Bodily Autonomy, a solo exhibition of the work of media artist Lauren Lee McCarthy at UC San Diego’s Mandeville Art Gallery. The show has a sci-fi feel, from the wash of green light bathing the gallery to the clinical shelves lined with tiny tubes of spit. My sixth-grade viewing of Gattaca comes to mind.
UC San Diego Today: NEH Grant Propels Quest to Uncover the Lost Histories of the Chichimeca
To reclaim the lost story of the Chichimeca peoples of northern Mexico, UC San Diego Professor of History Dana Velasco Murillo is scouring primary sources across the globe to find traces of the neglected voices of these nomadic peoples. The six-year research project is nearing completion, thanks to a recent $60,000 grant received from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
San Diego Story: Roger Reynolds’ Multimedia Opus ‘Knowing/Not Knowing’ Premiered at UC San Diego Park & Market
UC San Diego’s Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Roger Reynolds (Music) has fashioned what might be called a 21st-century secular oratorio, a work that deftly fuses recorded and live media, alternates chorus and the spoken word, and juxtaposes live drama with instrumentalists in order to pose probing questions about the nature and range of human knowledge.
The Art Newspaper: Five artists shortlisted to create London’s first ever permanent HIV/Aids memorial
Anya Gallaccio (Visual Arts) and Ryan Gander are among five artists shortlisted to create a permanent HIV/Aids memorial in London more than 40 years after the UK’s first Aids case was reported in December 1981.
Broadway World: La Jolla Playhouse Unveils Initial Programming for 2024 WOW Festival
La Jolla Playhouse has revealed initial programming for the 2024 WOW Festival of immersive and site-inspired work, presented in partnership with UC San Diego… The Department of Theatre & Dance undergraduate students will also be producing two WOW projects under the mentorship of faculty members Christopher Khul and Deborah Stein: Home and Fallen Star(s).
American Council of Learned Societies: Women’s History Resource List
For Women’s History Month, ACLS is sharing scholarly resources that celebrate and highlight lesser-known, forgotten, and diverse histories and historical roles of women. Several School of Arts and Humanities scholars are included, such as Gabriel Bámgbóṣé (Literature), Dana Velasco Murillo (History) and Shelley Streeby (Literature). Alumna Leonora S. Paula is also listed.
Penguin Random House: Cathy de la Cruz Talks THE WEIRD SISTER COLLECTION & Invites You to a 90's Dance Party
Cathy de la Cruz (Visual Arts alumna) talks about her contributions to THE WEIRD SISTER COLLECTION (The Feminist Press), what it’s like to immerse yourself in a writers’ community, and her youthful start as a feminist! Cathy de la Cruz is a Manager of Metadata, Sales & Merchandising, and an inspired writer and filmmaker.
UC San Diego Today: Q&A: Robert Brill on Designing the Stage for Alicia Keys’ Musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
When his phone rang last fall with an invitation to design the stage for a musical by 15-time Grammy award winner Alicia Keys, Robert Brill answered with an enthusiastic ‘yes.’ A set designer with three Tony award nominations, Brill is professor of design and an alumnus of UC San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
Vernissage TV: Lauren Lee McCarthy: Bodily Autonomy | Mandeville Art Gallery
For the past fifteen years, Lauren Lee McCarthy has worked in performance, video, installation, software, artificial intelligence, and other media to address how an algorithmically determined world impacts human relationships and social life. Lauren Lee McCarthy’s current show at Mandeville Art Gallery, UC San Diego, La Jolla, is called “Bodily Autonomy”.
News clips compiled on February, 29, 2024
Flash Art | Eleanor Antin and My Barbarian MCASD – Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
“Featuring two works of Antin’s from the 1970s and two more recent works from My Barbarian (Malik Gaines (Visual Arts), Alexandro Segade (Visual Arts), and Jade Gordon), the exhibition tautly emphasizes the artists’ use of identity, subject formation, and history.”
San Diego Union-Tribune | Review: Music and Technology Successfully Merged in Performance of Late Nono Composition
“Instead of eight speakers, Thursday’s performance gave us two parallel banks of 256 mini-speakers total in a system designed by UCSD Department of Theater and Dance professor Bobby McElver. With these speakers and computer software (and a mixing board), Department of Music Ph.D. candidate Michelle Helene Mackenzie was able to control the placement of sound in the small space of Calit2 Theater with a sophistication far beyond what eight speakers and a mixing board can do.”
Duke University Press | Monsoon, Jeremy Presholdt, and the Indian Ocean World Podcast
“Jeremy Prestholdt, Professor of History at the University of California San Diego, and founding co-editor of Monsoon: Journal of the Indian Ocean Rim, was a guest on a recent episode of The Indian Ocean World Podcast. Prestholdt joined Dr. Philip Gooding to go behind the scenes of the new journal.”
San Diego Jewish World | Samples Published Here of the Poetry of Adam Deutsch, Amelia Glaser, and Herb Brin That Were Recited During a Lawrence Family JCC Program
“The poetry of Adam Deutsch, from his newly published book, Every Transmission, opened the January 16 program of Jewish Poets/Jewish Voices…His well-received selections were followed by translations from Yiddish and Ukrainian and original poems by Amelia Glaser (Literature), UCSD chair of Judaic Studies.”
American Theatre | Lisa Portes Named Chair of UCSD Theatre and Dance Dept.
“Director Lisa Portes (Theatre and Dance) has been named chair of UC San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance. An acclaimed Cuban American director, teacher, advocate, and leader, Portes most recently served as head of the MFA Directing Program at DePaul University.
SD Today | Cool Art Exhibitions to Explore in San Diego in 2024
“UC San Diego professor Dr. Pinar Yoldas (Visual Arts) will headline an experience that “illuminates the connections between technology, creativity, and human desire in contemporary life” Saturday, Feb. 24-Sunday, June 23.”
Front of House Magazine | Meyer Sound Collaborates with UC San Diego Researchers on New Spatial Sound Experiences
“With the emergence of spatial headphones, immersive art installations, and concert venues like the Sphere, everyone is excited about the idea of creating content for these experiences, but rarely do students have access to these facilities,” said Jeremy Olson (Music), UC San Diego’s Theatrical Production Specialist.”
Women in Academia | Bernadine Marie Hernandez Receives Three Literary Awards for New Book
“Bernadine Marie Hernández (Literature), associate professor in the department of English at the University of New Mexico, has won three national awards for her book, ‘Border Bodies: Racialized Sexuality, Sexual Capital, and Violence in the Nineteenth-Century Borderlands.’”
San Diego Union-Tribune | Cuban American stage director is the new chair of UCSD Theatre & Dance
“This symbiotic relationship between a world-class theater training program and a highly innovative, internationally renowned professional theater is unparalleled in the nation,” said Lisa Portes (Theatre and Dance), in a statement. “For me, my time in the MFA directing program was the crucible that formed me as an artist.”
Digicult | Lauren Lee McCarthy: Bodily Autonomy
“Bodily Autonomy marks the official premiere of Saliva and Surrogate, both Creative Capital–funded projects. Curated by Ceci Moss (Visual Arts), Director and Chief Curator of the Mandeville Art Gallery and Professor of Practice, Visual Arts.”
University of California | UC San Diego composer Anthony Davis inducted into the Opera Hall of Fame
“This January, UC San Diego Distinguished Professor of Music Anthony Davis was inducted into the Opera Hall of Fame. The honor comes on the heels of an immensely successful production of “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” at the Metropolitan Opera…”
Yahoo News | Variety Promotes Rachel Seo to Social Media Editor
“Variety has promoted Rachel Seo (Literature) to Social Media Editor…Prior to VidCon, Seo worked as a freelance writer focused on covering the intersection of religion and culture. She is a graduate of UC San Diego, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in literature and writing.”
Broadway World | Teresa Langford to Star in Site-Specific US Premiere of BITCH BOXER in March
“Emily Moler (Theatre and Dance) will direct the production, reuniting with Langford after their collaboration on a new retelling (with never-before-seen, unpublished new ending) of Arthur Kopit's Chamber Music in 2017. Moler holds her M.F.A. from UCSD and made her professional debut earlier this year associate directing POTUS at The Geffen Playhouse.”
San Diego Union-Tribune | Review: Cepromusic Ensemble brings a heady dose of modernist music to UCSD
““Traverse,” dedicated to “the brave people of all times who stood up against despotism,” was composed the same year that Trump came into power. If there were programmatic connections in the music between tyranny and resistance, I couldn’t readily follow them. Nevertheless, it was a compelling work and a fine introduction to [Karola] Obermüller’s (Music) music.”
Grand Valley State University | President's Forum Guest: How Higher Education Can Better Address Inequities
“As part of his position as faculty director of the Teaching and Learning Commons at the University of California San Diego, David Ruiter (Theatre and Dance) examines the resourcefulness of students in navigating obstacles to harness their learning abilities.”
Pune Media | Capturing Creativity with Computation for Music AI
“The paper’s senior author Shlomo Dubnov (Music) added, ‘This is a new concept that highlights the importance of communication and collaboration that occurs between musicians or between musicians and musical artificial intelligence agents as a fundamental factor in achieving music creativity.’”
Broadway World | Design Team Set for Seattle Shakespeare Company's 2023–2024 Production, THE BED TRICK
“Keiko Green (Theatre and Dance) is a playwright, screenwriter, and performer based in Los Angeles and Seattle…As a screenwriter, she wrote on Hulu’s upcoming Interior Chinatown and is developing a sci-fi thriller with Hillman Grad. BFA: NYU Drama – Experimental Theatre Wing, MFA: UCSD Playwriting.”
Broadway World | International Contemporary Ensemble to Perform Works By Anthony Davis And Leila Adu-Gilmore At NYU Skirball
“Drawing on an ultra-cosmopolitan range of musical and cultural sources, Leila Adu-Gilmore and Anthony Davis (Music) exemplify some of the many ways in which Afrodiasporic new music becomes revealed as an intercultural, multigenerational space of innovation that offers new subjects, histories, and identities.”
Press Clips 2023
Duke University Press: The Sovereign Self: Aesthetic Autonomy from the Enlightenment to the Avant-Garde
In “The Sovereign Self,” Grant H. Kester (Visual Arts) examines the evolving discourse of aesthetic autonomy from its origins in the Enlightenment through avant-garde projects and movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Opens New West Coast Office in California
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is announcing the launch of Carnegie California, its new West Coast office and program, in Palo Alto. Ian Klaus oversees Carnegie California’s team of distinguished experts, including Nancy Kwak (History).
Book Riot: 8 Beautiful Books of Queer Science & Nature Writing
“Northern Light” by Kazim Ali (Literature) is featured: “This is a beautiful book about environmental degradation, hidden stories, the violence of erasure, and what it means to be shaped by places with complex and sometimes contradictory histories.” Related: Canadian Literature
San Diego Reader: Gonzo Report: Sickness can’t stop drive to hear Mark Dresser
“I was determined to catch Mark Dresser’s (Music) solo bass outing, a CD release party for his new disc ‘Tines of Change,’ just out on the Pyroclastic Records label,” writes Robert Bush.
Deadline: Movie Academy Invites Nearly 400 New Members Including Taylor Swift, Ke Huy Quan, The Daniels & Austin Butler
The Oscars group said it has extended offers to 398 artists and execs — one more than last year — who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures. Included this year is Marsha Stephanie Blake MFA ‘01 (Theatre and Dance).
Schott Music: Lei Liang: Summer Highlights
Last month saw the launch of LEI LAB at the University of California San Diego, where Lei Liang (Music) is Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Music. Additional: Liang gives keynote speech for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, new recording “Six Seasons” and more.
The Washington Post: A century later, the Titanic still fascinates. Here’s why.
“It’s one of the few disasters that had time to develop the full drama of human choices,” said Stephen Cox (Literature), a retired professor at the University of California at San Diego and author of “The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions.” “Usually if a ship is going to sink, it sinks pretty quickly. Titanic lasted for two hours and 40 minutes, which is as long as a Shakespeare play.”
The Berkshire Eagle: Berkshire Opera Festival postpones NYC performance of Anthony Davis’ ‘Reef’ adaption
The Berkshire Opera Festival has delayed a planned workshop performance of Anthony Davis’ (Music) new “Reef” adaptation in New York City. Once set for November, the festival is now eyeing April 2024, a BOF representative told The Eagle.
UC San Diego Today: My Story: Student Kiki Drew on Coming Out and the Value of Community
This June, UC San Diego recognizes Pride Month by inviting members of our campus community to share their coming out story, how their identity empowers them and ways they are involved in the LGBTQ+ community. In this issue we connected with Kiki Drew (they/them/elle) (Theatre and Dance), a third-year student majoring in theater and minoring in critical gender studies.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego Named 5-Star College by Money
In the online outlet’s profile of the school, Money recognized UC San Diego as “one of the top research universities in the world.” The editors shared that the school is “renowned for its science programs and stellar faculty,” calling out faculty member Ken Anderson (Music), an internationally celebrated Gospel singer who leads the campus’s popular gospel choir course.
News clips compiled on June 16, 2023
The San Diego Union-Tribune: The subversive abstraction of Monique van Genderen
“The abstractions that I’m working with are reminiscent of a bunch of information that you might be holding in your brain,” says Monique van Genderen (Visual Arts). “But now I’m pushing it forward and basically playing with it.”
Zocalo Public Square: How Would Emperor Tiberius Have Handled Silicon Valley Bank?
A first-century Roman bailout holds lessons for today’s financial institutions and their regulators, writes Edward Watts (History). Related: San Francisco Chronicle, Desert Sun
The Wall Street Journal: Ojai Music Festival Review: Rhiannon Giddens Leads by Example
“More successful was Ms. Wu’s appearance earlier that day, closing the morning program at the Libbey Bowl with Lei Liang’s (Music) “Vis-à-vis” in duet with the percussionist Steven Schick (Music), himself an Ojai Festival music director in 2015,” read this review.
Field Journal: Field Issue 24, Spring 2023
The issue presents a range of essays and interviews addressing the broader cultural impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, which emerged in the wake of the police killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012, writes editor Grant Kester (Visual Arts).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: Not all is what it seems in Cygnet’s compelling and mysterious thriller ‘Sharon’
The world premiere play by Keiko Green MFA ‘22 (Theatre and Dance) is about a mother and her adult son who live together, often uneasily, in Washington state.
McKnight Artist Fellowships: Six Minnesota dance artists selected for 2023 McKnight Fellowships for Choreographers and Dancers
The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts today announced its 2023 McKnight Choreographer Fellows and 2023 McKnight Dancer Fellows. Alum Sam Aros-Mitchell MFA ‘15, Ph.D. ‘21 (Theatre and Dance) was selected as one of three Dancer Fellows.
UC San Diego Today: Entering Our ChatGPT Era
While David Danks (Philosophy), who serves on the advisory board of the UC San Diego Institute for Practical Ethics, believes there are positive uses for generative AI — such as proofreading, editing or creative and artistic expression — he has grave concerns about the potential of these systems to inflict real harms on society.
UC San Diego Today: 5 Tips to Ace Your Fulbright Award Application
“The application process was challenging, but I learned so much about myself,” said MFA student Heige Kim (Visual Arts). Also featured is Ariya McDonald Uyeno, a Japanese Studies Program minor in the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
UC San Diego Today: Composer Roger Reynolds Inducted into American Academy of Arts and Letters
Internationally recognized composer Roger Reynolds (Music) was inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters at a ceremony held May 24 in New York City. The UC San Diego Department of Music now boasts three faculty members as part of prestigious academy.
UC San Diego Magazine: Hope for Our Zebra
Alumni Michaelle Jinette ‘05 and Kevin Witt ‘05 (History) take on rare-disease research to cure their child.
UC San Diego Magazine: Creative Computing: Teaching computers to think like a human
“Today, there are various machine learning applications to create art,” says Shlomo Dubnov (Music). “But the question is, can we go beyond these tools and generate a sort of joint man-and-machine creativity?”
Campus Notice: Spring 2023 Academic Senate Election Results
The results of the spring 2023 election include: Deborah Stein (Theatre and Dance) as Divisional Representative.
Campus Notice: 2023 Distinguished Teaching Awards Ceremony
The 2023 Distinguished Teaching Awards Reception and Ceremony was held on June 2. Arts and Humanities honors included: Grace Shinhae Jun (Theatre and Dance) with the Barbara and Paul Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award, Non-Senate Members; and Jorg Neuheiser (History) with the Distinguished Teaching Award, Non-Senate Members.
Qualcomm Institute: Gift Launches Lei Lab at the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute
A new gift will launch the Lei Lab under the direction of composer Lei Liang (Music), enhancing activities bringing together arts and sciences in innovative ways.
News clips compiled on May 26, 2023
MIT Press: “Autodrive” by Jordan Crandall
“Autodrive” by Jordan Crandall (Visual Arts) is a work of literary fiction that melds techno-scientific inquiry and storytelling, critical theory and comedy, speculative fiction and satire.
TECHnically Speaking: USITT23 Series with Judith Dolan — 2023 DAA for Education Winner
Listen to costume designer, director, Distinguished Professor at UC San Diego, and the 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award for education winner: Judith Dolan (Theatre and Dance).
Sphinx Music: MPower Artist Grants
With funding provided by the MPower Artist Grant, graduate student Joy Guidry (Music) will be able to elevate the development of their sophomore album to a new level.
SD Voyager: Meet Jesca Prudencio
“The recent chapter of my story begins in San Diego,” writes alum Jesca Prudencio MFA ‘16 (Theatre and Dance). “I had never been to California before I was accepted as one of two directors for the UCSD MFA Directing program with a full ride.”
Drama League: The Drama League Awards
Alum Anne Kauffman MFA ‘99 (Theatre and Dance) wins Outstanding Direction of a Play for “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.”
UC San Diego Today: The Class of 2023: Resilient and Ready for the World
Student Cianna Cloutier ‘23 (History, PATH) participated in the Chancellor’s Associates Scholarship Program and the Preparing Accomplished Transfers to the Humanities program, both of which aided her transition to the university and provided a well-needed support system during her tumultuous junior and senior years.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego Named 7th Best U.S. Public University by Center for World University Rankings
In April, Henry E. Allison (Philosophy), a professor emeritus was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. That same month, faculty member Jac Jemc (Literature) was announced as a Guggenheim Fellow, a prestigious distinction awarded annually by the Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
UC San Diego Magazine: All About That Bass
Nathan East’s ‘78 (Music) career hits all the right notes.
Campus Notice: 2023 Chancellor’s Dissertation Medal Recipients
Recipients of this prestigious award are chosen based upon the quality of academic research. The School of Arts and Humanities winner is Marianna Hovhannisyan Ph.D. ‘22 (Visual Arts).
Department of Visual Arts: 13th Annual Adam D. Kamil Media Awards winners
This year’s Kamil Media Award winner is student Citlalli Martinez (Visual Arts) for “Les Girls.” Runners up are Ian Guzman (Visual Arts) for “Three Pochos” and Karen Avila (Visual Arts) for “Inside my Mind; Sounds of Serenity.”
UC San Diego Magazine: Chord Craft: UC San Diego grad takes center stage at Taylor Guitars
“I thought it would be great to study with these amazing musicians, educators and teachers who had a very diverse outlook on how they wanted to approach this kind of broad thing we call music,” said Andy Powers ‘04 (Music), chief guitar designer, president and CEO at Taylor Guitars.
News clips compiled on May 19, 2023
Fordham University Press: “Topothesia: Planning, Colonialism, and Places in Excess”
“Topothesia,” the new publication by Ameeth Vijay (Literature), reads urban planning as a mode of speculative fiction, one inextricably linked to histories of British colonialism and liberalism through a particular understanding of place. The book focuses on town planning from the late nineteenth century to the present day, showing how the contemporary geography of Britain — sharply unequal and marked by racial division — continues ideologies of place established in colonial contexts.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: Art of Elan presents a winning world premiere by Rand Steiger
Rand Steiger’s (Music) “Grace” beautifully performed and warmly applauded at San Diego Museum of Art.
UCSD Guardian: ChatGPT Goes to College
UC San Diego instructor and MFA student Tina Hyland (Literature) wants students to examine where ChatGPT misses the mark.
NPR: Structural integrity: Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s rigorous, regenerative music
“Yet among all of this Nordic talent, composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music) stands out,” reads the NPR editor’s pick “The 45-year-old former cellist first studied composition in Reykjavík at what is now the Iceland University of the Arts, then earned a Ph.D. from the University of California San Diego, in 2011. Today, her music is routinely performed by the world’s top orchestras and ensembles. She’s enjoying something of a moment in the U.S. this year ....”
School of Arts and Humanities: Arts and Humanities Moments May 2023
Featured news includes the Center for Taiwan Studies launch event, undergraduate scholars in Literature and Chicanx and Latinx Studies awarded scholarships, a Guggenheim for Jac Jemc (Literature), and a research spotlighting Rebecca Jo Plant (History), among much more.
UC San Diego Today: Community Celebrates Center for Taiwan Studies Launch
Bridging Literature and Music, the grand opening concert featured guest artists, alumni and current graduate students. Ping-hui Liao (Literature) and Nancy Guy (Music) are co-directors. Related: Photo slideshow
Emeriti Association Chronicles: The State of the Arts at UC San Diego (PDF)
This may come as a surprise to some: The arts at UC San Diego are more visible, more interconnected, and stronger than ever before. And we are thriving,” writes School of Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta.
UC San Diego Today: Campus’s Remarkable Transformation Celebrated at Open House
Included in this roundup of the Chancellor’s presentation were the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood and the Mandeville Art Gallery.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego Ranked Among Nation’s Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges by The Princeton Review
UC San Diego alumni stand out as distinct thinkers who make waves in their industries, such as Nathan East ‘78 (Music), one of the most-recorded in-studio session bassists in history.
UC San Diego Today: Uplifting Generations: Asian and Pacific Islander American Students Share Stories of Mentorship
“My parents immigrated from Vietnam to the San Gabriel Valley, the mecca of Southeast and East Asian immigration near Los Angeles County, and raised me to be successful in an American system,” said student Qui-Shawn Tran (Music). “They didn’t go to college but they promised me that a university education would be the life-changing accomplishment I would need to land the best jobs and have all my ducks in a row. My expectations were grand.”
UC San Diego Magazine: Broadcasting Live: Student-run KSDT radio continues a tradition of music and community.
Hannah Rosenberg ‘21 (Visual Arts), former station events manager, said she had her sights on KSDT from day one: “I knew I wanted to work in the music industry and KSDT was aligned with that goal. Aside from that, I was happy just being in that environment, around cool people and new music.”
News clips compiled on May 12, 2023
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Mark Dresser redefines the bass anew: ‘He’s unique!’ says Pulitzer-winning composer Anthony Davis
Only 20 when he joined the San Diego Symphony, Mark Dresser (Music) makes bold leaps on his new ‘Tines of Change’ album. It features him using African thumb piano-inspired metal rods mounted on his four- and five-string basses.
San Diego Business Journal: UCSD Panelist: ChatGPT ‘Massive Experiment’
A lively debate about AI breakthrough ChatGPT was the subject at UC San Diego’s recent on-campus event “ChattingGPT,” which featured a series of panels discussing the future of AI chatbots. The event was sponsored by the San Diego Supercomputer Center, Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute and the Institute for Practical Ethics at UC San Diego. “We are being used as subjects in a massive experiment without our consent and I think that’s an enormous ethical challenge,” said David Danks (Philosophy). “You might be thinking this is just math and just code and ethics doesn’t have anything to do with it. I want to push back on that.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: Tom Johnson’s clever ‘Four Note Opera’ shines in the hands of kallisti ensemble
Composer’s 1972 work enjoys a compelling revival by Susan Narucki (Music) and her kallisti ensemble at the University of California San Diego.
Encinitas Advocate: May 5: Local and regional events
The Friends of the Encinitas Library will present a free concert by the David Borgo (Music) Quartet from 2 to 3 p.m. May 7 at the Encinitas Library.
The American Theatre Wing: The Tony Award Nominations
Congratulations to alumni Paloma Young MFA ‘06 (Theatre and Dance) in Best Costume Design of a Musical for “& Juliet” and Dominique Fawn Hill MFA ‘16 (Theatre and Dance) in Best Costume Design of a Play, for “Fat Ham.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Eric Clapton and Nathan East endorse Cream of Clapton Band, which features East’s son and Clapton’s nephew
The group features Noah East on keyboards and Will Johns, Clapton’s nephew, on guitar and vocals. Longtime Clapton band bassist Nathan East ‘78 (Music) was the special guest in San Diego.
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: ASO, guest conductor Kazem Abdullah to cap Masterworks season with barn-burner ‘Symphonie Fantastique’
Kazem Abdullah made his Met debut in debut in 2009; he’ll return there this fall helming Anthony Davis’ (Music) “The Life and Times of Malcolm X.”
Broadway Direct: Here Lies Love Announces Full Broadway Cast
“Here Lies Love” begins performances next month at the Broadway Theatre. The 23-member company includes Melody Butiu ‘96, MFA ‘99 (Theatre and Dance).
Times of San Diego: UC San Diego Graduate Students in Music Honored for Compositions
Graduate student Anthony Vine (Music) won the Rome Prize in musical composition, while fellow graduate student S Whiteley (Music) received a commission from Riot Ensemble, a London-based collective of contemporary solo artists.
Forbes: Clothing Entrepreneurs Can’t Wait To Fire Themselves As Models And Hire The AI Kind Instead
“When you’re presenting an image that could easily be mistaken for an actual person, I think you should disclose that it’s a computer-generated image,” said David Danks (Philosophy), whose research explores the ethical issues around artificial intelligence.
UC San Diego Today: Wagner New Play Festival to Feature 7 World-premiere Works by UC San Diego MFA Playwriting Students
The Wagner New Play Festival will return to UC San Diego from May 8 to June 10, 2023, showcasing seven new plays written by MFA playwrights in UC San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
UC San Diego Magazine: Experiment in Progress
UC San Diego music remains a laboratory for the arts, with this feature highlighting Lei Liang, Amy Cimini and King Britt, all of the Department of Music. “I love the way the department evolves,” says Rand Steiger (Music). “The energy and ideas from new faculty are inspirational and insightful.”
UC San Diego Today: A Festive Debut for Ann Hamilton’s ‘KAHNOP · TO TELL A STORY’
The celebration also included a world premiere performance of “step by step, line by line” by UC San Diego faculty composer Shahrokh Yadegari (Music), an atmospheric and bold ode to the complexity of ideas that are interlaced throughout the installation that left audience members in a spell.
UC San Diego Magazine: A Home for Music
Villa Musica’s Fiona Chatwin DMA ‘06 (Music) delivers music across San Diego County.
UC San Diego Magazine: Hope for Our Zebra: Alumni family takes on rare disease research to cure their child.
Alumni Michaelle Jinette ‘05 and Kevin Witt ‘05 (History) and their four sons, including the youngest, Tristan, diagnosed with the rare KCNH1 genetic mutation, are featured in this article written by Jinette.
News clips compiled on April 28, 2023
El Pais: Patricia Churchland, the philosopher who looks at neurons
“For many aspects of moral decision-making and moral learning, you probably need to have what all mammals basically have: the capacity to care for others,” said Patricia Chruchland (Philosophy), one of the world’s leading experts in neurophilosophy.
Literary Hub: What Should You Read Next? Here Are the Best Reviewed Books of the Month
Featuring new titles by Rebecca Makkai, Nona Fernández, Jac Jemc (Literature) and more.
HereIn Journal: One Work: Naomi Nadreau
Alum beck haberstroh MFA ‘22 (Visual Arts) writes on work by current student Naomi Nadreau (Visual Arts): “‘vacuity detriment’ combines this variety of spiritual, material, and technical knowledge much like the best of the science fiction genre.”
American Academy in Rome: Announcing the 2023–24 Rome Prize Winners and Italian Fellows
The American Academy in Rome announced the winners of the 2023–24 Rome Prize and Italian Fellowships: graduate student Anthony Vine (Music) is awarded the Rome Prize in Musical Composition. These highly competitive fellowships support advanced independent work and research in the arts and humanities.
UC San Diego Today: Two UC San Diego Professors Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Civil war expert Barbara F. Walter and renowned scholar of philosophy Henry E. Allison (Philosophy) join the honorary society.
UC San Diego Today: Binational Community Conversations Shape New ‘Mi Universidad’ Program
UC San Diego is hiring more than a dozen new faculty members whose research and teaching focus on issues affecting Latinx and Chicanx students. Their courses will broaden offerings across the university, including the existing Chicanx and Latinx Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego’s Graduate Programs Ranked Among Best in Nation by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News has also previously named a selection of other UC San Diego graduate programs as among the best in the nation, including: political science (8), fine arts (10), psychology (12), and economics (14).
UC San Diego Visual Arts: David Antin Prize
The Antin Prize Committee is pleased to announce Wren Gardiner (Visual Arts) as the David Antin Prize awardee for 2023. Wren’s recent body of work is an impressive achievement, bringing together linguistic, performative and technical experimentations. This annual prize was started to support a third-year MFA Visual Arts student who reflects David Antin’s focus on interdisciplinary work and the use of multiple mediums.
News clips compiled on April 21, 2023
The San Diego Union-Tribune: There are still 14 million displaced Syrians in crisis. We must listen to their stories. (opinion)
The traditional American asylum and refugee program, a vaunted feature of the post-World War II human rights consensus, has been shredded, writes Michael Provence (History, Institute of Arts and Humanities).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Moving from Syria to America taught me how to carry two cultures (opinion)
Early on when I moved to San Diego, I admired the strong diversity that exists in the community, writes staff member Sarab Aziz (History).
KPBS: Are San Diego theaters meeting the call for greater diversity?
Theater director and UC San Diego faculty member Lamar Perry (Theatre and Dance) said “on a systemic level, looking at the larger theaters in town — La Jolla Playhouse and the Old Globe — there were already substantive conversations happening based on the ‘racial reckoning’ that happened in 2020 ....”
National Endowment for the Humanities: NEH Announces $35.63 Million for 258 Humanities Projects Nationwide
Congratulations to Ryan M. Bessett (Literature), who received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the project “Bilingual Voices in the U.S./Mexico Borderlands: Preserving, Expanding, and Elaborating Sociolinguistic Collections” in collaboration with Katherine Christoffersen (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) and Ana Carvalho (University of Arizona).
Passion Weiss: “The Thrill Is to Find Something That’s Yours”: An Interview With B+ About Madvillain
In this interview conducted during the writing process of his forthcoming 33 1/3 book on Madvillainy, Will Hagle speaks to photographer Brian Cross (Visual Arts) about the duo’s friendship, Madlib’s trip to Brazil and more.
Robinson’s Podcast: Craig Callender: Pseudoscience, Conspiracy Theories, and Philosophy (video)
In this episode, Craig Callender (Philosophy) and Robinson discuss the content of a course he’s been teaching called Science vs Pseudoscience. More particularly, they talk about the boundary between science and pseudoscience, as well as case studies of science, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories. Related: Daily Nous
San Francisco Classical Voice: Susan Narucki Explores Connection on This Island (review)
Susan Narucki (Music) retains the unique timbre, accuracy, and steadiness that have made her soprano central to American contemporary vocal music.
La Jolla Light: Filmmaker stops by UC San Diego to talk freedom, dreams and ‘being OK with where you are’
Filmmaker and activist Tourmaline discussed her career and showed some of her short films — including one that is in progress and hadn’t been screened before — during a talk April 6 on the UC San Diego campus in partnership with the university’s Department of Visual Arts and Black Studies Project.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Four-hour chamber piece by Morton Feldman gets a rare and well-played airing at UCSD (review)
Steven Schick (Music), current student Alexander Ishov (Music) and Liam Wooding were hypnotic in “For Philip Guston” performed at the Conrad Prebys Concert Hall in the Department of Music.
San Diego Reader: Audrey Callahan connects, Mark Dresser experiments, Twin Ritual releases, Ratt collects, Billy Galewood develops
“I think of the bass as an orchestra,” says jazz bassist Mark Dresser (Music), who’ll present selections his upcoming solo album Tines Of Change on May 8 at UC San Diego’s The Loft.
KPBS: Cross-border artist makes piñatas with a message
Diana Benavídez ‘16 (Visual Arts) recently shared that the Mingei has acquired two of her piñatas for their permanent collection.
Star Tribune: Facing the music: ‘Cambodian Rock Band’ drums up war crimes and deep family history
Lauren Yee’s MFA ‘12 (Theatre and Dance) play “Cambodian Rock Band” is helping to change the perception of the Southeast Asian nation even as it grapples with a heavy history.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: The Arabic language, midwife to many modern languages, is almost criminalized in the U.S. (opinion)
Though Arabic is among the fastest growing languages in the world, it is often abused to massage false claims, writes Doris Bittar MFA ‘93 (Visual Arts).
The New York Times: Contemporary Music Champions Celebrate With the Hits (review)
Gil Rose led the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which performed works by Lisa Bielawa, Lei Liang (Music) and Andrew Norman at Carnegie Hall.
The New York Times: The Cousins Who Ruled 19th-Century Europe, Miserably
“Empty Theatre,” a novel by Jac Jemc (Literature), reimagines the lives of two eccentric royals, King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Related: Esquire, Literary Hub
Literary Hub: Encounters with a Mad King: Jac Jemc on Finding a Story While Lost in Research
“I needed to know everything so I could carefully carve out the something I wanted the book to be about,” writes Jac Jemc (Literature).
UC San Diego Today: Two UC San Diego Faculty Members Celebrated as 2023 Guggenheim Fellows
Patrick Anderson and Jac Jemc (Literature) will advance their scholarly and creative work through prestigious fellowship. Related: University of California
UC San Diego Today: Though Set in Stone, Newest Stuart Collection Artwork Tells a Dynamic Story
Artist Ann Hamilton will speak about her work “KAHNOP • TO TELL A STORY” and other recent projects on Wednesday, Apr. 26 at The Jeannie Auditorium, organized by the School of Arts and Humanities and Stuart Collection at UC San Diego.
UCTV: A Conversation with Artist and Author Art Spiegelman (video)
Pulitzer Prize-winning artist, illustrator and author of “Maus,” Art Spiegelman talks with Cristina Della Coletta, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, as part of the UC San Diego Library Author Talk and Holocaust Living History Workshop (Jewish Studies Program) series.
UC San Diego Today: The Fifth Annual Women in Leadership Event Celebrates and Inspires Trailblazers
Former faculty member Natalia Molina (History) will speak at the May 25 event.
UC San Diego Today: Venturing ‘Into the Woods’ with Muir Musical
Students from the departments of Music and Theatre and Dance are included in this campus feature.
UC San Diego Today: Esteemed Science Fiction Writer to Close Out 2022-2023 UC San Diego Library Author Talk Series
The UC San Diego Library’s Author Talk Series concluded its third consecutive year of programming on April 17 with internationally-acclaimed author and prominent UC San Diego alum, Kim Stanley Robinson ‘74, PhD ‘82 (Literature).
UC San Diego Today: Cognitive Science Ph.D. Student Wins 10th Annual Grad SLAM Competition
Matt Ford (Literature) was one of 10 finalists competing April 13.
UC San Diego Today: Undergraduate Scholars Honored for Living Out César E. Chávez’s Values
César E. Chávez scholarship recipients are Briana Gomez, Norma A. Nava, Briana Parker (Literature, PATH) and Manuel Rodriguez (Chicanx and Latinx Studies minor).
UC San Diego Today: Diverse Undergraduate Research Spotlighted at Upcoming Conference
Abigail Wright (Literature) chose to present her research at the Undergraduate Research Conference in order to raise awareness around violence faced by Mexican women throughout history.
News clips compiled on April 7, 2023
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: Announcing the 2023 Guggenheim Fellows
On April 5, 2023, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation approved the awarding of Guggenheim Fellowships to a diverse group of 171 exceptional individuals in 48 fields. Congratulations to Jac Jemc (Literature), a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow in fiction.
Ms. Magazine: April 2023 Reads for the Rest of Us
“This is an important new exploration into the role of statehood, land dispossession and racism in the settler colonial expansion efforts of the 19th-century US. Significantly, Kathryn Walkiewicz (Literature) convincingly illustrates how Indigenous and Black communities used dissent and imagination to resist the removal of land and sovereignty,” writes Ms. Magazine about Walkiewicz’s new book “Reading Territory: Indigenous and Black Freedom, Removal, and the Nineteenth-Century State.” Related: University of North Carolina Press
Sequenza 21: Hearing Landscapes Hearing Icescapes – Lei Lang (CD Review)
“Artists are often, by necessity, so focused on short term deadlines for projects, that they don’t get to innovate. Lei Liang’s (Music) decade spent with his colleagues at Qualcomm Institute has resulted in considerable innovation and two significant works that resonate with cultural studies and ecology, while at the same time providing diverting music,” writes this reviewer. “Recommended.”
La Jolla Light: Best Bets: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences
D.G. Wills Books presented UC San Diego professor Amelia Glaser (Literature) and poet Olga Livshin April 1. Glaser read from “A Crash Course in Molotov Cocktails,” her translation of Ukrainian poet Halyna Kruk’s work.
BBC: Tectonics Glasgow 2023
Alum Ian Power MA ‘09 (Music) will have a major new orchestra work premiered as part of the Tectonics Glasgow Festival in Scotland on April 30. His newest work and first for symphony orchestra, Power’s “Bye Bye Love” lasts some 16 minutes and features virtuosic passages, achingly slow volume changes, and blistering metric modulation.
National Geographic: Paganism is on the rise — here’s where to discover its traditions
“Most ancient Pagans did not use the term Pagan themselves or see themselves as belonging to a distinct group,” says Edward Watts (History).
Bass Musician: New Album: Mark Dresser Solo Album, Tines of Change
‘Tines of Change,’ due May 5, 2023 via Pyroclastic Records, features custom-designed four- and five-string basses with fingerboard-embedded pickups and a set of metal tines that offer stunning new possibilities that Mark Dresser (Music) vividly explores.
Campus Notice: 2022-23 Donald F. Tuzin Distinguished Service Award Recipients and Senate Service Reception
The Academic Senate will be hosting a Senate Service Reception on Monday, April 24 to honor professor Fonna Forman and professor and Institute of Arts and Humanities director Danny Widener (History) for their service contributions.
News clips compiled on March 24, 2023
Los Angeles Times: How LGBTQ+ Muslims like me create — and find — community during Ramadan
“I haven’t always felt part of conventional Muslim spaces, but I’ve learned to create my own communities during Ramzan. That includes hosting iftar, with my partner, to cultivate a place where I can both feel a sense of belonging and extend that to others,” writes Kazim Ali (Literature).
- It’s a family affair for trumpeter Steph Richards (Music) and husband, drummer Andrew Munsey (staff member, Music)
- Our top 10 book events and picks for the season: Pulitzer-winning writer Luis Alberto Urrea ‘77 (Muir major) is coming home for the release of his new novel, June 9.
- Pandemic pivots enrich orchestral director Sameer Patel’s family, career: “Sameer’s an artist of the highest level,” said Steven Schick (Music)
- Our top 10 classical music picks for the season: A special treat will be an Art of Elan-commissioned world premiere written by Rand Steiger (Music)
Public Books: What Films Should We Teach?: A conversation about the Canon
“When the discipline of film studies was formed in the 1970s and 1980s, Japanese cinema was a primary focus—treated in many respects as the main non-Western contribution to an international aesthetic and technical avant-garde,” says Daisuke Miyao (Literature), one of only three scholars asked to discuss a new film ranking from Open Syllabus Movie Lab.
San Diego Union-Tribune: La Jolla Symphony premieres wonderful new work by composer Alex Stephenson
The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus’ Saturday concert at Mandeville Auditorium bore the title “Music Of The Spheres,” and consisted of the premiere of “An Elemental Music” by doctoral student Alex Stephenson (Music).
The New York Times: Zoë Chao Identified With ‘Party Down’ a Little Too Well for a While
Starz’s beloved cater-waiter comedy hit awfully close to home when Zoë Chao MFA ‘11 (Theatre and Dance) was still hustling to make ends meet at a bar. She’s less worried about that now.
Wise Music Classical: Danish String Quartet premieres Thorvaldsdottir’s Rituals
The Danish String Quartet will give the world premiere of Rituals by Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music) at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen on March 19. Related: Chicago Classical Review
Hasselblad Foundation: 2023 Hasselblad Award Laureate
The Hasselblad Foundation is delighted to announce Carrie Mae Weems MFA ‘84 (Visual Arts) as the 2023 Hasselblad Award laureate.
Juxtapoz: Sadie Barnette: The Lexicon Of
“At the beginning of the shutdown, I was so grateful to just have studio time, and my studio really became a refuge. Even as things are picking up, I’m trying to still balance that out,” says Sadie Barnette MFA ‘12 (Visual Arts) in this interview.
La Jolla Light: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences
UC San Diego Library presents “A Conversation with Art Spiegelman,” moderated by Cristina Della Coletta, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities March 29.
Harvard Business Review: Case Study: Does Facial Recognition Tech Enhance Security?
Harvard Business Review’s fictionalized case studies present problems faced by leaders in real companies; this study is by Mary C. Gentile, Institute for Practical Ethics advisory board member David Danks (Philosophy), and Maralee Harrell (Philosophy).
Los Angeles Times: Here is a portrait of an L.A. artist having an intimate conversation among friends
Paul Mpagi Sepuya (Visual Arts) crafts pictures that feel as intimate and warm as they do formal and intellectual. His photos do what art does best.
UC San Diego Today: Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts Selects 10 Fellows for Inaugural Cohort
The Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts announced the recipients of their inaugural production and research fellowships, awarding a total of $20,000 to 10 filmmakers from across campus (Visual Arts and Literature included). “The inaugural fellows represent the depth and creative expertise of a broad community at UC San Diego, including faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduates,” said Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts director Michael Trigilio (Visual Arts).
UC San Diego Today: School of Medicine Student on Finding Love as a Trans Woman
Daniella McDonald ‘11 (Theatre and Dance) stayed local for college, receiving degrees in human biology and theater followed by a master’s in biology, all earned at UC San Diego.
School of Arts and Humanities: Arts and Humanities Moments, March 2023
News from the school includes a slideshow of the Mandeville Art Gallery opening celebration, staff member Sarab Aziz (History) participation in “The Suppliants Project,” a Black Europe Series special interview and more.
Institute for Practical Ethics: Practical Ethics Quarterly, Winter 2023
Research and news from the Institute for Practical Ethics includes new publications from faculty affiliates and Ph.D. students, plus an introduction to postdoctoral scholar Zinhle Mncube.
Arts and Humanities Events: 2023 Japanese Studies Alumni Perspectives (video)
The Japanese Studies Program celebrates 35 years and the continuing creation of outstanding scholars, strong professionals, and better citizens in a complex and interconnected world. Three alumni share their undergraduate and career experiences: Keikilani Cabus ‘17 (History, Japanese Studies), Megan Murata ‘19 (History, Japanese Studies), and Jack Stovold ‘07 (History, Japanese Studies).
Arts and Humanities Events: Meet the Editors: A Guide to Submitting and Publishing Your Academic Book (video)
Hosted by the director of the Institute of Arts and Humanities Daniel Widener (History) and associate director Amelia Glaser (Literature) with panelists Niels Hooper, Margo Irvin and Kathleen McDermott.
UC San Diego Alumni: Triton Leaders Conference 2023 (videos)
- UC San Diego student Qui Shawn Tran (Music) performs his original spoken word poetry piece “My Dream is a Choice” at the closing of the conference.
- Director of Alumni Engagement Blair Davis (Arts and Humanities) leads session two of the conference, “Healthcare Policy in Action.”
UC San Diego Today: Two Transformative Campus Projects Get the Green Light
UC San Diego’s second Living and Learning Neighborhood, Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023.
News clips compiled on March 17, 2023
Kelly Corrigan: Live From College - College Visit with UCSD’s Manuel Vargas (audio)
This is a conversation with UC San Diego professor Manuel Vargas (Philosophy) that might shake up your point of view on blame, determinism, midlife crises and what sets the table for cooperation.
La Biennale Di Venezia: Biennale Musica 2023
La Biennale di Venezia will present the Silver Lion to Miller Puckette (Music) Oct. 19, 2023. Related: Ruetir
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Drum legend Zakir Hussain a borders-leaping marvel: ‘He has blazed a trail’ says Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart
The 2022 Kyoto Prize Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy Laureate, will be honored here Wednesday, give a lecture Friday at the UC San Diego Department of Music.
Deseret News: Experts speak out against hyper-realistic TikTok beauty filter
“It’s a step toward the world we have seen in sci-fi movies where we can no longer tell what is real,” Memo Akten (Visual Arts) said to the Post.
Ramona Sentinel: Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Choir to perform March 12 in Ramona
The choir sings primarily gospel, both traditional and contemporary. The group is directed by Ken Anderson (Music), who also teaches gospel choir at University of California San Diego.
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Zoë Chao Talks Party Down and Hiding Burgers Under a Car (video)
Alum Zoë Chao MFA ‘11 (Theatre and Dance) talks about the return of Party Down triggering food service nightmares before sharing two stories about her past work in a restaurant and the arts.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Local movie producer uplifts with another film
Nathan East ‘78 (Music) created the score for the movie, which he describes as giving viewers a “yummy, warm and fuzzy feeling,” inviting them to be part of the community.
The New York Times: Review: In ‘The Best We Could,’ the Players Follow Directions
The playwright Emily Feldman MFA ‘16 (Theatre and Dance) structures this work like a personal GPS that plots the course of a family.
People: ‘How to Defend Yourself’ Playwright Hopes Show Gives ‘Release’ to Sexual Assault Survivors
As a survivor of sexual assault, Liliana Padilla MFA ‘18 (Theatre and Dance) was not sure they wanted to write the play, but when faced with a time-sensitive assignment during a graduate school class at UC San Diego in 2016, they were “able to let go of the censor and just flow.” Reflecting on the experience, Padilla is happy they chose to create this play.
OperaWire: Ambur Braid & Anett Fitsch Lead New CD/DVD Releases
Avie Records releases “The Island” by American soprano Susan Narucki (Music), an album curated and featuring a unique set of art songs.
The Arts Fuse: Classical Concert Review: The Boston Symphony Orchestra Plays Davis, Dawson, and Bonds
While driving to a concert in Boston in the late ‘70s, composer Anthony Davis (Music) suffered a crisis he would never forget, opens this review. Related: The Boston Musical Intelligencer, The Boston Globe
UC San Diego Today: Ancient Texts to Foster Compassion and Empathy Today
Revelle College Humanities Program and the Institute of Arts and Humanities’ Center for Hellenic Studies and Chicanx and Latinx Studies Program bring ‘The Suppliants Project’ to campus for a strong community dialogue on immigration and refugees. “I would love to see opportunities in our campus community to share our own stories, to come together and to talk to each other on a personal, human level,” said staff member Sarab Aziz (History). “We all need that.”
UC San Diego Today: Mandeville Art Gallery Opening Celebration (slideshow)
The long-awaited opening of the university’s Mandeville Art Gallery took place Saturday, March 4 with a first-of-its kind exhibition and celebration, featuring work of the newest members of the UC San Diego Department of Visual Arts.
UC San Diego Today: Promising Preuss Composers Learn the Art of Music
For the past several months several The Preuss School students have been working with composer Alex Stephenson (Music), a doctoral candidate at UC San Diego. Each one built a two-to-four-minute piece that involved three or four instruments. The original student work will be on display at the upcoming La Jolla Symphony & Chorus concert, “Music of the Spheres,” March 18 and 19 at Mandeville Auditorium.
UC San Diego Today: Team of UC San Diego Entrepreneurs Pushes Biomedicine Forward with Virtual Reality
Nanome founders found mentors in Benjamin Bratton (Visual Arts) and VR expert Jurgen Schulze, then a research scientist at QI.
The UCSD Guardian: The Art of Studying the Arts at UCSD
Despite it all, though, when asked, all three interviewees [Parsa Farnad (Theatre and Dance), Lauren Reyes (Visual Arts) and Tessa Chan (Visual Arts)] responded positively to their UCSD experience. Chan expressed her love for the school; Farnad said he is consistently satisfied with the education he receives.
The UCSD Guardian: 39 Years Later, UC San Diego Continues to Fail APIMEDA Students
From the opinion editor: “UC San Diego does have an Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies Minor and APIMEDA Programs and Services. Yet similar to the uphill battle fought to establish an AAPI studies program on our campus, the fight for an APIMEDA center is one that has just begun.”
News clips compiled on March 10, 2023
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Grammy-winning singer Susan Narucki draws from pandemic loss for stirring new album, ‘This Island
The isolation and loss caused by the pandemic was profound for Susan Narucki (Music), who turned to poetry and music for solace. From that emerged the beautiful, deeply moving new album, “This Island,” along with the discovery of little-known female composers and an appreciation for librarians. Related: OperaWire
Los Angeles Times: After a year of war, six Ukrainians share how their lives have changed
One of her translators, UC San Diego professor Amelia Glaser (Literature), points to Kruk’s intimate, intricate way of blending “formal experimentation with a straightforward documentation of the everyday reality of a twenty-first century war.” Related: Munk School, Literary Hub
Hyperallergic: How Art Helps Politicians Soften Their Image
Graduate student Hande Sever’s (Visual Arts) latest installation explores how leaders in the US and Turkey have used visual art and film to project, modify, and erase history.
La Jolla Light: New La Jolla gallery holds first exhibit with a vision of an artist-led space for community and collaboration
The show includes UC San Diego grad student Heige Kim’s (Visual Arts) “Best Wishes (3),” an installation described as “various debris collected in San Diego.” On an opposite wall, veteran artist Doris Bittar MFA ‘93 (Visual Arts) has three pieces in the show.
KCET: These Piñatas Aren’t for Smashing: Diana Benavídez and the Fine Art of Piñata-Making (video)
Piñatas by Diana Benavídez ‘16 (Visual Arts) are on view at the Mingei International Museum as part of the “Piñatas: The High Art of Celebration” exhibition until April 30, 2023.
ArtNews: Meet the Artists Who Double as Investigators, Revealing “Public Secrets”
“A huge chunk of my recent practice revolves around the 1921 Tulsa race massacre,” said Crystal Z Campbell MFA ‘10 (Visual Arts). “Even though I grew up in Oklahoma, I was not taught the history of that tragedy in public school, or even in college.”
Suncoast News Network: Community of Writers Welcomes Applications for its Esteemed Summer Writers Workshops in Fiction and Nonfiction
The Writers Workshop is preceded by the Community of Writers Poetry Workshop (June 19-25), which will feature staff poets Kazim Ali (Literature), among others.
The Washington Post: TikTok’s trendy beauty filter ushers in new tech and new problems
“The Bold Glam effect is a sign that very soon, technology that creates deepfakes can also be mainstreamed,” said Memo Akten (Visual Arts), a professor of computational art and design at University of California San Diego. “That doesn’t mean that tech will be released, just that it’s a sign it can be released.”
UC San Diego Today: Women’s Herstory Month Kicks Off by Exploring Reproductive Justice
Sponsored by the Film Studies Program, the March 7 film screening and Q&A with artist Soni Kum was listed.
UCSD Guardian: Festival Review: UCSD Film Fest 2023 — A Great Sequel
“It feels really great seeing people’s reactions to something you make, seeing if things are working the way you intended them to,” commented student London Huang (Visual Arts), a senior who worked on multiple films screened at the festival. “I love having so many people come out and watch these.”
News clips compiled on March 3, 2023
Oxford University Press: ‘The Tangle of Science: Reliability Beyond Method, Rigour, and Objectivity’
In a new book by Nancy Cartwright (Philosophy), Jeremy Hardie, Eleonora Montuschi, current graduate student Matthew Soleiman (History, Institute for Practical Ethics), and Ann C. Thresher Ph.D. ‘22 (Philosophy, Institute for Practical Ethics), the authors show how any reliable piece of science is underpinned by a vast, diverse, and thick network of other scientific products.
The Association for Performing Arts & Entertainment Professionals: 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award Winners Announced
The Distinguished Achievement Awards honor individuals who have established meritorious career records in specific fields of expertise in any area of design or technology in the performing arts or entertainment industry. Judith Dolan (Theatre and Dance) is this year’s Education honoree.
Los Angeles Times: California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes
“This system of unfree labor — slave labor — by constitutional law is something that I think anybody with a conscience would find reprehensible,” said Dennis Childs (Literature), author of the book “Slaves of the State: Black Incarceration from the Chain Gang to the Penitentiary.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune: New UC San Diego art gallery director hopes to encourage ‘alternative and socially conscious’ art practice
Ceci Moss (Visual Arts) is the new director and chief curator of the Mandeville Art Gallery at UC San Diego. Her first exhibition in her new role with the university is the faculty art exhibition, “Are We Not Drawn Onward to New Era,” from March 4 to June 18. Related: La Jolla Light, The UCSD Guardian, KPBS
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: Vocal experimentation thrives in kallisti vocal ensemble concert
A concert by the kallisti vocal ensemble on Friday at the Conrad Prebys Music Center Experimental Theater at UC San Diego maintained this rich tradition of innovation. The graduate student group, directed by Susan Narucki (Music), presented five U.S. premieres, most from Polish composers.
The New York Times: The Met Opera’s New Season: What We Want to See
The season will begin in September, and will feature the Met’s first performances of Anthony Davis’s (Music) “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.” Related: Opera News
Broadway World: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Announce 2023-2024 Season
In the 2023-24 season, Louis Langrée and the CSO will give the world premiere of a new orchestral song cycle by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis (Music).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Nazi Germany borrowed from racist ideology from Jim Crow South; prof shares experiences of Black Germans
Natalye Pass Harpin ‘11 MA ‘12 (History) is a professor at Grossmont College and lecturer at UC San Diego, and will present “Afro-Descendants in Nazi Germany,” exploring the racial policies of the Nazis toward Black Germans during the 1930s and ‘40s, on Feb. 28 at Central Library in downtown San Diego.
The New York Times: Carnegie Hall’s New Season: What We Want to Hear
Coming this April: a new work by Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music).
Schott EAM: Lei Liang’s ‘Mongolian Suite’ Premiered in Spain
On Feb. 3, cellist Erica Wise performed the world premiere of Lei Liang’s (Music) “Mongolian Suite” for solo cello at Servei Solidari, an organization dedicated to helping refugees adapt to their new life in Barcelona, Spain.
Quanta Magazine: New Evidence for the Necessity of Loneliness
“Over the last roughly 15 years, there has been a tremendous increase in the desire to understand the basis of social behavior, including caring for others, social rejection, bullying, deceit and so forth,” said Patricia Churchland (Philosophy), who studies the brain and social behavior.
Novation: Blacktronika with King Britt
King Britt (Music) brings Afrofuturism to the classrooms to celebrate the contributions of black innovators in electronic music from the past and present and how they shape the future.
Hatje Cantz: ‘Royal Book Lodge’
After more than 30 years of activity by the Royal Book Lodge, renowned art historian John C. Welchman (Visual Arts) provides the first study of this project that generated a loose network of international artists.
ABC 7: The Grinch: Dr. Seuss’ fall from grace leaves many wondering, ‘Can people change?’
“When he was starting out in the ‘20s and ‘30s, he did a great deal of cartooning that was undeniably racist,” said Seth Lerer (Literature), an expert in the history of children’s literature.
The UCSD Guardian: Reflecting on UCSD’s DEI course requirement
“While taking their DEI course, students should remember why they are taking it: not as an end, but rather as a means. Although the DEI course is a requirement, it should be reframed as a privilege,” writes student Oishee Misra.
News clips compiled on February 24, 2023
KPBS: Novel gives historical royals a wild and whimsical new life
Jac Jemc (Literature) said many of her students are already skilled at building the worlds around their writing, something she partly attributes to film and immersive role-playing video games. “My job ends up being more helping them to figure out what of those worlds — that they’ve spent sometimes years constructing before they’ve even gotten to one of my creative writing classes — how do you take that world and figure out how much of the world to share in service of the narrative that you’re trying to tell?” she said. Related: NPR (audio interview)
Resident Advisor: In King Britt’s Blacktronika Class, Electronic Music Legends Become Educators
King Britt (Music) arrived in San Diego four years ago to teach electronic music production. A short while into his teaching, one major oversight began to nag at him. “I’m checking out like all the classes and I’m like, wait, no one’s talking about funk,” Britt said. “No one is talking about house, Detroit techno. Nobody’s talking about freestyle. No one’s talking about dub [in academia]. And I’m like, yo, so I started looking at other colleges, there are no classes anywhere.”
San Diego Jewish World: In La Jolla, Steven Schick Ascends the Podium in New Role as Conductor Emeritus
Steven Schick (Music) has commissioned over 150 new works; his latest was awarded to UC San Diego alum Mary Kouyoumdjian ‘05 (Music) for her piece “Walking with Ghosts.” In the February concert, one major work was Richard Strauss’ “Four Last Songs.” The warmth and beauty of these songs about the seasons of life, was projected by Susan Narucki (Music): “Her silvery soprano soared above the orchestral texture like a bird taking flight,” the review reads.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego composer Roger Reynolds among this year’s American Academy of Arts and Letters inductees
Tuesday’s announcement of Roger Reynolds’ (Music) induction represents a remarkable trifecta for internationally acclaimed composers who are on the faculty at UC San Diego: Chinary Ung (Music) and Anthony Davis (Music) are also recent inductees. “I can’t imagine a more deserving recipient of this extraordinary award,” said Steven Schick (Music). “His energy, passion and commitment to music, all the time, is an inspiration to all of us.” Related: Associated Press, La Jolla Light
UC San Diego Today: Stories of Resistance: Amplifying Black Voices on Campus
Since his arrival to UC San Diego in 2007, Dennis Childs (Literature) often incorporates resistance into his teaching and research. Once course explores the relationship between slavery and prisons in the United States, sharing narratives from individuals such as former UC San Diego graduate student Angela Davis (Philosophy).
“It’s challenging the traditional models of history that say slavery ended in 1865, when we have the biggest prison system on the planet–at its peak with over 2.3 million people incarcerated,” Childs said, “and we know that close to half of those 2.3 million people are Black.” Childs is also the director of the Black Diaspora and African American Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
UC San Diego Today: Enhancing the Experience of Diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander Students
“I’m doing this with and for my loved ones; they are my backbone,” explained Eugene Tsim Nuj Vang, who is majoring in ethnic studies and studying dance. Students can also explore the Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies minor, run by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
Campus Notice: Notice of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Alysson Satterlund’s Five-Year Review
The review committee members include Kazim Ali (Literature) and Ursula Meyer (Theatre and Dance).
News clips compiled on February 17, 2023
Opera Wire: Sonya Yoncheva, Randall Scotting & Leah Crocetto Lead New CD/DVD Releases
Avie Records will release American soprano’s Susan Narucki (Music) upcoming album “This Island.” The album consists of a collection of songs, chiefly by women, written in the first half of the 20th century, some of them receiving their world premiere recording here.
The Guardian: First Tate Britain rehang in 10 years will put female artists at centre
A number of complex, large-scale works made from unusual materials will be on show, such as the eight tonnes of rice used in Vong Phaophanit’s Neon Rice Field, and 2,000 flowers that make up Anya Gallaccio’s (Visual Arts) Preserve ‘beauty’.
FIELD: Issue 23, Winter 2023
“FIELD” Issue 23 is dedicated to the pioneering environmental art practice of Helen and Newton Harrison. The Harrisons were long-time faculty members in the Visual Arts department at UCSD, where “FIELD” is produced, writes editor Grant Kester (Visual Arts).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: Steven Schick returns to La Jolla Symphony with happy results
Steven Schick (Music) came back to the podium in UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium, his first official appearance as Music Director Emeritus. The most eventful return that evening was the musical homecoming for composer Mary Kouyoumdjian ‘05 (Music), who came back to UC San Diego for a performance of her work “Walking with Ghosts.” Susan Narucki (Music) sang Strauss, the reviewer said, calling her voice “rich and lustrous.”
48 Hills: ‘Epic time’: King Britt reflects on the 30th anniversary of Digable Planets’ debut LP
Eminent DJ and UC professor King Britt (Music) breaks down the nightlife scenes that paved the way for ‘90s hip-hop trio’s triumph.
United States Artists: Artists Making Now: Celebrating the 2023 USA Fellows
Alum M.G. Evangelista ‘10 (Visual Arts), writer and director based out of Los Angeles, is the 2023 USA Fellow in Film. Evangelista was a guest of honor at the October opening of the UC San Diego Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts. Related: Grand Opening slideshow
IndieWire: AFI Announces DWW+ Class of 2023-2024 to Mark Program’s 50th Anniversary
The American Film Institute has unveiled the participants list for the DWW+ Class of 2024, including alum Joanne Mony Park ‘10 (Visual Arts). Park was also a guest of honor at the October opening of the October UC San Diego Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts. Related: Grand Opening slideshow
The San Diego Union-Tribune: France’s Quatuor Van Kuijk and Scotland’s Sean Shibe make beautiful music together
The quartet-plus-one will perform Friday at Conrad Prebys Concert Hall (Music).
HereIn: Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres on Huai Li
“A beloved instructor at UC San Diego who has spent the last thirty years making California her home, Huai Li (Visual Arts) is an artist whose playful and fiercely optimistic work questions geographic and cultural boundaries and defines identity on her own terms,” writes current graduate student Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres (Visual Arts).
Noema: The Model Is The Message
The debate over whether LaMDA is sentient or not overlooks important issues that will frame debates about intelligence, sentience, language and human-AI interaction in the coming years, writes Benjamin Bratton (Visual Arts) and Blaise Agüera y Arcas.
Resident Advisor: King Britt curates Afrofuturism and electronic music exhibit at UC San Diego
Running until March 25th, the exhibit spotlights the Blacktronika course taught by the U.S. artist King Britt (Music). On March 3rd, the exhibit will transform into a pop-up club experience, honouring electronic music’s innovators of colour. This will go down on campus at Conrad Prebys Music Center Experimental Theater. Related: Mix Mag
Arts and Humanities Events: Black Europe Series special: Fred Kudjo Kuwornu and Cristina Della Coletta
UC San Diego Dean Cristina Della Coletta (Arts and Humanities) and filmmaker and activist Fred Kudjo Kuwornu have a short conversation before Kuwornu’s 2021 public talk “Black Lives Matter In Italy and the Legacy of Colonialism.” The conversation was made possible by the Black Studies Project and European Studies Program, as part of their multi-year series Black Europe. Sara Johnson (Literature) and Ulrike Strasser (History) open the interview.
UC San Diego Today: Graduate Students Recognized as Equity and Diversity Champions
Five UC San Diego graduate students will soon join the ranks of the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, a distinguished organization that applauds scholars whose commitment to diversity, leadership and academic excellence pushes the boundaries of doctoral education. Arts and Humanities honorees include students Alexis Meza (History) and Jada Wiggleton-Little (Philosophy, Institute for Practical Ethics).
UC San Diego Today: Faculty and Students Sharpen Skills in Teaching and Learning
“Faculty are experts in their disciplines, and it is a primary function of ours to build their pedagogical confidence and help them think about the learning outcomes they want their students to achieve,” Teaching + Learning Commons Faculty Director David Ruiter (Theatre and Dance) said. Current student Alba Reyes (Literature) is also included in the feature.
News clips compiled on February 10, 2023
PBS: Did Pirates Really Sing Sea Shanties? It’s Complicated
“Typically, at moments when sailors needed to synchronize their labor to furl or unfurl sails, they needed to work in unison,” said Mark Hanna (History) in episode four of Rogue History. “For the main sail you could have a dozen people pulling at one time, so a rhythmic song was actually quite helpful.” Related: PBS Rogue History, episode five
The Washington Post: 10 noteworthy books for February
Jac Jemc’s (Literature) sly, darkly comedic romp “Empty Theatre” tells the story of Empress Sisi of Austria and King Ludwig II of Bavaria — how these beloved national figures came to rule, how they came to know each other, and how they came to die mysteriously. Related: OC Register, Macmillan Publishers
The Wall Street Journal: ‘Of Age’ Review: Young Enough to Fight
During the Civil War, thousands of minors joined the Union army as boy-soldiers. Agitated parents clogged the courts appealing for their release. Frances M. Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plant (History) wrote “Of Age,” a book that explores the phenomenon of mass youth enlistment during the Civil War.
MoMA: Ten Minutes with Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman: On Building Citizenship
Developed between political theorist Fonna Forman and architect and visual artist Teddy Cruz (Visual Arts), Manufactured Sites is the product of 10 years of research into the flow of material waste between these cities.
Blavity: Stanford University Acquired $2.3M Vinyl Record Collection of San Diegan Bram Dijkstra
Stanford University’s Music Library & Archive of Recorded Sound received a special gift donated by Bram Dijkstra (Literature), professor emeritus at UC San Diego, and renowned literary agent Sandra Dijkstra. Stanford now holds a culturally in-depth collection of Black music valued at over $2.3 million.
Call for Curators: Ceci Moss appointed as new Director and Chief Curator of the Mandeville Art Gallery
As Director and Chief Curator, Ceci Moss (Visual Arts) brings nearly 20 years of experience organizing solo, group, touring and online exhibitions, as well as public programs, performances and screenings, in museums, galleries and artist-run spaces.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Arts & Culture Newsletter (Jan. 12)
Project [BLANK’s] presentation of “Treatise on Violence: The Invention of Us” includes flutist Wilfrido Terrazas (Music).
Art & Education: School of Art Dean Sheryl Oring
Sheryl Oring MFA ‘11 (Visual Arts), a renowned artist, educator, activist and advocate for the arts, has been named dean of University of the Arts Philadelphia’s School of Art.
The New York Times: Review: A Guest Conductor Reveals the Philharmonic’s Potential
And Thursday’s program, in addition to the Stravinsky, opened with the New York premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s PH.D. ‘11 (Music) recent “Catamorphosis.” Related: New York Classical Review
KPBS: San Diego weekend arts events (Feb. 9)
Presented by interdisciplinary artist, staff member and alum Nick Lesley’s ‘01 (Visual Arts) SPACE TIME project, “Illuminated Music” is part of Project [BLANK]’s affordable, monthly concert series of experimental and new music. Composer (and alum) Mary Kouyoumdjian ‘05 (Music) brings her work “Walking with Ghosts” to the La Jolla Symphony’s upcoming performances.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego Library Receives Grant to Digitize Archive for New Poetry Collection
The Mellon Foundation awards the Library $250,000 to preserve audiovisual items in heavily used research collection. The grant period coincides with the 50th anniversary of the New Writing Series, a reading series run by the Department of Literature and supported, digitized and archived by the Library.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego, Point Loma Nazarene University Announce 2023 Kyoto Prize Symposium
UC San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene University will host the 22nd Kyoto Prize Symposium to celebrate and honor the laureates of the Kyoto Prize in free, public presentations held March 15-17. The presentation by Zakir Hussain, 37th Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy, is March 17. “Maestro (Ustad) Zakir Hussain is a preeminent force in Indian classical music—a tradition that dates back several thousand years, is constantly thriving, and remains at the cutting edge of innovation,” said Kartik Seshadri (Music).
News clips compiled on February 8, 2023
CBS 8: UCSD professor’s opera nominated for a Grammy
Anthony Davis (Music) has been a music professor at UC San Diego for the last 25 years and now his talents may be rewarded on the biggest stage, the Grammy Awards. Davis’ opera titled “X- The Life and Times of Malcom X” is nominated in the Best Opera Recording Category. “To write ‘X, the Autobiography of Malcom X,’ tells an incredible story during a volatile time in our history and his evolution is a fascinating story,” Davis said.
Asian Journal Press: City of San Diego announces selection of long-time resident as new poet laureate
The Poet Laureate selection committee included Amelia Glaser (Literature). Related: Hispanos Unidos (Spanish)
San Diego Metro: Daily Business Report: Monday, Jan. 23, 2023
The UC San Diego Mandeville Art Gallery will open its doors to the community under the guidance and direction of a new, dynamic leader: Ceci Moss (Visual Arts).
Broadway World: The Boston Modern Orchestra Project Makes Its Carnegie Hall Debut in April
The ambitious program caps Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s quarter-century celebration with three New York premieres commissioned, premiered, and recorded by BMOP: the Grawemeyer Award-winning pieces “Play” by Andrew Norman and “A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams” by Lei Liang (Music), and “In medias res” by Lisa Bielawa. Related: BMOP
UC San Diego Today: Celebrating Black History Month at UC San Diego
Hosted at The Nest at Geisel Library, the “Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music” exhibit shines a light on the UC San Diego course Blacktronika. The course, created by King James Britt (Music), researches and honors the people of color who have pioneered groundbreaking genres within the electronic music landscape. The free exhibit is open Feb. 6 - March 25.
Campus Notice: Search for the Dean of the School of Physical Sciences
Members of the search advisory committee include David Danks (Philosophy).
Campus Notice: UC San Diego Observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day
To learn more about the Holocaust and to hear from survivors, witnesses, relatives and scholars, visit UC San Diego’s Holocaust Living History Workshop, a collaboration between the UC San Diego Library and the Jewish Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities. This year’s theme is “Rethinking Genocide: Fascism, Exploitation and the Holocaust.”
Campus Notice: Call for Director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program, Nominations due February 17, 2023
“I am pleased to invite nominations, including self-nominations, for the inaugural Director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program, to be housed in the Institute of Arts and Humanities,” writes institute director Daniel Widener (History). Working in conjunction with a steering committee, the Director will oversee the functioning of the DEI course requirement.
News clips compiled on January 27, 2023
Zócalo Public Square: Can Kevin McCarthy Outlast an Ancient Roman Emperor?
“What happens when someone gains a prestigious political position but loses the respect and authority that its holders usually command? To answer that question, we can look to Marcus Didius Julianus, the Roman senator who became emperor by winning his crown at auction,” writes Edward Watts (History).
San Diego Magazine: PHOTOS: The Growing, UCSD-Backed Migrant Community in Tijuana
The upstart community, located in Alacrán Canyon near the Great Tenochtitlan sports complex, is one of four cross-border UCSD Community Stations, which operate as sanctuary spaces, according to Teddy Cruz (Visual Arts), UCSD Center on Global Justice Director of Urban Research.
American Composers Orchestra: 9 Composers Selected for two EarShot Readings + Sphinx Venture Fund Grant
The Next Festival of Emerging Artists EarShot Choreography Workshop will explore pieces for string orchestra by EarShot composers Michael R. Dudley Jr., Emil Ernström and current graduate student Akari Komura (Music).
Los Angeles Times: SoCal’s big ‘poetry Coachella’ is back — and more sprawling and diverse than ever
“The small press is always going to publish voices that are fresh and new and cutting-edge,” said Kazim Ali (Literature). “I think it is the job of a small press to highlight those writers that maybe don’t have audiences yet, or have smaller audiences than they should have.”
Arts and Humanities: Moments
The January issue of Arts and Humanities Moments includes a message from Dean Cristina Della Coletta welcoming several faculty members joining the school mid-year, plus these news highlights:
- Mandeville Art Gallery Director and Chief Curator Ceci Moss (Visual Arts)
- Faculty Equity and Staff Equity advisors announced
- Triton Leaders Conference
- Undefeated ethics bowl team
- Faculty Research: Saba Bazargan-Forward’s (Philosophy) new book
News clips compiled on January 20, 2023
Smithsonian Magazine: Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers
A new book by Rebecca Jo Plant (History) and Frances M. Clarke unearths the startling numbers behind underage enlistment during the Civil War. “Not only were thousands of minors legally emancipated from parental control through enlistment, but the federal government also centralized power by rewriting militia laws and preventing state and local courts from using the habeas process to check potential enlistment abuses,” they write. Related: “Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era” (Oxford University Press)
Broadway World San Diego: La Jolla Symphony to Present Mary Kouyoumdjian’s ‘Walking With Ghosts’ Led By Steven Schick
On Feb. 11 and 12, the La Jolla Symphony will present Armenian-American composer and documentarian Mary Kouyoumdjian’s “Walking with Ghosts,” conducted by Steven Schick (Music). The orchestra will also present American operatic soprano Susan Narucki (Music) in Strauss’s Four Last Songs, Varèse’s Octandre and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
San Diego Reader: Weekends with Locals: Allan Havis
Allan Havis (Theatre and Dance) is author of “Clear Blue Silence,” and will read at Warwick’s Bookstore Sunday, Jan. 22 at 12 p.m.
Blok Magazine: What becomes a Legend most?
“I was an early practitioner of video art. My early videotapes included in this exhibition, ‘Dressing Up’ (1973) and ‘Take Off’ (1974), got some attention at the time they were made because I was part of the feminist art movement in Los Angeles,” said Susan Mogul MFA ‘80 (Visual Arts).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: Chinese visual artist and Chinese composer find boundary-crossing connection in Art of Elan program
Composer Lei Liang (Music) collaborated with the Art of Elan musical ensemble and artist Shellie Zhang at ICA North in Encinitas last weekend.
UC San Diego Today: New Mandeville Art Gallery Director Ceci Moss Takes UC San Diego Into the Next Era
With renovations complete, the UC San Diego Mandeville Art Gallery will open its doors to the community under the guidance and direction of a new, dynamic leader: Ceci Moss, who joins the university poised to take arts education and outreach to new heights, building on the gallery’s expansive, 57-year history. The historic campus location opens March 4 with a show featuring work by Visual Arts faculty. Related: Mandeville Art Gallery
UC San Diego Today: Holocaust Living History Workshop Series Continues at UC San Diego in 2023
Established in 2008 as a collaborative project between the Jewish Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities and the UC San Diego Library, the Holocaust Living History Workshop 2022-23 series continues with six events that underscore this year’s theme “Rethinking Genocide: Fascism, Exploitation and the Holocaust.”
UC San Diego Today: Triton Leaders Conference to Address Inequities in Health Care
Highlighted sessions for the Feb. 3-4 “Building an Equitable Future in Health Care” conference will be led by former Institute for Practical Ethics Ph.D. fellow Alec J. Calac and current Music student Qui-Shawn Tran. Related: Triton Leaders Conference
UC San Diego Today: Take 10 With a Triton: Alumna Dishes on her Delicious Career in Dining
Norma Witzel Smith ‘10 (History minor) works with the dining units and vendors to ensure the university has all of the ingredients needed for a diverse set of menus.
News clips compiled on January 13, 2023
BBC: The South Korean drag queen raising LGBT awareness
Drag and events like Seoul Drag Parade have “buoyed the LGBT community in Korea,” says Todd Henry (History).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Martin Luther King Day to be celebrated with events across San Diego County
Jazz trumpeter and film composer Terence Blanchard will join UC San Diego Professor Emeritus Cecil Lytle (Music) for a live conversation at 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at The Guggenheim Theatre in UC San Diego Park & Market. Related: KPBS
The UCSD Guardian: Residing on Kumeyaay Land at UC San Diego and the Deficiencies of Land Acknowledgements
“Preceding many UC San Diego lectures or events — often from the humanities departments — professors or TAs note that UCSD students, members, and faculty reside on unceded Kumeyaay land,” writes current student Eunice Kim (Literature) to open this article.
Classic FM: Nine of the world’s top 20 most performed living composers are women, new report finds
An annual classical music statistics report has found that in 2022, nine of the top 20 most performed living composers were women; among them: Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music). Related: The Violin Channel, MusicalAmerica
UC San Diego Today: Native American and Indigenous Studies Offers New Minor and New Doctoral Certificate
The minor examines contemporary issues through an Indigenous lens, looking at topics such as climate change, mixed-race identities and land and water rights from a variety of disciplinary perspectives like oceanography, history or theater.
News clips compiled on January 6, 2023
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Looking back at music in 2022
Witness composer and UC San Diego professor Anthony Davis (Music), who won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for music for his politically charged opera, “The Central Park Five.” “When all my composing commissions were canceled during the COVID shutdown, I thought: ‘What am I going to do?’” Davis said in May. The answer: He revived and boldly revamped his first opera, 1986’s groundbreaking “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.” In November, a new album of Davis’ “X” by Boston Modern Orchestra Project earned a Grammy nomination in the Best Opera Recording category. Related: WBUR, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times
Book Riot: Wild Worlds: SFF Books By Unexpected Writers
“Citadel of Whispers” by Kazim Ali (Literature) is included in this “unexpected” list: “Not only is an amazing poet working in YA fantasy, but he’s doing so in this interactive and (for some) nostalgic form. Amazing!”
Gulf Today: Scholars dive into Indian Ocean from The Africa Institute platform
The four-part conference season themed ‘Thinking the Archipelago: Africa’s Indian Ocean Islands’ is organized by The Africa Institute in collaboration with leading scholars, including Jeremy Prestholdt (History).
Del Mar Times: Theater Notebook: Long-serving local theater critic, Pat Launer, retires after nearly 40 years, 5,000 reviews
“Right now, I always look forward to new work by three accomplished women: Lauren Yee [MFA ‘12 (Theatre and Dance)], Sarah Ruhl and Martyna Majok,” Launer said.
The Jewish News of Northern California: Passover in January: ‘In Every Generation’ comes to Mountain View stage
In a recent interview with J., playwright Ali Viterbi MFA ‘20 (Theatre and Dance) described “In Every Generation” as a “mystical, time-traveling journey through Jewish history and through our contemporary understanding of what it means to be a Jew.”
La Jolla Light: Best Bets: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences
UC San Diego’s Visual Arts Department presents a remote guest lecture with Jennifer González at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, online.
Arts and Humanities News: UC San Diego ethics bowl team goes undefeated at California regional, earning berth to national tournament in March 2023
“It was a brilliant performance, and a great accomplishment,” said team coach Sam Rickless (Philosophy). Undergraduate students on the team include Ashley Feng, Tanmay Kulkarni, Rishabh Raj and Eva Zhuang.
Department of Visual Arts: Announcing the 2023 Longenecker-Roth Artist in Residence
The UC San Diego Department of Visual Arts is pleased to announce that Ceres Madoo ‘89 (Visual Arts) will be the Longenecker-Roth Artist in Residence in the Fall of 2023.
Today @ UC San Diego: Collaboration, Creative Partnerships Thrive at UC San Diego Park & Market
On Jan. 16, the venue will welcome celebrated jazz trumpeter and film composer Terence Blanchard for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day-themed lecture as part of Park & Market’s Helen Edison Lecture Series. Cecil Lytle (Music) will interview Blanchard and moderate the event.
Press Clips 2022
New Republic: The De-Extinction of the Woolly Mammoth Is a Legal and Regulatory Nightmare
“Regulating de-extinction is better than banning it: Biotechnology is evolving, and the case for de-extinction could change with it,” writes Andy Lamey (Philosophy). “But as things stand now, the case for de-extinction is weak.”
Photograph: Standouts from the New York Art Book Fair
Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s (Visual Arts) “Orifice + Aperture” continues his investigation of the studio as a stage and a subject in itself. Related: Vanity Fair, TBW Books
V Magazine: Viewing Pleasure: Paul Mpagi Sepuya
“Daylight Studio / Dark Room Studio” is artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s (Visual Arts) series that pays homage to the original Daylight Studios while examining the qualities that compose each image. Related: Contemporary Art Review LA, Das Ist Kinst (podcast, German/English),
Truth Out: Indigenous Argentineans Resist Becoming “Sacrifice Zone” for Ecocolonialism
The Global North’s demand for lithium threatens a new chapter of colonial dispossession, writes Luis Martín-Cabrera (Literature).
Institute for Practical Ethics: Practical Ethics Quarterly
Research and news from the Institute for Practical Ethics includes:
- Public engagement study results on human genome editing
- An introduction to the new D. Fellows (Science Studies Program, Philosophy) and
- The complete recorded sessions of “The Role of Conscience in the Practice of Medicine and the Rule of Law“ conference held Nov. 8, which include comments by Samuel Rickless (Philosophy).
UC San Diego Academic Senate: Distinguished Research Award
For the 2021-2022 academic year, two faculty members received the annual distinguished research award: Steven Schick (Music) and Joseph Wang of nanoengineering.
UC San Diego Today: A Look Back at 2022
As we look forward to the upcoming new year, UC San Diego Today invites readers to look back at some of the university’s milestones from 2022. Included in the feature are Steven Schick, Lei Liang, Rand Steiger, alum Anna Thorvaldsdóttir Ph.D. ‘11 and King Britt (all Music) regarding the debut of the Epstein Family Amphitheater, and the world premiere of “Six Seasons” by Lei Liang (Music). The African American Studies Program’s portion of a new faculty hiring initiative was also mentioned, along with two additional initiatives.
University of California: Fresh gift ideas that show your UC pride
Alumni authors Sarina Dahlan ‘98 (Visual Arts) and Marisa Reichardt ‘95 (Literature) each had their new releases included in this gift guide.
Al Arabiya News: The Africa Institute announces multi-disciplinary meet covering Indian Ocean region
The Africa Institute has announced its third country-focused season covering the Indian Ocean region. Following two successful seasons focused on Ethiopia and Ghana, the 2022-2023 season is titled “Thinking the Archipelago: Africa’s Indian Ocean Islands.” “[U]unlike its Atlantic and Mediterranean counterparts, the Indian Ocean’s unique nexus of translocal relationships has never received the attention it merits,” said Jeremy Prestholdt (History), a co-organizer of the conference series. Related: Gulf Today
Art Net: How a 1986 Cast of Michael Jackson’s Body Became a Spine-Tinglingly Creepy Sculpture at Art Basel Miami Beach
Artist Nicole Miller (Visual Arts) discovered a plaster cast of the music superstar’s body at the Los Angeles estate sale.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly musicians shine through Grammy noms list as Beyoncé ties record
Anthony Davis’s (Music) “X, The Life And Times Of Malcolm X” had its origins in Philadelphia, developed in 1985 by the American Music Theater Festival.
ArtForum: Best of 2022: Malik Gaines on “Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces”
“The exhibition rewards us with many unexpected works that stand on their own while capturing this spirit of entanglement,” writes Malik Gaines (Visual Arts).
TIME: The Romans Destroyed Their Republic in Partisan Warfare. We Might Too
Research by Edward Watts (History) is mentioned in this Ideas article.
JazzTimes: Pauline Oliveros & James Ilgenfritz with Anagram Ensemble: ‘Altamirage’ (Infrequent Seams)
The five “Trio for Trumpet, Accordion and String Bass” vignettes performed by Ilgenfritz, trumpeter Stephanie Richards (Music), and accordionist Nathan Koci serve as abstract jigsaw puzzles waiting to be solved.
The New York Times: The Women Behind the Camera
Some of the year’s best photography books come from artists like Carrie Mae Weems MFA ‘84 (Visual Arts) and Susan Meiselas, Rosamond Purcell and Lorna Simpson MFA ‘86 (Visual Arts).
Yahoo! News: John Legend Unveils Three New Remixes Of ‘Nervous’
John Legend has unveiled three new remixes of his hit song “Nervous” via Republic Records. Behind the new renditions are producer, composer, and performer King Britt (Music). Related: CBC Canada
San Diego News: La Jolla Symphony & Chorus bounces back with world premiere after hiatus
The concert will open with “The Chairman Dances” by Adams, followed by a world premiere by local composer and UC San Diego graduate student, Sang Song (Music). “I went to all of the rehearsals for the last rehearsal cycle of Steven Schick’s (Music) tenure. I was blown away,” Sang said. Featuring local trombonist [and current student] Berk Schneider (Music) as soloist, Song’s new concerto “Frozen Grief” will incorporate unusual staging and unique theatrical lighting elements that may surprise the audience.
UC San Diego Today: Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts Grand Opening
Campus leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni joined invited guests Oct. 15 for the grand opening of the UC San Diego Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts. The community was treated with a welcome reception, photo opportunities and a special discussion with filmmakers and alumni Joanne Mony Park ‘10 (Visual Arts) and M.G. Evangelista ‘10 (Visual Arts), led by center director Michael Trigilio (Visual Arts).
School of Arts and Humanities: Greek Romans and Roman Greeks: the 10th annual Vassiliadis lecture at UC San Diego (video)
The UC San Diego Center for Hellenic Studies presented the 10th annual Vassiliadis lecture on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022: “Greek Romans and Roman Greeks: 10 Years of Byzantium” featuring Edward Watts (History), Alkiviadis Vassiliadis Endowed Chair in Byzantine Greek History. The online celebration included Watts, Denise Demetriou (History), Thomas Gallant (History) and School of Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta, with UC San Diego students and staff, family, friends and community supporters.
School of Arts and Humanities: Jerusalem’s elite during the 7th century BCE with Visiting Professor Yuval Gadot (video)
Professor Yuval Gadot heads the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel-Aviv University and is lead archaeologist at the ‘City of David’ excavations project. The Dec. 1 live event was hosted by the Jewish Studies Program, in the UC San Diego Institute of Arts and Humanities.
UC San Diego Today: 2022 Triton Holiday Gift Guide
“RESET” is the debut sci-fi novel from author Sarina Dahlan ‘98 (Visual Arts), set in a post-catastrophic world where memories are erased every four years to preserve peace. For lovers of young adult fiction, the latest book “A Shot at Normal” from novelist Marisa Reichardt ‘95 (Literature) tells the story of a teenage girl who fights for the right to be vaccinated.
KCET: Artbound: A Rubén Ortiz-Torres Story
Since the early-80s, artist Rubén Ortiz-Torres (Visual Arts) has been working as a photographer, painter, sculptor, writer, filmmaker and video producer.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: When Divestment Isn’t Enough
“[Craig] Callender (Philosophy, Institute for Practical Ethics) still favors bans, imperfect as they may be, but also thinks that academic research as a whole would benefit from a standardized policy to disclose ties with all corporations,” writes the Chronicle. “Why not just have it all out in the open for everybody?” Callender said. Related: Sustainability Community
Los Angeles Times: Eileen Myles thinks some of the world’s best writing is pathetic (and that’s good)
Eileen Myles (Literature) is being tongue-in-cheek but also has a larger point. The anthology edited by Myles grows out of a conference at UC San Diego in 2006, where Myles was teaching a “Pathetic Literature” seminar.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Pulitzer winner Anthony Davis, Anoushka Shankar, Chris Thile among 2023 Grammy nominees with San Diego ties
The 2023 Grammy Awards nominees were announced Tuesday morning, and there are a number who have strong San Diego ties. They include Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis (Music), whose groundbreaking opera, “X — The Life And Times Of Malcolm X,” is nominated in the Best Opera Recording category. Related: Grammy Awards
KPBS: San Diego weekend arts events: Cog•nate Collective, ‘Mía,’ Iranian music and more
UC San Diego’s Music department is host to a performance from Persian wind instrument musician Khosrow Soltani and Iranian percussionist Mohammad Ghavihelm (event date: Nov. 19).
Kering: Women In Motion podcast
Babette Mangolte (Visual Arts) is included in this podcast series (in French).
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Hundreds of UC Faculty Members Stop Teaching as Strike Continues
“Some faculty have been engaged in a work stoppage since the beginning of the strike, but now the moment feels urgent to call on more faculty to join us,” said Simeon Man (History). Related: EdSource
La Jolla Light: La Jolla writer’s latest book delves into crime, politics and ignorance
UC San Diego professor Allan Havis’ (Theatre and Dance) “Clear Blue Silence” is his first novel for adults.
UC San Diego Today: Twelve New Faculty to Be Hired to Design Just Futures
For the 2022/2023 hiring the Designing Just Futures initiative selected six departments, including Theatre and Dance within the School of Arts and Humanities.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego Rises Five Spots to No. 29 in Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings
Professors at UC San Diego are also highly regarded leaders in their respective fields. Last week, UC San Diego professor Anthony Davis (Music) received a 2023 Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording. The Pulitzer-winning composer was recognized for his opera, “X — The Life And Times Of Malcolm X.”
New Books Network: Authority, Cooperation, and Accountability
Saba Bazargan-Forward (Philosophy) discusses his new book “Authority, Cooperation, and Accountability” on this podcast. In the book, Bazargan-Forward develops a new theory of individual accountability for cooperatively committed harms, and helps us make sense of accountability in the context of joint action. Related: Oxford University Press
American Theatre: The Evolution of Anthony Davis’s ‘Malcolm X’ Opera
The Met Opera-bound revival, directed by Robert O’Hara and written by Anthony Davis (Music), plays this weekend in Omaha, where the influential Black leader was born Malcolm Little in 1925. Related: Omaha World-Herald
The New York Times: Music, Science and Healing Intersect in an A.I. Opera
The work-in-progress “Song of the Ambassadors” got a test run at Alice Tully Hall — with Lincoln Center’s artistic director lending her brain. “Just to the side of the stage, level with the musicians, sat a pair of neuroscientists, Ying Choon Wu and Alex Khalil Ph.D. ‘09 (Music), who had been monitoring the brain waves of two audience volunteers sitting nearby,” the story reads.
UC San Diego Today: Take 10 with a Triton: Jimmy Cong is a Disability Specialist, DJ and Digital Media Lover
“Part of my job is to meet with students to provide accommodations based on their current functional limitations relating to their disability,” alum Jimmy Cong ‘18 (Music) said. He works with students of all levels: undergraduate, graduate and even postdoctoral fellows, typically looking into their academic or housing accommodations needs.
UC San Diego Today: Epstein Family Amphitheater Debuts with a Memorable Lineup of Sights and Sounds
The Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego recently hosted two weeks of debut events, offering thousands of campus and community members a first look at the region’s newest arts and cultural destination. Included in this roundup are Steven Schick, Rand Steiger, Lei Liang (all Music) and alum Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music), along with King Britt (Music) and Michelle Lou (Music). “We called the festival ‘Where I Stand’ to bring together many cultural backgrounds, to unite under the power of true intention in carrying the sonic and political lineage of our ancestors,” Britt said of the Blacktronika festival. Related: UC San Diego Today (slideshow)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Symphony plays new music for a new venue
Works by UC San Diego professors Rand Steiger (Music) and Lei Liang (Music), as well as by one of its music department’s most illustrious alumni, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music), were performed alongside music by Stravinsky and Barber.
Overthink Podcast: Interview with Matthew Fulkerson on touch (video)
Overthink interviews Matthew Fulkerson (Philosophy) on the concept of touch, as part of their series on the five senses. Fulkerson’s work on touch are key for understanding the unique perceptual phenomena. He is the author of “The First Sense: A Philosophical Study of Human Touch.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Music Notebook: Rob Shinno & Hemisphere at Humphreys, Blacktronika Festival at UCSD; Joshua White at Dizzy’s
Curated by DJ, producer and UC San Diego assistant professor King Britt (Music), this free festival on Oct. 29 at the new Epstein Family Amphitheater boasts a stylistically diverse array of performers. Related: Pacific Magazine
Playbill: Where the Mountain Meets the Sea New York Premiere Begins Previews October 11
“Where the Mountain Meets the Sea” is by playwriting alum Jeff Augustin MFA ‘14 (Theatre and Dance), and is being directed by alum Joshua Brody MFA ‘13 (Theatre and Dance) with alum Yonatan Gebeyehu MFA ‘18 (Theatre and Dance) in the cast. Related: Broadway World
The New York Times: 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now
Anthony Davis’s (Music) Malcolm X opera is among the highlights.
Eastman School of Music: Opera as Theatre: Anthony Davis on “Lear on the 2nd Floor”
This work, first performed in 2012, is the work of dramatist Allan Havis (Theatre and Dance) and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis (Music).
UC San Diego Magazine: Origin Story: A re-imagining of the future through speculative fiction.
The university magazine interviewed speculative fiction writers who are also alumni: Kim Stanley Robinson ‘74 and Ph.D. ‘82 (Literature), Catherynne Valente ‘02 (History), Aimee Bender ‘91 (Literature), David Brin, Vernor Vinge, Luis Alberto Urrea, Nancy Holder and Gregory Benford. “I wrote my first fiction ever for a writing class at UCSD with Rae Armantrout (Literature), whom I had no idea is insanely famous in literary poetry circles,” Valente said. Related: UC San Diego Magazine
The San Diego Union-Tribune: DJ, producer and UCSD ‘Blacktronika’ creator King Britt does it all: ‘He’s had so much impact on so many’
“The worlds of DJs, academia, hip-hop, Miles Davis, Dua Lipa, electronic music, Sun Ra, cassette mix tapes and digital technology are all happy equals for King Britt (Music), who in barely four years at the University of California San Diego has become one of its most popular faculty members,” opens this piece by George Varga. Varga interviewed numerous UC San Diego community members for the profile in addition to Britt. Related: La Jolla Light
La Jolla Light: ‘Constraint and Transcendence’: La Jolla artist’s new exhibit explores merging versions of herself
Huai Li (Visual Arts), who grew up in China ‘isolated culturally [and] politically,’ finds herself constantly evolving as she reveals her ‘uniqueness.’ Her exhibition will run Oct. 22 through Feb. 26, 2023 at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.
Sky News: Iran protests: Government uses internet ‘kill-switch’ as tech savvy youth continue to evade digital censorship
“It is extremely challenging. The minute you post something about an event happening on social media, the government also sees it,” said Babak Rahimi (Literature). “Their social media surveillance has increasingly become more sophisticated since [the civil unrest in] 2009.”
MIT Press: “Spatializing Justice: Building Blocks”
Written by Teddy Cruz (Visual Arts) and Fonna Forman, “Spatializing Justice” calls for architects and urban designers to do more than design buildings and physical systems.
Radio Taiwan International: “A Flower in the Rainy Night”: a song representing Taiwan
Nancy Guy (Music) explains what makes this song so significant to generations of Taiwanese people.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: At new SDSU exhibition, artists flip the ‘Script’
For over a decade, art historian and [UC San Diego alum] Amanda Cachia Ph.D. ‘17 (Visual Arts) has attempted to bring attention to disability in the arts.
American Council of Learned Societies: Fellows in Focus: Philomena Lopez F’21 Explores Chicano Art through Chaz Bojorquez’s Señor Suerte
Philomena Lopez (Visual Arts) is a doctoral candidate in art history, theory, and criticism, specializing in Latino and Latin American art. In 2021, she was awarded a Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship in American Art.
KPBS: A new performance and connections hub at UC San Diego
The official opening night is Friday, with a performance curated by UC San Diego’s Steven Schick (Music). “Art takes place in an environment. And the people who share that environment are the community for whom you are playing,” Schick said. Related: The San Diego Union-Tribune, KPBS
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: The 2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition category winners have been announced
“Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water” by Kazim Ali (Literature) wins in the Environmental Literature category.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: An unconventional concert by the Mivos Quartet brings the Arctic to La Jolla
“Six Seasons” is a unique collaboration between composer Lei Liang (Music), oceanographer Joshua Jones, a team of audio engineers and the Mivos Quartet.
Jazz Corner: World Premiere Recording of Anthony Davis’s “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X”
According to composer Anthony Davis (Music), winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Central Park Five, there is no better time than now to revive “X.”
Inside Higher Ed: Promoting Institutional Change Through Inclusive Cluster Hiring: Part 1
Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons and Vice Chancellor Becky R. Petitt introduce an innovative approach to faculty cluster hiring with transformative potential. In the piece, they mention the African American and Black Diaspora Studies and Chicanx and Latinx Studies programs in the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
UC San Diego Today: Epstein Family Amphitheater Debut Events to Showcase Talent from UC San Diego and Beyond
“It occurred to me — kind of almost immediately — that the best thing we could do would be to unite different parts of the city of San Diego with a celebration of this space,” said Steven Schick (Music), who invited the San Diego Symphony to participate in the opening celebration. Work by Lei Liang (Music), Rand Steiger (Music) and alum Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music) are included in the Sept. 21 concert, with King Britt’s (Music) Blacktronika: Where I Stand Festival set for Oct. 29.
UC San Diego: Epstein Family Amphitheater (video)
“When you view the arts academic spaces on campus as a whole, from concert halls and indoor theaters to artist studios, museums, galleries and screening rooms, the amphitheater adds yet another way students can apply their training to real-world situations,” said School of Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta in this preview video, which also includes Steven Schick (Music).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Composer Lei Liang and Scripps oceanographers take deep dive in Arctic to create game-changing ‘Six Seasons’
Acclaimed composer Lei Liang’s (Music) new work may suggest to some a dizzying, high-tech musical collaboration between mother nature, Jacques Cousteau and Jules Verne. “Six Seasons” will receive its world premiere Saturday in UC San Diego’s Conrad Prebys Experimental Theater with performances at 5 and 8 p.m. Six days later, the San Diego Symphony will perform Liang’s 2013 orchestral work, “Bamboo Lights,” as part of its Oct. 21 concert at UC San Diego’s new Epstein Family Amphitheater. Related: La Jolla Light
Hyperallergic: The Thriving Art Community of San Diego
This winter, the University of California San Diego’s newly renovated Mandeville Art Gallery is slated to reopen after a multiyear closure.
The New York Times: A Work of Mourning Comes to New York, With No Rothkos in Sight
Pianist Sarah Rothenberg ... is joined in the center of the space by the violist Kim Kashkashian, the percussionist Steven Schick (Music), and [Tyshawn] Sorey, as conductor. Related: The New York Times (review), San Francisco Classical Voice
Times of San Diego: Old Globe 2023 Season Features Premieres Inspired by Time Travel, Olympics – Even San Diego
Keiko Green’s MFA ‘22 (Theatre and Dance) “Exotic Deadly: Or The MSG Play,” developed on during Keiko’s time as a graduate student, is a genre-bending “time-traveling adventure told through the eyes of an awkward Asian-American teen who makes a shocking discovery.” Jesca Prudencio MFA ‘16 (Theatre and Dance) will direct.
Courier-Gazette: Strand, CMCA present contemporary dance performance
Dance soloist Marcos Duran MFA ‘20 (Theatre and Dance) performs “Shapeshifter” Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.
Celebmix: Foxtide Share New Wave Inspired Rock Single “Already Gone”
Foxtide have partnered with industry heavyweights including Grammy award-winning Jazz producer Kamau Kenyatta (Music).
San Diego Magazine: Blacktronika: Where I Stand Festival
The “Blacktronika: Where I Stand” festival is spearheaded by King Britt (Music) and is set for Oct. 29 at the Epstein Family Amphitheater.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego Announces 2022 Revelle Medal Recipients
UC San Diego announced the 2022 recipients of the Revelle Medal, which recognizes current and former faculty members for sustained, distinguished and extraordinary service to the university. The 2022 Revelle Medalists are Patricia “Pat” Churchland (Philosophy), Lawrence S.B. Goldstein, Gilbert (Gil) Hegemier and J. Andrew McCammon.
Artforum: Into the Storm: Alexandro Segade on the Ororocene
“I offer the Ororocene as a stage on which to act out the reimagining of the human body and its lives, a way through the detention of unaliving,” writes Alexandro Segade (Visual Arts).
Blog of the APA: Undergraduate Philosophy Club: University of California, San Diego
“A unique feature of the philosophy club is that it is open to all students at UC San Diego, not just philosophy majors and minors so it allows anyone to join and enrich themselves in philosophy as most members hold a broad range of views and knowledge that can be quite interesting during lively discussions,” writes Monte Johnson (Philosophy) for the American Philosophical Association.
American Theatre: Les Waters: Theatre Spaces and Thin Places
In excerpts from a new book, the British-born director and faculty emeriti Les Waters (Theatre and Dance) talks about childhood mysteries, the theatre buildings he’s worked in, and his fascination with erasure and contradictions.
Freelands Foundation: Turner Contemporary, Anya Gallaccio
Turner Contemporary, Margate has been shortlisted for an exhibition with artist Anya Gallaccio (Visual Arts), to be held in the winter of 2024. It will include critical sculptures and installations from her 35-year career, many remade for the first time, alongside a significant new commission responding to the geology of Kent and environmental issues.
Health Law: Can one own human biological material that is donated for research? (Spotify)
In this podcast, Donrich Thaldar and postdoctoral scholar Bonginkosi Shozi (Institute for Practical Ethics) discuss the question of whether human biological material that is donated for research can be owned. Shozi appears in multiple episodes of Health Law, which has the “aim to engage in topical health law and ethics research and teaching from a uniquely South African perspective.” Related: Health Law series
UC San Diego Today: Stronger Together: Celebrating our Latinx Campus Community Members
“Whether they were marches for immigrant rights or Black Lives Matter protests, there were always Aztec dancers participating,” Rubén Ortiz-Torres (Visual Arts) said. “I see that solidarity as something that is very uplifting.”
UC San Diego Today: World Premiere Brings the Haunting Music of the Arctic to San Diego
On Saturday, Oct. 15 at 5 and 8 p.m., renowned composer Lei Liang (Music) unveils a new composition evoking cycles of life and change in the Arctic at UC San Diego’s Conrad Prebys Music Center Experimental Theater.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Fossil-Fuel Money Is Warping Climate Research
“There are essentially two ways to try to fix this mess: separation and sunshine. Separation aims to disentangle fossil-fuel funding from academe altogether. Sunshine allows industry funding, but requires transparency,” writes Craig Callender (Philosophy), co-director of the Institute for Practical Ethics.
3:16: The Wentaculus, Time’s Arrow, Laws and vagueness...
Eddy Keming Chen (Philosophy) his research and time’s arrow with Richard Marshall. “I realized that my questions, albeit formulated in a naive and unsophisticated way, fell under the domain of philosophy. In college, I became a philosophy major and found my intellectual home,” Chen said.
UC Irvine: UCI School of Humanities welcomes three new senate faculty
Three senate faculty have joined the UCI School of Humanities this fall, including alum Kevan Aguilar ‘21 (History), who is now assistant professor in their Department of History.
Simon Fraser University: Fabiola Carranza and Michelle H Mackenzie on Althea Thauberger
Current graduate students Fabiola Carranza (Visual Arts) and Michelle Mackenzie (Music) discuss “Ecce Home” by Thauberger in this podcast.
Playbill: World Premiere Musical How to Dance in Ohio Begins Run at Syracuse Stage September 21
The production features scenic design by Robert Brill (Theatre and Dance). Alumni Justin Humphres MFA ‘17 (Theatre and Dance) was associate designer and Miranda Friel MFA ‘21 (Theatre and Dance) was assistant designer. Related: Playbill, Syracuse.com
Arts and Humanities: Moments newsletter, September 2022
“The mission of the School of Arts and Humanities is to provide ‘An Education for the Common Good,’” writes Dean Cristina Della Coletta. “What we collectively offer is foundational, transferable and enduring, and our commitment to this vision does not waiver.” News from the school includes the introduction of 14 new faculty members joining this fall.
UC San Diego news: Fall Move-In 2022 (video)
New student Eryn Cyia Tandoc (Visual Arts) is interviewed, saying she loves “working for art events that involve the community, exposing low-income families to our opportunities.”
UC San Diego Today: Triton Weeks of Welcome Sparks Student Spirit
Incoming first-year student Katie Canard (Theatre and Dance) is enthusiastic about diving in. “I chose UCSD because it seems to have a really unique theater program with a lot of access to local productions and ways to get yourself started with the La Jolla Playhouse—and also the campus is just beautiful, we’re right by the beach, which is awesome,” she said.
UC San Diego Today: Annual Convocation Inspires New Tritons to Embrace Their Curiosity
First-year student Maya Chang (Visual Arts) chose UC San Diego as the home of her collegiate journey because of its unique ability to let her combine her two passions: math and art. As an interdisciplinary computing and the arts major in Seventh College, Chang is excited to explore her interests surrounded by a group of like-minded students.
Daily Nous: 2021 Philosopher’s Annual
Congratulations to Monique Wonderly (Philosophy), whose “Forgiving, Committing, and Un-forgiving” was selected by The Philosopher’s Annual as one of the 10-best articles published in philosophy for 2021. Also recognized is alum Theron Pummer Ph.D. ‘13 (Philosophy), with their article “Impermissible Yet Praiseworthy” published in Ethics. Wonderly’s research was published in Philosophy & Phenomenological Research. Related: The Philosopher’s Annual, Philosophy & Phenomenological Research (article), Ethics (article)
The Boston Musical Intelligencer: Rechargeable Songs: Narucki-Berman
Susan Narucki (Music) and Donald Berman joined in a Faculty Artist Recital at Longy School of Music at Bard College Friday, Sept. 16.
Lambertronix: Bridge Podcast with David Borgo
In podcast episode #56 saxophonist and author David Borgo (Music) discusses improvisation in a complex age. Borgo is an ethnomusicologist and faculty affiliate of the Center for Research in Entertainment and Learning alongside previous Bridge Podcast guest, Shlomo Dubnov (Music). Related: YouTube (full interview)
Point Blank Plus: PBLA Instructor Spotlight: David Aguila
For this Instructor Spotlight, Point Blank Los Angeles interviewed renowned trumpet player, audio producer and current UC San Diego graduate student David Aguila (Music). “I knew that I couldn’t begin a program that would only have me viewed as a trumpet player. I needed somewhere that would allow me to hone this unique practice. UCSD was the place and I’m very happy to have landed here,” Aguila said, who is a Point Blank Audio Mastering instructor.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego’s Newest Class Makes an Entrance
New student Eryn Cyia Tandoc (Visual Arts) fell in love with UC San Diego after attending Triton Day in the spring. As a first generation Filipino American, she experienced some challenges while navigating the pathway to college. Tandoc is following her passion for art that was first fostered in middle school, and will major in visual arts with an emphasis on studio art this fall. After graduation, Tandoc would like to be part of a community art organization.
UC San Diego Today: UC San Diego Announces 2022-2023 Holocaust Living History Workshop Series
A collaborative effort between the UC San Diego Library and the UC San Diego Jewish Studies Program within the Institute of Arts and Humanities, the project emphasizes survivors’ continued relevance in the world today.
UC San Diego Today: Take 10 With a Triton: Campus Photographer Erik Jepsen is Chasing Rainbows — Literally
Erik Jepsen ‘10 (History) has worked for UC San Diego for 11 years, but also studied here, graduating in 2010 with a double major in management science and history.
UC San Diego Today: From Crafting to Dining to Wayfinding, New Services Enrich the Campus Experience
The Epstein Family Amphitheater will open with performances from San Diego Symphony (Oct. 21), Death Cab for Cutie (Oct. 22), Las Cafeteras (Oct. 27) and the free, full-day Blacktronika: Where I Stand Festival (Oct. 29), which is organized by King Britt (Music). For dining, one new option that will open during the fall quarter is Tahini, coming to North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Fall arts preview 2022: Musicologist Amy Cimini explores sound, gender, technoscience and heavy-metal karaoke
“As a teacher, I am drawn toward women and other understudied and marginalized figures in experimental music,” Amy Cimini (Music) said in this fall arts preview.
Fox5 San Diego: Visit the Titanic: This is how much the dive costs
“The Titanic sank in two hours and 40 minutes, the length of a classic play,” emeriti professor Stephen D. Cox (Literature) wrote for CNN. “Other disasters were either too big or too small to develop this kind of interest. They happened too fast, or too slowly…. There was no time for people to assess their options; to consider what they could do, or what they should do, morally.”
Fox5 San Diego: Remembering Queen Elizabeth II
UC San Diego visiting associate professor Jörg Neuheiser (History) joined FOX 5 to discuss Queen Elizabeth II’s legacy and impact.
Gloucester Daily Times: Artist, patron of the arts passes at 80
“What I cherished most were our endlessly wonderful conversations. It was the companionship of a fellow artist who understood the imagination, courage and hard work in artistic creativity,” said Lei Liang (Music) at the death of his friend and patron Rob Amory. Liang’s composition “A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams,” commissioned by Amory, won the 2021 Grawemeyer Award.
Utah State University: Caine College of the Arts Brings Award-Winning Production Designer to Logan for Dean’s Convocation
Emmy Award-winning production designer and creative director Patrick Larsen MFA ‘13 (Theatre and Dance) will return to Utah State University for the Caine College of the Arts Dean’s Convocation, giving a talk entitled “The Magical Science of Creativity.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Our top pop, rock, jazz and Latin concert picks this season
Curated by faculty member King Britt (Music), this free festival is most notable for featuring a rare duo performance by Britt and the masterful drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Our top classical music picks this season
A special collaboration by professor-composer Lei Liang (Music), the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and new-music proponents Mivos Quartet sees the world premiere of “Six Seasons,” which incorporates sounds of ice, waves, whales and seals, all captured by hydrophones deployed at the sea floor of the Arctic Ocean.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Welcome, Tritons: Events to Look Forward to this Fall at UC San Diego
A few of the events planned for the Epstein Family Amphitheater’s opening include: Opening Celebration with San Diego Symphony (Oct. 21) with music from alum Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music) and faculty Lei Liang (Music) and Rand Steiger (Music), and “Blacktronika: Where I Stand Festival” (Oct. 29), bringing together six innovative musical groups ranging from free jazz to cosmic funk to create a full day of sonic cultural expression. Blacktronika is a course created by King Britt (Music) that honors the innovators of color who have contributed to the global advancement of electronic music.
UC San Diego News: QI Internship Provides Pathway to Workplace for Neurodiverse Youth
“I was four classes away from graduating [on a premedical track] when I realized I really didn’t want to be a doctor anymore,” said current speculative design major Em Findlay (Visual Arts). “I was excited to take this opportunity to jump headfirst into what I wanted to do with my life. This internship helped me realize I was on the right path.” Corly Huang ‘21 (Visual Arts) serves as coach for one of the related teams, and Craig Callender (Philosophy, Institute for Practical Ethics) is a researcher on the original NSF grant. Related: UC San Diego News
Campus Notice: In Memoriam: Founding Eleanor Roosevelt College Provost and Professor Emeritus James K. Lyon, Literature
During his longstanding service to UC San Diego, James Lyon (Literature) was associate dean of graduate students and chair of the Department of Literature before being selected as the founding provost of the newly established Fifth College, now Eleanor Roosevelt College.
UC San Diego News Center: UC San Diego Ranked No. 3 Best Public College by Forbes
The McNair Program is one of many research opportunities led by the Undergraduate Research Hub, with more than 150 McNair Program alumni successfully moving on to earn their doctorate. Some alumni have even come back to campus to serve as faculty members, such as current department chair Luis Alvarez (History).
Vera Files: Soprano Stefanie Quintin at CCP Black Box theater Sept. 7
“My teacher Susan Narucki (Music) is a specialist in contemporary music, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to study with her. She is a pillar in contemporary vocal music. Her recordings are monumental,” said current graduate student Stefanie Quintin (Music). “Susan imparted to me the importance of knowing the composer’s intentions through an in-depth analysis of compositions, and showing these intentions through the delicate use of our instruments.”
Organised Sound: Thirty Years of Sound Hacking: From freeware to Eurorack
“For slightly more than 30 years I have been developing audio software and hardware under the moniker ‘soundhack,’” writes Tom Erbe (Music), where he explains in evolving sonic and design aesthetic. Related: Organised Sound (interview with Erbe)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Album reviews: Tyshawn Sorey Trio, Madonna and The Phantom Blues Band
Sorey has collaborated with ... electronic music innovator King Britt (Music), with whom Sorey will perform a free duo concert at UC San Diego’s new Epstein Family Amphitheatre on Oct. 29.
Take Effect: Wilfrido Terrazas “The Torres Cycle”
“The ambitious composer Wilfrido Terrazas (Music) presents us a 7 part album here,” the review states, “where ritual, indigenous tradition from his native Mexico, alternative notation, structured improvisation and spatialized live performance techniques make for a very expressive and unique body of work.”
KPBS: A great, big visual arts weekend in San Diego
San Diego-based interdisciplinary artist Yasmine Kasem MFA ‘19 (Visual Arts) is opening a solo exhibition in Bread and Salt’s main gallery, on view Saturday through Oct. 23, 2022. “I learned from the recent Bread and Salt podcast episode featuring Kasem that she was on her way to becoming a jazz drummer before getting distracted by a ceramics class in college,” writes Julia Dixon Evans ‘00 (Literature). Related: Bread & Salt Podcast
Light Work: Announcing Light Work’s 2023 Artists-in-Residence
Abdulhamid Kircher MFA ‘22 (Visual Arts) is a 2023 Light Work Artist in Residence.
Journal of Creative Music Systems: “Deep Music Information Dynamics”
A new comprehensive paper authored by UC San Diego Professor Shlomo Dubnov (Music), Ph.D. student Ke Chen (Music), and CSE master’s student Kevin Huang was published in the Journal of Creative Musical Systems.
Martin CID Magazine: Capacity, or: the Work of Crackling
The performances feature costumes by designer Rebecca Kanach and sound design by Shahrokh Yadegari (Music).
Organised Sound: ‘We Cross Examine with Old Sonic DNA’: King Britt and Tara Rodgers in conversation on Blacktronika, music technology and pedagogy
Composers, producers and educators King Britt (Music) and Tara Rodgers discuss music technology history and pedagogy in the context of King Britt’s Blacktronika course at the University of California San Diego, which researches and celebrates Black artists and other artists of colour who are pioneers of electronic music genres.
UC San Diego News: Culture of Collaboration Attracted New Vice Chancellor for Research to UC San Diego
“We are making great strides in so many fields from health to humanities to climate change. The possibilities are endless and fascinating, and I am excited to see what developments the next year of experimentation and collaboration will bring,” Vice Chancellor Corinne Peek-Asa said.
Squarecylinder: Black and Proud
Now on tour is an exhibition called “Young Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists,” on view through Dec. 19 at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis. Included in the exhibition are Paul Mpagi Sepuya (Visual Arts) and alum Sadie Barnette MFA ‘12 (Visual Arts).
Bangkok Post: Sports stadiums echo ancient divisions
Over a single generation, we have moved from sporting venues that encouraged interaction of all social and economic classes to Roman-style spaces that create rigid boundaries between spectators, writes Edward Watts (History).
KPBS: San Diego weekend arts events: Carolina Caycedo, ‘The Lion King,’ Tchaikovsky and more
Multiple artists from UC San Diego’s Visual Arts program have their work on view at the Institute of Contemporary (ICA) Art San Diego central Balboa Park campus, now through Sept. 4. ICA San Diego presented the 2022 NextGen Award to Isidro Pérez García MFA ‘22 (Visual Arts). Related: ICA San Diego
San Diego Art Prize: 2022 SD Art Prize
Congratulations to alum Alida Cervantes MFA ‘13 (Visual Arts), one of four artists selected to receive the 2022 SD Art Prize. The annual exhibit will be held at the Central Library Art Gallery starting Sept. 17.
Publiko: Moor Mother, concierto en Casa de Lago (in Spanish)
King Britt (Music) is mentioned in this article about artist Moor Mother.
Playbill: Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s Here There Are Blueberries Completes World Premiere Run at La Jolla Playhouse August 21
The cast includes UC San Diego Theatre and Dance MFA students Abby Huffstetler, Noah Keyishian, and Sabrina Liu. Bobby McElver (Theatre and Dance) is sound designer, and Lora Powell (Theatre and Dance) is stage manager.
Playbill: Recipients of 2022 Del Hughes Awards for Lifetime Achievement in Stage Management Named
The Stage Managers’ Association will also honor Lisa Porter (Theatre and Dance) and Narda E. Alcorn with a Special Recognition Award at the 2022 Del Hughes Awards Oct. 24. Related: Broadway World, Projection Lights & Staging News
Salon: Is this the worst time in American history to be a mom?
“I wouldn’t say there has never been a worst time to be a mother, I would not go that far — but it’s hard [right now],” Rebecca Jo Plant (History) said. “We have basically no social support for families and motherhood, [and] we have maybe the second highest rate of child poverty among so-called industrialized or wealthy nations.... [Y]ou’re more likely to be poor if you’re a child than if you’re an older person,”
International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques: Becoming: An Interactive Musical Journey in VR
New research led by Shahrokh Yadegari (Music) and the Sonic Arts research group at Qualcomm Institute was presented: “Becoming” is an operatic VR piece based on a Persian poem by Mowlana Rumi. The critical content of the piece is about the spiritual evolution of humans on Earth.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: At the Oceanside Museum of Art, a pop art exhibit by military veterans defies stereotypes
Current undergrad student Mike Stevens (Visual Arts) turned to ceramics in 2020, when a neck injury kept him from doing the surfing and bike-riding he loves. He spent the next six months hunkered down in the Veteran Art Project’s ceramics studio, where the physicality of working with clay kept him from going stir crazy.
Gramophone: Steven Schick: A Hard Rain
“The album’s first disc is devoted to solo works that often raise the question: how does he do that?” writes this reviewer of the latest release from Steven Schick (Music). Related: Opera Wire, Harlem World
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Music Notebook: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss; all-star Robert Bush benefit; Nabil Ayers and James Spooner
A benefit concert for writer Robert Bush is set for Aug. 23, featuring Mark Dresser (Music), Kamau Kenyatta (Music) and more.
KPBS: San Diego weekend arts events: ‘The Pleasure Trials,’ Festival of Books, Khalid Alkaaby and more
The San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books returns in person with a packed program, including Kazim Ali (Literature) and Rae Armantrout (Literature) among many others.
Broadway World: OPERA America Welcomes Six New Members to Its Board of Directors
OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, has welcomed a new class of six board members that includes Anthony Davis (Music), unanimously elected to a two-year term.
University of California Television: Becoming a Philosophy Professor with Manuel Vargas
Growing up in Bakersfield, California, Manuel Vargas (Philosophy) had parents who instilled the value of education and learning in him at an early age. Starting his academic career at a local community college, he found his way to UC Davis and then graduate school and a Ph.D. program. He is now a professor at UC San Diego and his research focuses on the history of philosophy in Latin America. He shares what life is like as a professor and his advice for prospective and current college students.
University of California Television: The Lemon Grove Incident and the Making of a History Professor with Luis Alvarez
More than 20 years before the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision, a small Mexican community in Lemon Grove, California fought for and secured for their children the right to an equal education. Luis Alvarez (History), a professor of history at UC San Diego, grandson of the plaintiff in Roberto Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District, shares how his family’s history shaped his world view and career path.
University of California Television: Triton Talks: Life Without Earlids - Learning To Listen To the World
What does it mean to have no earlids? According to Steven Schick (Music), conductor and music professor at UC San Diego, it means we have no way of removing ourselves from the sounds that are all around us. The world-renown percussionist talks about the nature of sound and how to listen as he creates music through common clay flower pots.
CDM: The Daily Show takes on the Black and gay origins of house music
“If you want to delve deeper and pan out a bit – here is a terrific conversation with Greg Tate and Ytasha Womack about Afrofuturism from the Black perspective, conducted by our friend, the great King Britt (Music),” writes CDM. Related: Okayplayer (video)
Virginia Tech: Cube Fest 2022 offers stellar sonic adventures
This year’s Cube Fest celebrates immersive Afrofuturist music by artists King Britt (Music), alum Yvette Janine Jackson Ph.D. ‘17 (Music), Jupiter Blue and Sea Novaa. The festival runs from Friday, Aug. 19 through Sunday, Aug. 21.
San Diego Magazine: Fit for a King
DJ, composer, producer and UC San Diego professor, King Britt (Music) takes us inside his sanctuary and satellite classroom for students.
Penn State University Press: “Georg Forster: German Cosmopolitan”
Publishing in September 2022, this in-depth look at Forster’s work and life reveals his importance for other writers of the age. Todd Kontje (Literature) traces the major intellectual themes and challenges found in Forster’s writings, interweaving close textual analysis with his rich but short life.
East of Borneo: Still: Amy Adler
“Queering the pictures is essential to [Amy] Adler’s (Visual Arts) practice, and she explores the fluidity and complexity of desire—its production, expression, and permissibility—across male and female bodies,” writes Jordan Karney Chaim.
Oregon ArtsWatch: Maturity and innovation: An interview with Mark Steinberg
The Lei Liang (Music) commission comes out of a long term friendship between the Brentano and Liang’s composition teacher, the late Chou Wen-Chung, promoter of Chinese music and godfather to a generation of Chinese composers.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: UCSD taps Moonlight’s producer to lead new arts programming office
While in my position at Moonlight for the past four years, I have also been a lecturer with UC San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance. This new position allows me to prioritize both of these passions as we bring community together on campus and beyond while working directly with the next generation of performing arts leaders, creators and supporters,” says Colleen Kollar Smith.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Looking for outdoor concerts in San Diego? These are the region’s can’t-miss venues
Opening weekend of the new Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego includes the Oct. 21 celebration concert by the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Elena Schwarz and Steven Schick (Music).
Bandcamp: The Transcendence of Terry Jennings
When cellist Charles Curtis (Music) plays Terry Jennings’s 1960 work Piece for Cello and Saxophone, he feels the music’s emotional charge. “It is being carried by something, which is spirit,” Curtis says. The new album is mixed by Anthony Burr (Music). Related: Bandcamp
TIME: The Story Behind TIME’s Brittney Griner Cover
Although the photographer and multimedia artist Lorna Simpson MFA ‘86 (Visual Arts) has never met WNBA player Brittney Griner, she has no trouble imagining a vulnerability of the kind that Griner, another Black American woman, has been experiencing since being detained in Russia since February.
salt peanuts*: Jones Jones
Jones Jones is a sort of free improvisation supergroup, featuring three masters of their instruments: sax player Larry Ochs, drummer-percussionist Vladimir Tarasov, and double bass player Mark Dresser (Music). Their fourth album, “Just Justice” was recorded at UC San Diego in January 2020.
Playbill: See Photos of the World Premiere of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s Here There Are Blueberries
The cast includes UC San Diego MFA students Abby Huffstetler, Noah Keyishian and Sabrina Liu (all Theatre and Dance). The creative team includes sound designer Bobby McElver (Theatre and Dance), and Lora K. Powell (Theatre and Dance) is stage manager. Related: Playbill, KPBS
University of California Television: Generational Change and the American Language with Seth Lerer
What is the nature of American English in its most recent forms? How does generational distance affect changes in language? How can the study of the history of English over past centuries help us understand the changes we see today? Seth Lerer (Literature) addresses these questions and more, and provokes discussion about the most recent features of the American vernacular.
Los Angeles Times: Arts groups raced to be more diverse. How one L.A.-area company tripped along the way
Black artists citing ‘racial tokenism’ quit Long Beach Opera, one of many arts groups nationwide facing scrutiny over their commitment to inclusion. Anthony Davis (Music) is interviewed.
Your Classical: Anthony Davis is an opera composer extraordinaire
Composer Anthony Davis (Music) has been creating operas that center on the Black experience for years. With a recent thirst for Black operas, it’s easy to forget composers who have been here all along.
History: 5 Ways Christianity Spread Through Ancient Rome
Edwards Watts (History) is cited multiple times in this feature: “[Constantine] starts a process that, by the end of the fourth century, will lead to the explicit restriction of pagan practices and the explicit promotion of Christian practices by the imperial government.”
Playbill: World Premiere of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s Here There Are Blueberries Begins at La Jolla Playhouse July 26
The co-production with Tectonic Theater Project is inspired by an album of photos from the Holocaust. Several Theatre and Dance students are part of the production, as are faculty members Bobby McElver (Theatre and Dance) and Lora Powell (Theatre and Dance).
Bandcamp: The Best Contemporary Classical on Bandcamp: July 2022
The second batch of titles from the upstart Sawyer Editions label includes this minimalist gem - “empty spaces” - a collection of works by graduate student Lydia Winsor Brindamour (Music), who is studying with Rand Steiger (Music). The album includes many Department of Music mentions.
Foxy Digitalis: Wilfrido Terrazas “My Shadow Leads This Way”
“Shadows and silhouettes become tangible outlines buried deep in the earth on Wilfrido Terrazas’ beguiling ‘My Shadow Leads This Way,’” opens this review of Terrazas’ (Music) latest release.
Campus Notice: 2021-22 Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year Award Recipients
Congratulations to Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year Jennifer Johnson (Arts and Humanities Dean’s Office). Johnson is one of only 15 professional and support staff members recognized, and will be celebrated Thursday, Aug. 25 in a virtual program.
UC San Diego News: Colleen Kollar Smith to Lead UC San Diego’s New Campus Performance and Events Office
UC San Diego has named Colleen Kollar Smith as the inaugural Executive Director of the newly created Campus Performance and Events Office, led by the Division of Student Affairs. Kollar Smith — who has also served as a lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance at UC San Diego — most recently served as Executive Producer of Moonlight Stage Productions, a cultural arts program in Vista, Calif.
Oxford University Press: “Wild Sound: Maryanne Amacher and the Tenses of Audible Life”
Author Amy Cimini (Music) explores Amacher’s working methods with an interpretive style that emphasizes technical study, conceptual juxtaposition, intertextual play, and narrative transport.
Zocalo Public Square: Why Are Our Sports Stadiums Becoming More Like Roman Amphitheaters?
Today’s shift to status-based seating is an unwelcome return to the rigid social divides of an imperial age, writes Edward Watts (History).
Financial Times: Babette Mangolte on how dance made her a groundbreaking photographer (subscription required)
This year’s edition of the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival celebrates Babette Mangolte’s (Visual Arts) career with an in-depth look at her back catalog of black and white photography. Reprinted in: UK Daily
Leiter Reports, A Philosophy Blog: Lateral moves (and retirements) since the 2021 Philosophical Gourmet Report
In addition to separate posts announcing faculty moves, Brian Leiter keeps a running list of all lateral moves not reflected in the faculty lists for the last rankings. New faculty member Patricia Marechal (Philosophy) is listed, with prior posts about July 2023 new faculty member Christopher Shields (Philosophy): “That’s a major hire for UCSD!” Related: Leiter Reports
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego International Mariachi Gala concert to showcase several generations of musicians
When opportunity knocked in the midst a global pandemic, mariachi music champion and alum Jeff Nevin Ph.D. ‘98 (Music) didn’t hesitate to jump into action, writes George Varga. Nevin studied under trumpet professor Ed Harkins and such award-winning composers as Chinary Ung (Music) and Roger Reynolds (Music). For his dissertation, Nevin wrote his groundbreaking Mariachi Concerto.
The Mary Sue: Books Designers Have Chosen the Best Covers of the Year
The American Institute of Graphic Arts announced the winners of their 50 Books | 50 Covers competition, which include “My Barbarian” from Alexandro Segade (Visual Arts) and new faculty member Malik Gaines (Visual Arts), and “Sadie Barnette: Legacy & Legend” from alum Sadie Barnette MFA ‘12 (Visual Arts). Related: AIGA
HereIn Journal: Amir Saadiq with HereIn
“His new projects bear a poetic urgency, taking a leap into formally innovative and conceptually nuanced works that contemplate living in the black body in the context of a system fundamentally committed to anti-blackness,” writes HereIn journal about MFA student Amir Saadiq (Visual Arts).
The Boston Musical Intelligencer: A Chinese Duo at Shalin Liu
“Mother’s Songs” is a marvelously carved and truthful reminiscence from the holder of a Grawemeyer Award and the Elliott Carter Rome Prize, Lei Liang (Music).
La Jolla Light: UC San Diego announces inaugural concert lineup at new Epstein Family Amphitheater
San Diego Symphony: Friday, Oct. 21, featuring music from UC San Diego alum Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music) and faculty members Lei Liang (Music) and Rand Steiger (Music). “Blacktronika: Where I Stand Festival” organized by King Britt (Music) is at noon Saturday, Oct. 29, featuring six musical groups ranging from free jazz to cosmic funk.
Times of San Diego: 10-Year Fundraising Campaign Raises Over $3 Billion for UCSD ‘Transformation’
“We are so incredibly proud of how UC San Diego alumni have come together over the past decade to support their alma mater as a collective group,” said alum Kimberley Phillips Boehm ‘82 (History), UC San Diego Alumni president from 2020 to 2022. Related: ABC 10
The San Diego Union-Tribune: ArtPower bringing world-leaping music, dance, film and theater lineup to UCSD
Award-winning composer Lei Liang (Music) is teaming with Mivos Quartet for a musical exploration of the Arctic Ocean that will be performed as part of the upcoming ArtPower season.
Checkered History: Mike Pence says the US has been “a force for good in the Middle East” for “nearly 200 years”; historians have thoughts about this
For the Political Uses of the Past Project, Michael Provence (History) gives a “split decision” to the statement, saying “The United States had no role in the Middle East before 1945, apart from private business and educational initiatives.” Related: History News Network
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: 14 New Latinx Studies Faculty to be Hired at UC San Diego
“The 14 faculty members hired will bring dynamic research profiles, exciting new courses, and long histories of committed, impactful experience with Chicanx, Latinx and Latin American communities to campus,” said Luis Alvarez (History), who is co-principal investigator for the Latinx Cluster Hire Initiative. The initiative aims to increase faculty diversity, spur innovative research and infuse culture into the curriculum. Jody Blanco (Literature), also co-PI on the initiative, said the new faculty will “redirect, channel and grow” from campus collaborations: “The stars are our destination.”
There are currently seven ladder-rank faculty searches underway as part of the Latinx Cluster Hire, including within the Rady School of Management, the School of Social Sciences, and the School of Arts and Humanities’ departments of History, Literature and Theatre and Dance. The additional seven ladder-rank faculty searches will be conducted over the 2022-23 academic year.
School of Arts and Humanities: Moments newsletter, July 2022
In addition to news celebrating the close of The Campaign and the Institute of Arts and Humanities Race and Oral History Project, the inaugural director of the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts was announced: multimedia artist Michael Trigilio (Visual Arts). Related: Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Take 10 With a Triton: From the Circus to Construction, Kathy Whelan Makes Connections
As project specialist for the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood, Whelan manages a wide variety of tasks.
Campus Notice: 2022 Dissertation Year Fellowship Award Recipients
The Graduate Fellowship and Award Review Committee has identified the following doctoral students for the 2022-2023 Dissertation Year Fellowship awards. Congratulations to Alison Urban (Theatre and Dance) for receiving the Fletcher Jones Fellowship.
Opera America: An Oral History with Anthony Davis
Recorded last year but just published, composer Anthony Davis (Music) sat down with OPERA America’s President/CEO Marc A. Scorca for a conversation about opera and their life. Related: Broadway World
The Boston Globe: In a newly revived opera, Malcolm X sings his own history
BMOP and Odyssey Opera performed ‘X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X’ by Anthony Davis (Music). The presentation marked the launch of a five-year initiative devoted to operas by Black composers.
The Canadian Association for Theatre Research: Prix Jean-Cleo Godin 2022
“Xajoj Tun Rabinal Achí” by Julie Burelle (Theatre and Dance) received special mention in this year’s Jean-Cleo Godin Award, given annually to the best scholarly article or article focused on research-creation in French, this award honors work of significant merit in any area of Canadian theatre or performance research: “The jury particularly noted the excellence of the description and the importance of such a study that seeks to reflect on the relationships between Indigenous practitioners, their art and their public.”
Fox 5 San Diego: UCSD announces first lineup for new amphitheater
October 21, San Diego Symphony will perform music from UC San Diego alumna Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music) as well as faculty members Lei Liang (Music) and Rand Steiger (Music). Presale tickets for university faculty, staff and students went on sale.
Literary Hub: Is There a Viable Model for Political Change in 21st-Century America?
The classical historian Edward Watts (History) came on [the podcast] “Keen On” last year to warn about the endless comparison between the decline of Caesarist Rome and the decline of Trumpian America, writes Andrew Keen.
American University: David Marchick Named Dean of American University’s Kogod School of Business
UC San Diego alum David Marchick ‘88 (History), a prominent leader with decades of experience in global finance and private equity, public policy, and service, joins American University as dean of the Kogod School of Business.
Rolling Stone: Pierre Kwenders’ Multitudinous Self: ‘Where There Is Life, There Is Hope’
King Britt (Music) co-produced a track that was used on the “José Louis and the Paradox of Love” album.
PoliFlash magazine: Rinnovato il protocollo di intesa tra Politecnico e University of California San Diego (in Italian)
UC San Diego and the Politecnico di Torino recently renewed and extended the collaboration agreement that established research, training and study in the digital humanities between Politecnico’s Department of Architecture and Design, and UC San Diego’s School of Arts and Humanities and Qualcomm Institute. Related: UC San Diego News (archive)
This Week @ UC San Diego: Changing the World Through Philanthropy: UC San Diego Raises $3.05 Billion as Campaign for UC San Diego Concludes
Current student Itzel Guadalupe Jimenez Jimenez ‘25 (Literature), a Karen and Jeff Silberman Chancellor’s Associates Scholar, said the scholarship gave her a chance to pursue a dream career, and the gift from supporters Joel and Ann Reed to help establish the Institute for Practical Ethics was highlighted in this feature. The Conrad Prebys Presidential Chair in Music, held by Rand Steiger (Music), was also included, and there were special mention of alumna Sally T. WongAvery ‘75 (Philosophy) $10 million support of East Asian scholarship and collections. “We are so incredibly proud of how UC San Diego alumni have come together over the past decade to support their alma mater as a collective group,” said Kimberley Phillips Boehm ‘82 (History), UC San Diego Alumni president from 2020-2022.
News Nine: In ‘Northern Light’, Kazim Ali breaks free from LGBTQ literature constructs, embarks upon journey of self-discovery
The book that has moved me most this month is Kazim Ali’s (Literature) memoir “Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water,” writes Chintan Girish Modi during LGBTQ pride month: “Reading ‘Northern Light’ reminds me of his gentle, mindful self, striking a delicate balance between curiosity and respect in new spaces.”
Authority Magazine: Leland Montgomery of Hotter Up Close: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker
“I ended up going to college at UC San Diego, where I studied drama and creative writing and made a lot of weird plays, wrote a lot of weird short stories, and took a lot of strange photographs… which I think is the whole point of going to any sort of art school,” says filmmaker and double-major alum Leland Montgomery ‘11 (Theatre and Dance, Literature). “In some ways, it was the most creatively free I’ve ever felt, and I sometimes wish I could return to those days.”
La Jolla Light: Three La Jolla-area properties earn American Society of Landscape Architects awards
The UC San Diego Ridge Walk project, designed by Spurlock Landscape Architects, involves upgrades to a walkway that winds through the campus, including in front of the Mandeville Art Gallery and Department of Visual Arts, and the Arts and Humanities Building. It was honored in the awards’ “institutional” category.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: UC San Diego Announces Inaugural Artists Performing at the Epstein Family Amphitheater
Presale tickets for employees and students are now available for the Oct. 21 San Diego Symphony concert featuring music by alum Anna Thorvaldsdottir Ph.D. ‘11 (Music) and faculty members Lei Liang (Music) and Rand Steiger (Music). The following weekend, Oct. 29, is an all-day festival led by King Britt (Music) called “Blacktronika: Where I Stand.”
The Hollywood Reporter: The Top 25 Drama Schools In the World
Where to look for the next onscreen talent, from New Haven to Australia? How about UC San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance, the highest-ranking program on the West Coast at #5 on the annual global list.
The Washington Post: Ronald Berman, humanities endowment chairman, dies at 91
Ronald Berman (Literature), who spent much of his career teaching English literature at the University of California San Diego, was a specialist in Renaissance and Restoration drama. Berman, a Shakespeare scholar whose chairmanship of the National Endowment for the Humanities in the 1970s brought blockbuster museum exhibitions and innovative public programming to an audience of millions and who also found himself in a political showdown with a powerful senator, died May 17 at his home in San Diego.
Telos 199: China and the West
Appearing in the Summer 2022 issue of Telos is the essay “Locations of China in World Literature” by Yingjin Zhang (Literature).
Kering: Women In Motion at the Rencontres d’Arles 2022, an edition rich in projects and events
The 2022 Women In Motion Award for photography goes to Babette Mangolte (Visual Arts).
DownBeat: jazzahead! Conference Rebirths in Bremen
Steph Richards (Music) is fast emerging as a trumpeter bringing a new energy and attitude to her instrument and to the business of jazz from the experimental and free improvisational perspective.
The New York City Jazz Record: ‘Just Justice’ (review, PDF)
Saxophone trios are nothing new in the music, dating back to the ‘50s, but when one combines Larry Ochs, Mark Dresser (Music) and Vladimir Tarasov sparks will fly.
Playbill: Full Cast, Creative Team Set for World Premiere of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s ‘Here There Are Blueberries’ at La Jolla Playhouse
The co-production with Tectonic Theater Project is inspired by an album of photos from the Holocaust. The cast will include Department of Theatre and Dance MFA students Abby Huffstetler, Noah Keyishian and Sabrina Liu.
Los Angeles Times: Review: How well does opera represent reality? LBO and L.A. Opera take differing approaches
Los Angeles Opera and Long Beach Opera have ended their seasons with semi-staged recent works by Pulitzer Prize-winning opera composers: LBO mounted Anthony Davis’ (Music) anti-cinematic, feel-bad masterpiece “The Central Park Five,” writes Mark Swed, making a note of encouragement to have Davis’s work at the L.A. Opera.
Campus Notice: In Memoriam: Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ronald S. Berman, Literature
We share the sad news of the passing of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ronald S. Berman (Literature), a longstanding member of the UC San Diego Department of Literature and leader in advancing the humanities in the United States and abroad.
Explore Magazine: Celebrating Five Successful Years of UC San Diego’s Race and Oral History Project
Born from a collaborative partnership between the Institute of Arts and Humanities and the UC San Diego Library, the Race and Oral History Project was created in 2017 in an effort to document and share stories of understudied racial and ethnic communities in the Greater San Diego region. The project itself is anchored by a joint Department of History and Department of Ethnic Studies. “During my time in the course, I had the opportunity to interact with students from various backgrounds, majors and interests,” said Isabel Nguyen, a student minoring in the Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies program.
Explore Magazine: How an alumna’s passion for UC San Diego, books and Chinese culture led to the renaming of the Biomedical Library
Alongside her closest friends, family and acquaintances, Sally T. WongAvery ‘75 (Philosophy) was recognized by the university and community leaders for her support of the UC San Diego Library.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: New Campus Restaurants Diversify and Delight
New restaurants in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood near the Arts and Humanities Building — Fan-Fan and Showa Ramen — are highlighted.
BuzzFeed News: 5 Digital Artists Talk About What Makes This Moment So Unique
“There’s a common belief that art is about the self and is an expression of the self. I want to think that art is much more than self-expression,” writes Pinar Yoldas (Visual Arts), one of five artists featured. “It is high time that we realize how crucial art is for our survival and create effective support networks for creativity, imagination, and artistic production.”
KPBS: Cast of recent San Diego Rep production allege racism and misogyny
“It took more than COVID to close these doors for now,” said an open letter by “The Great Khan” cast, which included alumni Molly Adea ‘18 (Theatre and Dance) and Dylan John Seaton ‘07 (Theatre and Dance).
Times of San Diego: Mother and Daughter Share ‘Iron’ Bond Despite Prison and Time at Roustabouts
The cast of “Iron” from The Roustabouts includes current MFA student Jada Alston Owens (Theatre and Dance).
Gramophone: REYNOLDS ‘Violin Works’ (review)
Roger Reynolds (Music) “grips your attention moment to moment.”
Bandcamp: “My Shadow Leads The Way”
The new album “My Shadow Leads The Way” by Wilfrido Terrazas (Music) is now available for streaming and download.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Grads Give Thanks
Graduating students Haniyeh Javaheri, minoring in the Middle East Studies Program, and Luis Escobar, who received his minor in Literature, are featured. “Professors Seth Lerer (Literature) and Kristina Markman had the biggest impact on me,” Escobar said. “They made me realize I actually had a knack for literature analysis and that even though I am a biochemistry major, having these writing skills are very important for STEM work.”
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Honoring the Class of 2020
Student keynote speaker Adarsh Parthasarathy ‘20 (History) shared the importance of solidarity and leaving a positive impact on others. “We worry about whether we will find our place in history, whether we are going to accomplish anything of note for ourselves, for our families, and perhaps for the world,” said Parthasarathy, who is currently enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law. The commencement began with recognition from Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla and UC San Diego Alumni Board of Directors President Kimberly Phillips Boehm, ‘82 (History).
UC San Diego News: UC San Diego Atmospheric Chemist Kim Prather Elected to American Philosophical Society
Kim Prather, an Institute for Practical Ethics advisory board member, is recognized for her work on emissions, pollutants and climate.
Resident Advisor: BBC Radio 1 Takeover: Four Artists Pushing the Frontiers of Technology
Since starting his DJ journey at just five years old, during afternoons spent selecting records for his father’s barber salon, King Britt (Music) has seemingly explored every avenue of the electronic music scene and industry.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Music gives Adam Sandler’s Philly basketball movie ‘Hustle’ its flow
The Netflix basketball movie includes David Dallas’ “Runnin,’“ built on a sample of “New World In My View,” from King Britt Presents Sister Gertrude Morgan, a ready-to-be-rediscovered 2005 classic by Philly DJ-producer King Britt (Music).
CovidCalls: Episode #470
Streaming on Periscope, this episode sees Alain J.-J. Cohen (Literature) in discussion, based on a recent article: “Dystopic Anamorphosis in Stephen Soderbergh’s Contagion. The Other of Desire. The Other of Death” (Diogène, 2021).
Los Angeles Times: Commentary: Why two theatrical extravaganzas bode well for the state of opera in L.A.
The final opera of the [Long Beach Opera’s] curtailed season, a revival of Anthony Davis’ (Music) Pulitzer Prize-winning “Central Park Five,” will no longer be staged, only given in concert form later this month, writes Mark Swed. Related: Orange County Breeze
Museum of Contemporary Photography: The 2022 Snider Prize
The 2022 Snider Prize has been awarded to MFA graduate student Abdulhamid Kircher (Visual Arts). The Snider Prize is a purchase award given to emerging artists in their final year of graduate study.
KPBS: 5 songs for right now
Steven Schick’s (Music) new two-disc album, “A Hard Rain,” launches an ambitious multi-release recording project called “Weather Systems.” On the album, “Janissary Music” was composed in 1966 by Charles Wuorinen and is a piece Schick has been playing for upwards of 45 years. Related: Sequenza 21
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Review: Steven Schick’s final La Jolla Symphony concert a happy success
A capacity crowd gathered at the Good Samaritan Episcopal Church on Saturday to hear Steven Schick (Music) conduct his valedictory concert as Music Director of the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus.
I Care if You Listen: 5 Questions to Donna Weng Friedman
“I perform ‘Space Between the Fish and the Moon’ by Cambodian American composer Chinary Ung (Music) on the two H&H programs – it is the only piece that is featured on both the album and the video series,” writes pianist Donna Weng. “I discovered ‘Space Between the Fish and the Moon’ by chance when I was feeling most vulnerable, so it holds a special place in my heart while marking the beginning of my journey of self-reflection.”
New Focus Recordings: Wilfrido Terrazas: “The Torres Cycle”
A virtuoso flutist, Wilfrido Terrazas (Music) presents a musical language in which the power of expression frames the palette of techniques, creating a fresh and urgent soundworld. Related: Sequenza 21
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Celebrating 10 Years of UC San Diego’s Physical, Cultural and Intellectual Transformation
“Having the Arts and Humanities Building in this prominent location on our campus is a game changer for our students, faculty and staff,” said School of Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta. “We have long known the important contributions our disciplines bring to educating each and every student at UC San Diego. Not only is this location an acknowledgement of these contributions, but being centralized gives better access for our students and provides our faculty the opportunity to make important, interdisciplinary connections that are unique to our research university.”
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: UC San Diego Becomes Nation’s Youngest University to Reach $3 Billion in Fundraising Campaign
The Campaign for UC San Diego exceeded its initial $2 billion goal by $1 billion. Of the several gifts included in the feature: Deepak and Varsha Israni established the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts within the School of Arts and Humanities in memory of their late son, Suraj, an aspiring filmmaker. The center is committed to promoting, advancing and advocating for film, filmmaking and the cinematic arts.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Class of 2022 Outstanding Grads
Featured graduates this year include Haniyeh Javaheri, who is receiving a minor in the Middle East Studies program from the Institute of Arts and Humanities, and Tommy Lim, a double major in the Program for the Study of Religion.
Department of Music: Academic Achievement and Service Awards
The Department of Music is proud to announce the Undergraduate and Graduate Student award recipients for academic achievement and service during the 2021-2022 academic year. Chair Anthony Burr (Music) presented the awards on behalf of the department in the Conrad Prebys Music Center.
KPBS: Steven Schick moves ‘onward’
“No other community orchestra dedicated to community and progressive music-making, aligned with a major research university of the world — no such orchestra really exists,” said Steven Schick (Music) to reporter and alum Julia Dixon Evans ‘00 (Literature). “We are unique and we adopt from UCSD its forward-looking mentality towards everything, including music. And we root ourselves in the community beyond the university. So we really tried to do both — a bridging mechanism between the university and the community.”
La Jolla Light: Best Bets: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences
Two picks make the list: The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus and Steven Schick (Music) presents “Onward;” and Gallery QI presents the exhibit “#RetroColectiva,” works by Ricardo Dominguez (Visual Arts). Related: The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune: New leader takes over Taylor Guitars as founders step back
Taylor Guitars co-founders are stepping back as president and CEO, to hand the reins to alum Andrew Powers ‘04 (Music).
HereIn: Dillon Chapman on Maria Antonia Eguiarte Souza
In the Performance Space within the Visual Arts Facilities at UC San Diego, [current MFA student] Eguiarte Souza (Visual Arts) invites viewers to engage with a video, sculptural installation, and series of performances that explore themes of the Cartesian divide between mind and body, incorruptible bodies, and the notion of bodies without organs, writes alum Dillon Chapman MFA ‘20 (Visual Arts).
NBC Los Angeles: Star Wars Is Mostly TV Now — and the Disney Franchise’s Often-Fractured Fanbase Is Cool With That
“I feel like television is definitely a better format for people to experience Star Wars,” said Hayden Kirkeide, a 22-year-old Visual Arts student at UC San Diego. But she is still eager to see Waititi’s film. “I, of course, love the movies.”
Literary Hub: The Spirit of Ukrainian Resistance: Five Poems by Marjana Savka
Marjana Savka is a visual artist as well as a poet and publisher. Her paintings of angels, posted to social media, have come to embody the Ukrainian spirit of resistance, write Amelia Glaser (Literature) and Yuliya Ilchuk in their Literary Hub series.
Institute for Practical Ethics: Practical Ethics Quarterly, Spring 2022
The latest issue includes research by Reuven Brandt (Philosophy), the institute’s five-year report, Ethics Bowl team results, and David Danks’ (Philosophy) appointment to the national AI Advisory Committee, plus updates on Ph.D. fellow Alec Calac and the Kyoto Symposium discussion led by John H. Evans, Institute for Practical Ethics co-director.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Class of 2022 Shining Stars
“I’ve seen firsthand how life-changing mentorship can be. I’ve made it a personal goal of mine to be that driving force that connects my peers to mentors of their own,” said Kayla Monnette, who is graduating with a minor from the Chinese Studies Program within the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
The New York Times: The ‘Philosopher King’ of Percussion Starts His Next Chapter
Steven Schick (Music), a renowned figure in contemporary music, had nearly burned out as a performer. But a new recording project shows he’s hardly finished. “Steve is really the god of a certain kind of percussion playing,” said alum Sarah Hennies MA ‘03 (Music), a player and composer who studied with him in San Diego. “The music of ‘Psappha’ is ecstatic and transporting and powerful. But the way Steve plays it, it doesn’t feel like he’s showing off, which is what a lot of people want to do.”
Artbook: Michael in Black by Nicole Miller
This first monograph on artist and filmmaker Nicole Miller (Visual Arts) focuses on a single sculpture by the artist: “Michael in Black” (2018).
Freethink: Self-driving cars could transform the world in unexpected ways
“A major factor in people’s housing decisions is length of time (not distance) of their work commute,” said David Danks (Philosophy).
Literary Hub: The Spirit of Ukrainian Resistance: Five Poems by Marjana Savka
Literary Hub publishes new poetry from Ukraine by Marjana Savka, translated by Amelia Glaser (Literature) and Yuliya Ilchuk.
The San Diego Union Tribune: Project [Blank] presents the sonically adventurous ‘Paradise TBD’
"Paradise TBD" is directed by Robert Castro (Theatre and Dance) with music direction by alum Brendan Nguyen D.M.A. ‘16 (Music). Related: KPBS
San Diego Union Tribune: San Diego museum’s ‘Keepers of the Culture’ event honors local Black artists who uplift community
Honorees include alum Nathan East ‘78 (Music), jazz musician and a founding member of the contemporary jazz group.
PodBean: EP #470 - 3.14.2022 - Pandemic Films
Alain J.-J. Cohen (Literature) has a discussion with Dr. Scott Gabriel Knowles about the COVID-19 pandemic with a diverse collection of disaster experts.
Government Technology: Who Serves on the New National AI Advisory Committee?
David Danks (Philosophy) is an inaugural member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee.
La Jolla Light: “Permission to be weird’: La Jolla native’s film on Spike and Mike festival to be screened at Comic-Con
La Jolla native and UC San Diego alum Kat Alioshin ‘87 (Visual Arts), has produced and directed a documentary about the duo known as Spike and Mike. The film is titled “Animation Outlaws.”
The Dirt: University of California San Diego Densifies to Protect Its Landscape
The walkable, bikeable DNA of the campus enabled planners and landscape architects to densify through additional mixed-use development. This future is being realized in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood.
Broadway World: Meet the 2022 Tony Nominees: A STRANGE LOOP's John-Andrew Morrison
Leading up to the 75th Annual Tony Awards, Broadway World is getting up close and personal with the nominees. Today they are studying up on John-Andrew Morrison MFA ’99 (Theatre and Dance).
Wesleyan University Press: 'Finalists' by Rae Armantrout
Brilliant and irascible, playful and intense, Rae Armantrout (Literature) nails the current moment's debris fields and super computers, its sizzling malaise and confusion, with an exemplary immensity of heart and a boundless capacity for humor.
UC San Diego News: UC San Diego Service Award Honoree Shares Highlights from 36-Year Career
Diana Platero-Lopez has been a part of the UC San Diego community longer than most. During her 36 years at the university, Platero-Lopez has played various roles in many departments, including Music. “I’ve had the chance to work in many departments across my career. I’ve met a lot of people all around campus — supervisors, faculty, students, etc. — and I’ve learned from all of them.”
Division of Arts and Humanities: Meet the 2022 Community Connections fellows
The new Arts and Community Engagement graduate fellows are David Aguila (Music), Tiffany Beres (Visual Arts), Elba Emicente (Theatre and Dance) and Chanell Stone (Visual Arts).
Institute for Practical Ethics: Institute for Practical Ethics, 2017-2022
“We believe we are making genuine progress toward developing socially responsible science, now and in the years to come,” write Institute for Practical Ethics co-directors Craig Callender (Philosophy) and John H. Evans in this five-year report.
Campus Notice: 2022 Chancellor’s Dissertation Medal Recipients
Recipients of this prestigious award are chosen based upon the quality of academic research as determined by the impact of the research to the field; the insight, originality and creativity shown by the author; the effectiveness of the writing, clarity and organization of the thesis; and the soundness of the methodology and quality of the data. School of Arts and Humanities honoree is Keir GoGwilt (Music).
Graduate Student Association: Community Awards
The Community Awards are a way for the graduate and professional student community to honor those at UC San Diego who exceed expectations in their contributions to graduate and professional student life. School of Arts and Humanities awardee is Kristin Leadbetter (Theatre and Dance).
Arts and Humanities Events: The Unexpected Career of Esther Moyal: Arts and Humanities Events: Sephardic Feminist from Cairo to Jaffa (video)
The Jewish Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities hosted their annual Katzin Lecture featuring guest speaker Lital Levy.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: In a leap of faith, Steven Schick ends his 15-year tenure as La Jolla Symphony & Chorus’ music director
La Jolla Symphony & Chorus this month has announced a fund for The Steven Schick Prize for Acts of Musical Imagination & Excellence. Steven Schick (Music) emphasized that the prize ... is meant to support emergent artists doing excellent work that aligns with the social and environmental values of the symphony and chorus.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Steven Schick drums up world of sonic adventure on ‘A Hard Rain’ double-album, a percussive tour-de-force
Steven Schick (Music) performs on nearly 200 percussion instruments on his dazzling new double-album.
New Music USA: Anthony Davis: Any Means Necessary (audio)
“Where I grew up in State College [Pennsylvania], my brother and I were the only black people in the school. So I began to think about that. And I began to resent the fact that I was playing all white composers. And that really upset me,” Anthony Davis (Music) told New Music USA.
ABC News: Designer and TikTok creator’s headpieces put spotlight on Filipino culture, identity
“I really want to give a new way of expressing our love for our culture in ways that make us feel proud and make us feel excited about it,” said Mar Velicaria ‘19 (Visual Arts).
New Music USA: Announcing the 2022 Creator Development Fund Grant Recipients
Current graduate student Yongyun Zhang (Music) is one of more than 100 awardees of the grants, part of New Music USA’s commitment to support at least 100 creators and 100 organizations as part of their 10th anniversary year.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Cygnet Theatre’s 19th season to include three women playwrights and two world premieres
“Sharon,” a mystery absurdist comedy by MFA playwriting student Keiko Green (Theatre and Dance), will make its world premiere in a production directed by Rob Lutfy.
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Students lobby for bill to ease university housing crunch — but would it work?
“Lawsuits against UC San Diego allege that the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood, which could add 2,000 new beds, would increase vehicle traffic in the area,” the Sentinel reports.
Detroit Free Press: Detroit Opera’s ‘Life and Times of Malcolm X’ explores civil rights icon’s ties to Michigan
Director Robert O’Hara and conductor Kazem Abdullah teamed up for this staging of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis’ (Music) work. Related: The Detroit News
The New York Times: Review: After 36 Years, a Malcolm X Opera Sings to the Future
Anthony Davis’ (Music) “X” has stretches of incantation that, in person, turn it into something like a sacred rite. Related reviews: The Detroit News, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Arts and Humanities News: UC San Diego Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl team reaches national quarter final, placing 7th overall
“I am so very grateful to this incredible team. They manifested the virtues of open-mindedness, generosity, respect and consummate poise, all in the service of the truth. I have learned so much from all of them,” said Samuel Rickless (Philosophy), coach of the UC San Diego team with Philosophy Ph.D. students Aaron Chipp-Miller, Karina Ortiz Villa and Sam Ridge.
Triton magazine: May 2022 issue, Our Family Story
- Tritons recount what it means to be a family — the ancestry, the history, the traditions and the importance of preserving stories for future generations. This story features profiles of alumni Kirby Wright ‘83 (Literature), and Lois Yu ‘93, MS ‘95 (Mathematics and History).
- Family Legacy: A lifetime of service inspires a family gift to support student scholarships. This story features alumni Jorge Carrillo ‘72 (History) and Andres Carrillo ‘01 (Visual Arts)
- Our Triton Family: Alumni President Kimberley Philips Boehm ‘82, Ph.D. (History) encourages alumni to mentor current students.
UC San Diego Academic Senate: Distinguished Teaching Awards 2021-2022
Congratulations to King Britt (Music) for the Distinguished Teaching Award, Senate Members and Alex Stephenson (Music) for the Barbara and Paul Saltman Excellent Teaching Award, Graduate Students.
The New York Times: ‘It’s Anthony’s Time’: A Composer Gets His Due
With a new production of Anthony Davis’s (Music) pathbreaking Malcolm X opera opening in Detroit, we are on the cusp of a broader reappraisal of his work. “I just think that it’s Anthony’s time. It’s been past due for his time,” said Robert O’Hara.
CBS8: California's Mission Bells and the push to remove them
"We want to continue to teach about the missions, to give that context for what native peoples lived in," said Dana Velasco Murillo (History). "But we want to make sure we're nuancing these institutions, we're not just romanticizing them. There's a real, genuine effort on the part of community members, scholars, people working at museums and archives to make sure those indigenous stories are told."
The Hollywood Reporter: The World’s 25 Best Drama Schools, Ranked
As training grounds brace for a sharp increase in applicants, The Hollywood Reporter consulted with insiders, alumni and casting pros for its annual ranking of the best places to earn an acting degree. UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance is ranked fifth for the second year in a row, and is the top program on the West Coast. "The school puts a strong emphasis on mounting new plays, working in close partnership with the Wagner New Play Festival," the article reads.
The New York Times: A Sci-Fi Writer Returns to Earth: ‘The Real Story Is the One Facing Us’
Kim Stanley Robinson '74, Ph.D. '82 (Literature), one of the most acclaimed living science fiction writers, is done with deep space narratives. His focus now is on solving real problems — like climate change.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Leucadia filmmaker Ron Ranson’s ‘Tattooed Trucks of Nepal’ is an award-winning ride
UC San Diego emeritus faculty Ron Ranson (Theatre and Dance) documents Nepal’s arty trucks in the award-winning documentary ‘Tattooed Trucks of Nepal - Horn Please’
HereIn: Dillon Chapman on beck haberstroh
Alumni Dillon Chapman MFA '20 (Visual Arts) writes about current MFA student beck haberstroh (Visual Arts): "In a contemporary moment where it continues to be increasingly difficult to say things with images, haberstroh opts to say something about the nature of our bodies' relationship to photographs while refusing representation."
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Filmmaker and MacArthur fellow to speak at UC San Diego about stories centering Latino community
Alex Rivera is the featured lecturer in the Department of Visual Arts Adam D. Kamil guest lecture series at UC San Diego’s Price Center Theater May 11.
LA Sentinel: Communicating Through Art with Shaylen Nelson
The UC San Diego graduate Shaylen Nelson '21 (Visual Arts) reflected on his motivation, saying, “Art has become an extension of my self-expression. It’s easier for me to express my emotions and thoughts through paintings, drawings, through an artform — more than my physical voice alone.”
The New York Times: Full List of the 2022 Tony Award Nominees
On Monday, the nominees for the 75th Tony Awards were announced. The ceremony will take place on June 12. Congratulations to all the nominees, including our Department of Theatre and Dance connections:
- John-Andrew Morrison MFA ’99 – Best Featured Actor in a Musical ("A Strange Loop")
- "A Strange Loop" – Best New Musical (production stage manager Erin Albrecht MFA ‘09)
- “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf” – Best Play Revival (actor Amara Granderson MFA '20)
- Emeritus faculty Les Waters – Best Direction of a Play ("Dana H"
UC San Diego News: Undergraduate Research Gives Rise to Doctoral Dreams
When Luis Alvarez (History) enrolled at UC San Diego as an undergraduate student in 1990 to study engineering, he had no idea that 16 years later he would return as an assistant professor of history to join and later direct the Chicanx and Latinx Studies program — now one of the top programs of its kind in the country. His trajectory was altered when he registered for a course with Professor David Gutierrez (History), who would become his mentor, friend and future colleague.
UC San Diego News: UC San Diego’s New Downtown Hub Park & Market Opens to the Public
UC San Diego Park & Market brings together a diverse array of amenities including the 225-seat Guggenheim Theatre with configurations to accommodate plays, concerts, lectures and more; a 58-seat cinema operated by Digital Gym; a sophisticated dual-sided video wall for video installations; and an accessible gallery space featuring installations from regional and national artists, currently featuring an exhibit on the history of the UC San Diego Stuart Collection.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Davis revives ‘X,’ his prescient 1986 opera about Malcolm X: ‘A tragic hero’
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis (Music) is acutely aware of the key roles timing, technology, fate and the devastating COVID-19 pandemic have played in bringing back to life his first opera, 1986’s groundbreaking “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.” Related: WBUR
My Jewish Learning: Secular Jewish Literature in Ukraine
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jewish writers in Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian and Ukrainian presented the Jewish condition in Ukraine and were increasingly in dialogue with their non-Jewish neighbors, writes Amelia Glaser (Literature).
QualityDigest: U.S. Department of Commerce Appoints 27 Members to National AI Advisory Committee
Appointments are the first for recently established committee to advise the President. David Danks (Philosophy) is appointed to the new committee.
Playbill: Meet the Recipients of the Drama League’s 2022 Directors Project
Thirteen stage directors will receive fellowships, assistantships, and residencies. Jennifer Chang (Theatre and Dance) has been announced as one of two 2022 Directors In Residence, receiving the Beatrice Terry Directing Resident to develop a currently untiled new project exploring themes of American consumerism and emotional trauma.
KPBS: 5 songs for right now: Serbian/Henshaw, Nomis, Kaye/Davis, The Inflorescence and Wilfrido Terrazas
The Ensenada-born flutist Wilfrido Terrazas (Music) released a new album of compositions, “The Torres Cycle,” a collection of seven compositions anchored by four “torre” works, each representing a direction: del Norte, del Sur, del Este and del Oeste.
La Jolla Light: Photo gallery: UCSD Biomedical Library renamed for philanthropic book lover Sally WongAvery
UC San Diego gave Class of 1975 alumna and Foundation trustee Sally T. WongAvery ‘75 (Philosophy) a special birthday present April 23.
WHYY: First new sculpture in 70 years for Philly’s 30th Street Station
Virginia Maksymowicz MFA ‘77 (Visual Arts) work ‘‘Tools of the Trade’’ is now installed in the North Waiting Room of William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, Philadelphia.
The Institute of Art and Ideas News: The quantum wave function isn’t real
Some go as far as to argue that the entire universe is a quantum wave function, but this interpretation runs into a number of problems — including a clash with Einstein’s theory of relativity, writes Karl Popper prize-winner Eddy Keming Chen (Philosophy).
Literary Hub: “Spring’s begun dividing her storks and cranes among us.”
New Poetry from Ukraine by Natalia Beltchenko, translated by Amelia Glaser (Literature) and Yuliya Ilchuk.
ACA-MEDIA (Society for Cinema and Media Studies): Ep. 62, “Cinema is a Cat”
It’s the film studies textbook you’ve been waiting for: Cinema is a Cat, which teaches film theory, language, and history using examples of cats in movies. Frank Mondelli talks with author Daisuke Miyao (Literature) about the book, its inspiration, some of his favorite movie cats, and what dogs might have to say about all this.
UCTV: Still We Rise: Celebrating American Diversity in Music (video)
“Still We Rise” is a concert celebrating American diversity in music and the legacy of UC San Diego Professor Emeritus and pianist Cecil Lytle (Music). This year’s program celebrates both the 25th anniversary of the Lytle Scholarship and the establishment of the Cecil Lytle Endowed Chair in African and African American Music within the School of Arts and Humanities.
Arts and Humanities Events: Annual Vassiliadis Lecture 2022
The Center for Hellenic Studies at UC San Diego hosted the Annual Vassiliadis Lecture virtually on April 28, 2022. The lecture featured Professor Elizabeth DePalma Digeser from UC Santa Barbara.
Arts and Humanities Events: Annual Ranglas Lecture 2022
The Center for Hellenic Studies at UC San Diego hosted the Annual Ranglas Lecture virtually on April 29, 2022. The lecture featured Professor Greg Anderson from The Ohio State University.
Princeton Review: Best Colleges 2022
UC San Diego ranks fifth in Best Career Placement and sixth in Best Value Colleges for public school. “Humanities professors tend to be more accessible and more interested in their students as well as what they are teaching,” students say in the review, adding that the population of students in the humanities has been growing “rapidly” in recent years.
Broadway World: New Multi-Album Series WEATHER SYSTEMS to Begin Releases on May 20th
Islandia Music Records announces a new multi-album series from “supreme living virtuoso” percussionist Steven Schick (Music). The new series, called Weather Systems, is a set of recordings of the percussion music that has been most meaningful to Schick, which will span more than 100 years and feature a diverse set of composers.
Field: A Journal of Socially Engaged Art Criticism: Issue 21, Spring 2022
“For this issue of FIELD, Saba Zavarei has assembled a remarkable collection of contributors writing on a range of creative, curatorial and critical practices in contemporary Iran,” writes editor Grant Kester (Visual Arts).
KPBS: San Diego weekend arts events: ‘On the Move,’ ‘Bob Fosse’s Dancin’,’ Women in Jazz and more
Monday evening May 2, notable San Diego-based soprano Susan Narucki (Music) will perform the ambitious “Kafka Fragments” with Curtis Macomber on violin on Monday at the UC San Diego Conrad Prebys Concert Hall.
The UCSD Guardian: Dear Humanities Majors
“I guess what I am trying to say,” writes student Samantha Phan (Literature), “is that being a humanities major at a majority STEM school, at least in my experience, comes with a lot of doubt.”
Del Mar Times: Best Bets: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences
UC San Diego’s Gallery QI presents an opening for “#RetroColectiva” April 28. The collection of works by department chair Ricardo Dominguez (Visual Arts) will run through Thursday, June 23.
Bandcamp: The Best Contemporary Classical on Bandcamp: April 2022
Wilfrido Terrazas (Music), a member of the superb Mexico City ensemble Liminar, has enlisted an impressive cast of interpreters fluent in both notated and improvised music ... for his latest, “The Torres Cycle.”
The New York Times: ‘A Strange Loop’ Review: A Dazzling Ride on a Mental Merry-Go-Round
Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning meta musical arrives on Broadway with its uproarious dialogue, complex psychology and eclectic score intact. The cast includes alum John-Andrew Morrison MFA ‘99 (Theatre and Dance). Related: The New York Times
Aperture: The Elusive Gaze in Chanell Stone’s Self-Portraits
In her new photographs made in California and Mexico, [current graduate student Chanell] Stone (Visual Arts) embodies a practice of Black critical looking — and shows the power of seeing and being seen.
Exclaim: Pierre Kwenders Tells His Life Story Through Dance Music
Kwenders’ music features legendary Philadelphia DJ-producer King Britt (Music), connected through Shabazz Palaces’ Tendai Maraire.
The Reader: On the stage and the page with bassist Mark Dresser
“The spiritual loss from not performing was tough,” Mark Dresser (Music) said. “Performing is so central to my identity that I was questioning everything.”
UC San Diego News: UC San Diego Named Among Top 10 Public Universities in US by Center for World University Rankings
“As a leader among the world’s research universities, our talented faculty and scholars are consistently driving forward innovation and conducting breakthrough research in fields ranging from engineering to the arts,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Charles Mingus at 100: The legacy of the late jazz giant also looms large in rock, hip-hop, film and beyond
His music was so expansive and people could feel the intensity of it. He was one of the most talented and underestimated composers in the history of jazz,” said Anthony Davis (Music). He is now at work on a book about Mingus for Penguin/Random House.
University of Texas Press: Chicanx Utopias: Pop Culture and the Politics of the Possible
Exploring race, politics, Chicanx history, and social movements, this new book by Luis Alvarez (History) offers a broad and encompassing examination of Chicanx popular culture since World War II and the utopian visions it articulated.
The Guardian: Brazilian musician Arthur Verocai on his late-blossoming career: ‘I wanted to run away from myself’
A sold-out show in Los Angeles was billed under the name Timeless, and filmed for a DVD release directed by Brian Cross (Visual Arts). “To be there was very moving,” says Cross.
I Care if You Listen: ListN Up: Lisa Bielawa
“Bouchara” by Claude Vivier, performed by Susan Narucki (Music) and Asko|Schönberg Ensemble are included in this shortlist.
The UC San Diego Guardian: Behind the Tritons: Q&A with Triton Tide Co-Presidents Aliyah Ellis and William Kessinger
The UCSD Guardian sat down with Aliyah Ellis and current student William Kessinger (Theatre and Dance), co-presidents of Triton Tide.
Pacific San Diego: La Jolla Playhouse’s 2022 Without Walls Festival opens Thursday. Here’s your guide
In fall 2013, La Jolla Playhouse presented its very first Without Walls Festival, featuring site-specific theater pieces around the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theatre District at UC San Diego. Nearly a decade later, the WOW fest is still going strong. So strong that, beginning this week, it will transform from a biennial to an annual event.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: The Dish: An’s Gelato, Happy Does, Mikami Bar and Showa Ramen lead list of recent restaurant openings
Showa Hospitality has opened Showa Ramen in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood at UC San Diego.
The UC San Diego Guardian: Banning literature isn’t a new or clean-cut concept
Ultimately, the discussions around book banning both provide an opportunity for more visible conversation on literature around students. When it comes to UC San Diego, about 4.9% of the undergrad students on campus are Arts and Humanities majors.
The New York Times: Review: ‘For Colored Girls’ Returns, Leading With Joy
Amara Granderson MFA ’20 (Theatre and Dance) is starring in “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf” on Broadway. “If you’ve never thought of ‘For Colored Girls’ as a funny show, be prepared for Brown’s seven splendid performers to persuade you otherwise,” the Times writes.
UC San Diego News: UC San Diego’s Danks Appointed to National AI Advisory Committee
Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute and Dept. of Philosophy professor David Danks (Philosophy, Institute for Practical Ethics) has been invited to serve as a member of the NAIAC as an inaugural appointee. “AI is transforming modern society, and we need to ensure that AI works for the benefit of all, not only the few. The NAIAC provides an opportunity to help guide the ways that AI is impacting our lives,” said Danks ‘01, a Ph.D. alumni of the department.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Brings “The Tradition” to Campus
Jericho Brown to visit UC San Diego for reading and Q&A, co-presented by the Humanities Program and the Department of Literature’s New Writing Series.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: A Concert Celebration (slideshow)
The School of Arts and Humanities recently hosted “Still We Rise,” a concert in the Department of Music celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Lytle Scholarship and the establishment of the Cecil Lytle Endowed Chair in African and African American Music. The concert featured music and poetry from the African American experience.
Association for Practical and Professional Ethics: 26th annual APPE International Ethics Bowl
Congratulations to the UC San Diego Ethics Bowl team on their quarterfinal finish in this year’s national competition, held Feb. 26-27. Listed coaches include Philosophy faculty member Samuel Rickless and graduate students Karina Ortiz Villa, Aaron Chipp-Miller and Sam Ridge. Team members include Sarah Kang, Alexandra Michael, Rishabh Raj, Maximilian Zekowski and Eva Zhuang.
Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) Sound: ‘Roger Reynolds: Violin Works’
Showcasing composer Roger Reynolds’ (Music) omnivorous curiosity, “Roger Reynolds: Violin Works” comprises three violin concertos written over a 15-year span. A Pulitzer Prize winner who pioneered sound spatialization, intermedia, and algorithmic concepts, Reynolds documents his evolving exploration of the voice, character, and circumstance through the inimitable violin.
Guapamacátaro Art & Ecology: Residencies
Dino Dinco (Visual Arts) is the interim residency director for the Guapamacátaro Center for Art & Ecology, located on a centuries-old hacienda in rural Michoacán, México. Proposals are currently being accepted for the Artist in Residency Summer 2022 Session, deadline to apply: April 23, 2022.
Toronto Star: An unlikely Christopher Hitchens revival forces a question: Whatever happened to the contrarian Left? (opinion)
“Christopher Hitchens is back in the spotlight. Is his brand of contrarian progressivism a welcome alternative to a Twitter-fixated, deplatforming Left?,” Andy Lamey (Philosophy) addresses in this piece.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Rebecca Jade gearing up for San Diego Music Awards performance (she has five nominations) and new album
“Rebecca is that rare intersection of intellect, talent, consistency and a very good nature,” said saxophonist and keyboardist Kamau Kenyatta (Music).
Author Meets Physics: Eddy Keming Chen on Time’s Arrow in Quantum Mechanics (video)
In this fourth episode of the series, Eddy Keming Chen (Philosophy) talks with Dave Baker about his work.
Eater San Diego: Himitsu Sushi Team Brings Ramen and Rice Bowls to UCSD
Showa Ramen opens in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood, below the Arts and Humanities Building. Related: La Jolla.com
The Coronado Times: Historic Film Screening at Village Theatre April 13
“The Dragon Painter” film was inducted into the prestigious National Film Registry in 2014, nominated by Daisuke Miyao (Literature). Miyao, who will provide Q&A at the VIP post-reception, is Hajime Mori Chair in Japanese Language and Literature at UC San Diego.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Newly Admitted Black Students Welcomed to Triton Family
Black Diaspora and African American Studies Program director Thandeka Chapman joined to share opportunities, like the launch of the new major that is enrolling students beginning in fall 2022. One of the overarching goals of the new degree, housed within the Institute of Arts and Humanities, is to help students understand the critical spaces Black people hold in society culturally, politically, economically and socially.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Meet the 2022 Alumni Award Honorees
A seven-time Tony Award nominee, Danny Burstein MFA ‘90 (Theatre and Dance), received the 2020 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. An advocate for the theatrical arts, he continues to support the UC San Diego performing arts community. “UC San Diego influenced my work in the fact that they allowed me to think outside the box, to be freer with my work, to not be afraid to take chances, which is always hard for a young actor,” he said.
UC San Diego: 2021 Chancellor’s Medalist: Patricia and Christopher Weil (video)
For 25 years, Patricia and Christopher Weil have been advocates for UC San Diego, supporting community partnerships, arts and humanities, and education and scholarships. Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta speaks in this congratulatory video, honoring the two Advisory Council members.
UC San Diego: 2021 Chancellor’s Medalist: Phyllis and Dan Epstein (video)
Phyllis and Dan Epstein have dedicated over 25 years of tireless service to UC San Diego as volunteers and campus advocates. An Arts and Humanities Advisory Council member, Phyllis Epstein in a strong advocate for the arts on campus, Dean Cristina Della Coletta explains.
UC San Diego News: Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla Honored by VAPA Foundation for Supporting the Arts in Local Schools
The VAPA Foundation was established in 2017 to enhance the quality of and access to arts education in San Diego Unified School District. Managed by the Arts and Humanities Arts and Community Engagement initiative under Susan Narucki (Music), VAPA outreach included field trips to campus to learn from our leading faculty members. Phyllis Epstein, Advisory Council member, co-chaired the VAPA Foundation benefit event April 10.
This Week @ UC San Diego: Kyoto Prize Laureates and Scholars Recognized in Hybrid Gala
On March 30, the 21st annual Kyoto Prize Symposium acknowledged this year’s distinguished Kyoto Prize laureates and scholars in an innovative hybrid gala. The Arts & Philosophy laureate, Bruno Latour, was hosted by the Institute for Practical Ethics, with remarks from Arts and Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta and a moderated discussion by John H. Evans.
University of Chicago Press: “Democratic Swarms: Ancient Comedy and the Politics of the People”
With “Democratic Swarms,” Page duBois (Literature) revisits the role of Greek comedy in ancient politics, considering how it has been overlooked as a political medium by modern theorists and critics. Moving beyond the popular readings of ancient Greece through the lens of tragedy, she calls for a revitalized look at Greek comedy.
Associated Press: NY Philharmonic back at Geffen Hall Oct 7 after renovation
Van Zweden will lead a pair of free one-hour concerts on Oct. 8, followed by the first four subscription concerts from Oct. 12-18 featuring the world premiere of Marcos Balter’s (Music) “Oyá” for light, electronics and orchestra. Related: The New York Times
The Renegade Rip: Manuel Vargas and his journey after BC
Following up the fourth Jess Nieto conference event, UC San Diego faculty member Manuel Vargas (Philosophy) spoke at the second session conference on March 29.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Alicia Keys, Andra Day, Joseph Lorge and Saweetie are this year’s Grammy nominees with San Diego ties
Here are Grammy-winners born elsewhere who moved here as kids or adults, including UC San Diego faculty members Susan Narucki (Music) and Kamau Kenyatta (Music).
La Jolla Light: Best Bets: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences
The UC San Diego Department of Visual Arts presents a guest lecture with Carolina Caycedo at 1 p.m. Friday, April 8, online.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego’s Italian community mourns the loss of arts leader Victor Laruccia
After joining the Marines for a stint, Victor Laruccia Ph.D. ‘75 (Literature) attended UC San Diego and was part of the first graduating class in 1966. He went on to receive his master’s and a doctorate in comparative literature.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: In Art of Elan’s ‘With Care,’ a marriage of music and dance
The program, created by Bobbi Jene Smith with Keir GoGwilt Ph.D. ‘21 (Music), is centered around dynamics created when illness shuts a person down and another is tending to them.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: In Tune With The Community
Led by San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare and Festival Curator Steven Schick (Music), the Symphony’s 2021 “To The Earth” festival consisted of three performances exploring light, water and life.
Los Angeles Times: How painter Yolanda López gave the Virgin of Guadalupe a feminist tweak
Works from Yolanda López’s MFA ‘79 (Visual Arts) 1978 “Guadalupe” series show her grandmother, left, her mother and herself with elements of the Virgin of Guadalupe’s iconography.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego’s Visual and Performing Arts Foundation is bringing creativity — and so much more — to classrooms
“People are going to see very impressive performances and art. We have the most amazing jazz bands. You close your eyes, and you’ll think you’re in jazz club,” said Phyllis Epstein, a VAPA board member, a longtime arts supporter and volunteer, and co-chair of the gala. Epstein is an Arts and Humanities Advisory Council member.
Carnegie Hall: Carl Craig: Sonic Explorer
“Imagination, possibility, and resilience have always been at the core of the survival of Black people,” writes King Britt (Music) for Carnegie Hall for a series. Related: “Chimurenga Renaissance: Sonic Translators of an Ancient Tradition”
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: UC San Diego Chancellor Khosla Attends a Musical Celebration of Dance, Identity and Culture
“Bhangin’ It: A Bangin’ New Musical” showcases Triton talent — including scenic designer Robert Brill (Theatre and Dance) and multiple MFA students and alumni — at the La Jolla Playhouse through April 17.
UC San Diego photo slideshow: 2022 Triton Day
Staff from the Institute of Arts and Humanities programs support student recruitment in the first in-person Triton Day in years.
Arts and Humanities Events: The Vibrant Being: Luis Valdez in Conversation with Dr. Jorge Huerta (video)
This conversation recorded April 7, moderated by Jade Power-Sotomayor (Theatre and Dance), celebrates the 2021 publication of Luis Valdez’s book “Theatre of the Sphere: The Vibrant Being.” Valdez is in conversation with Professor Emeritus Dr. Jorge Huerta (Theatre and Dance), who has written extensively about El Teatro Campesino’s legacy and Chicanx and Latinx theater history. Cosponsors include Theatre and Dance, and the Chicanx and Latinx Studies Program of the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: UC San Diego theater professor directs one of four works in annual San Diego REP Black Voices Reading Series
Stephen Buescher (Theatre and Dance) is a professor and the director of “Homeridae” by Alexandra Espinoza, one of four featured works part of the San Diego REP Black Voices 2022 Play Reading Series.
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science: The BJPS Popper Prize 2021
The winner of the BJPS Popper Prize for 2021 is Eddy Keming Chen (Philosophy) for his research “Quantum Mechanics in a Time-Asymmetric Universe: On the Nature of the Initial Quantum State.” Related: BJPS Short Read, Daily Nous
The Sound Barrier: Louis Andriessen writes to Vermeer
The main part of Catharina was composed for American soprano, Susan Narucki (Music), who performs the beautifully lyrical lines of Catharina with her characteristic blend of deep musicality and strong psychological conviction. Narucki talks about the work at the beginning of this edition of The Sound Barrier, broadcast on PBS 106.7.
Literary Hub: “Every hut in our beloved country is on the edge.” Contemporary Ukrainian Poetry by Boris Khersonsky
Amelia Glaser (Literature) continues her translation work of Ukrainian poets for Literary Hub. “History is inseparable from the present,” Glaser and fellow translator Yuliya Ilchuk write. Related: Literary Hub (listing)
Bandcamp: ‘The Torres Cycle’
A new album featuring seven compositions by Wilfrido Terrazas (Music) includes 22 musicians - many faculty members and graduate students from the department. The album was recorded by staff recording engineer Andrew Munsey (Music) and features liner notes by Amy Cimini (Music).
Daily Press: History shows economic warfare can accelerate, rather than end, a conflict like Ukraine’s
Edward Watts’ (History) essay from Zocalo Public Square was reprinted, showing that sanctions and other tools of economic warfare can accelerate rather than conclude a war. Related: Bangkok Post.
The New York Times: The Philharmonic Plans Its Return to Geffen Hall, With Fanfare
The New York Philharmonic announced its 2022-23 season, which will include the world premiere of “Oyá,” a work for light, electronics and orchestra by the Brazilian composer Marcos Balter (Music).
The Writer’s Chronicle: A conversation with Kazim Ali (no link available)
Kazim Ali (Literature) is the featured cover story for The Writer’s Chronicle. Related: Lambda Literary: 34th Annual Lambda Literary Awards - Finalists
Oxford University Press: The Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology
Publishing May 14 and edited by Manuel Vargas (Philosophy) and John Doris, the book contains 50 original essays written by leading figures in both philosophy and psychology including: “The Nature and Significance of Blame” by David Brink (Philosophy) and Dana Kay Nelkin (Philosophy), “Situationism, Moral Improvement, and Moral Responsibility” by Maria Waggoner, John Doris and Manuel Vargas (Philosophy), and “Love and the Anatomy of Needing Another” by Monique Wonderly (Philosophy).
Times of San Diego: Legendary Director Sam Woodhouse to Retire from San Diego REP After 46 Years
Plays written by Allan Havis (Theatre and Dance) were part of a memory board for Woodhouse.
KPBS: 5 works of art to see in San Diego in April
Yolanda Lopéz’s [MFA ‘79 (Visual Arts)] “Three Generations: Tres Mujeres” is on view at MCASD’s downtown location through Apr. 24, 2022.
San Diego Community Newspaper Group: Kyoto Prize laureates to share stories of life and innovation
Symposium’s events co-hosted by UC San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene will feature global award winners discussing technology, science, and philosophy. “Today, with trust in science at a low point, [laureate Bruno] Latour’s deeper understanding of the scientific enterprise offers a way forward,” said John H. Evans, co-director of the Institute for Practical Ethics.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Symphony receives a combined $2 million in gifts from local philanthropists
Sheri Jamieson founded and served as president of the UC San Diego art gallery board and created the Dean’s Advisory Council of Arts and Humanities with dean Frantisek Deak (Theatre and Dance) in 1995.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Post-incarceration, the Underground Scholars program helped me reclaim my own narrative (opinion)
It’s allowed me to do more than just feel bad about my past. We are plenty more than a collection of redemption stories, writes current student Aidan Tojino (Literature).
The New Yorker: Faith Ringgold’s “Jazz Stories: Somebody Stole My Broken Heart”
The artist, professor emeriti Faith Ringgold (Visual Arts), talks about teaching and her advice for young artists.
Oregon Artswatch: ‘The Central Park Five’: Art as a tool for justice
Anthony Davis’ (Music) shattering work at Portland Opera opens deep and disturbing questions about race and policing in the United States. Related: Oregon Artswatch, Oregon Artswatch, Classical Voice America
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: Triton Women Leaders Share Four Secrets to Success
Currently chief operating officer for the Department of Music, Barbara Jackson (Music) set a vigorous pace to her professional growth, spending only three to five years in each position before tackling the next challenge. Over the past 30 years at UC San Diego, she has managed business operations for the departments of Music and Cognitive Science, Department of Pathology contracts and grants and Student Affairs outreach programs.
ThisWeek @ UC San Diego: UC San Diego Honors the Life and Legacy of César Chávez
“Whenever I teach my classes on the history of Luis Valdez or El Teatro Campesino, you can’t begin without starting with César Chávez. But, it’s also important to understand all the other people who fought for farmworkers’ rights, such as the Filipino community. It was just that radical inclusivity of different people with the same cause working towards equity and social justice that for me is truly inspiring,” says Robert Castro (Theatre and Dance, Chicanx and Latinx Studies Program).
Campus Notice: Renaming of Campus Academic Units
The UC Office of the President has approved our proposal to rename the four discipline-based academic divisions as schools, making consistent that units titled as “Schools” denote discipline-based major academic units on our campus. The four existing academic divisions will be retitled, including the School of Arts and Humanities. No curricular, organizational, programmatic or financial changes will be made.
Dept. of Music: MUSIC 174B Winter ‘22 Final Projects
“This playlist is compilation of my amazing students’ final projects,” writes King Britt (Music). “It was truly an honor working with these amazing students.”
NPR: 10 books to read about Ukraine
"Jews and Ukrainians in Russia's Literary Borderlands: From the Shtetl Fair to the Petersburg Bookshop" by Amelia Glaser (Literature) is included: "Glaser's study seeks to show that Eastern European literature was much more than just a single language and culture."
Zocalo Public Square: How Economic Warfare Backfired in Rome
"Attacks on a state’s economy can inflict immense damage, but sanctions and other tools of economic warfare are unlikely to defeat a superior military power," writes Edward Watts (History). Related: San Francisco Chronicle
Ocula: Danielle Dean: From Fordlândia to Amazon Inc.
With a practice that looks into the impact of advertising on the body and mind, British-American artist Danielle Dean (Visual Arts) —whose works span video, painting, and installation — is not unfamiliar with the media's tactics of persuasion.
Omaha World-Herald: Musical story of Malcolm X will open Opera Omaha season this fall
When Opera Omaha General Manager Roger Weitz learned about a new production of “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” by noted composer Anthony Davis (Music), he knew what he had to do. Related: Portland Tribune
Barcelona Science Plan: Hypatia European Science Prize
Nancy Cartwright (Philosophy) has been selected as winner of the third Hypatia Prize for her outstanding contributions to philosophical research. This edition rewards the trajectory and impact of the research carried out in the field of humanities and social sciences.
The New Yorker: Music Fills the Rothko Chapel
Rothenberg assembled a brilliant group of performers for the première. The violist was the searingly expressive Kim Kashkashian, perhaps the finest living exponent of her instrument. This could also be said of Steven Schick (Music), who played percussion.
Artforum: Artadia Reveals 2022 Los Angeles Awardees
The California-based washington-queen MFA '20 (Visual Arts), whose work across photography, film, and video explores Blackness, knowledge production, and systems of power, was selected as the Marciano Art Foundation Artadia Awardee and will receive $25,000 in unrestricted funds.
Vernon Press: "The Hamilton Phenomenon"
Ph.D. student Kristin Leadbetter (Theatre and Dance) contributed the chapter "Hamilton, An American (Psycho) Musical: Illusion and Identity in Two American Musicals."
Playbill: Daniel Fish's Reimagining of 'The Most Happy Fella' Will Be Part of 2022 Williamstown Theatre Festival Season
New plays by Anna Ouyang Moench MFA '18 (Theatre and Dance) and Harrison David Rivers will also be part of the summer season.
La Jolla Light: La Jolla producer bets on new film spotlighting autism ‘to touch people’s hearts and minds’
The movie has another San Diego connection: Bass guitarist, composer and multiple Grammy Award nominee Nathan East ‘18 (Music) composed an original song for the movie with Tom Keane called “If You Believe.”
Beloit Daily News: Music Mosaics series features woodwind trio
The Vent Faculty Woodwind Trio will perform a wide variety of music from J.S. Bach to Chinese-born American composer, Lei Liang (Music).
Toronto Star: Good art, terrible people: Is it immoral to enjoy the work of immoral artists?
Do you boycott the work of artists such as Bill Cosby, Woody Allen and Louis C.K. whose personal lives you find repugnant, or does their work stand alone? The answer, writes Andy Lamey (Philosophy), is complicated.
Reverb: King Britt on the Gear of Blacktronika History
For the last three decades and some change, Philadelphia-born DJ, producer, and educator, King Britt (Music) has been at the forefront of the many revolutions and catalytic movements that have shaped the tenor of electronic music. Related: The Wire
UC San Diego News: UC San Diego Student Catches Eye of White House
Alec J. Calac, a current Institute for Practical Ethics Ph.D. Fellow, will participate in the Biden Administration’s Health Equity Leaders Roundtable Series.
Kaleidoscoped: Muscle Memory
The Winter 2022 issue of Kaleidoscoped is now available. Kaleidoscoped is a new, online publication created by MFA Writing students in the Department of Literature. Featuring visual, literary, and multimedia pieces from twenty contributors, the issue is made up of experimental work across all genres, each its own refraction of the theme “Muscle Memory.”
Institute for Practical Ethics: Practical Ethics Quarterly
Winter 2022 research and news from the Institute for Practical Ethics, including a look at the recent publication “Rule by automation: How automated decision systems promote freedom and equality.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Hearing James Brown play live sparked my career in music
To close Black History Month, King Britt (Music) pens this essay for the series “A Defining Moment,” where The Inquirer asked six Philadelphians to reflect on a moment in Black history that shaped them, their hopes for the future, and how we get there. “My path shifted in 2019 when I became a professor,” Britt writes. “I created the course ‘Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music’ that celebrates the innovators of color that advanced electronic music to where it is today. Many of these stories were fading into nothingness. My mission is to enlighten and show young people where these sounds come from.”
The Whole Note: “Zephyr” - Steph Richards (review)
“Dedicated to exploring an instrument’s every niche and extended technique is Canadian-in-California trumpeter/flugelhornist Steph Richards (Music),” this review opens. “No matter how experimental the brass-keyboard duets appear to be, during the set of Sequoia tunes and elsewhere, a feeling of joyous balance remains.”
Broadway World: Cast Announced For “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf”
Full casting has been announced for the Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking play. Alum Amara Granderson MFA ‘20 (Theatre and Dance) is Lady in Orange, and performances begin April 1.
Moral Philosophy and Politics: Rule by automation: How automated decision systems promote freedom and equality
Former Institute for Practical Ethics postdoctoral scholars Jacob Sparks and Athmeya Jayaram publish new research, which was workshopped at the institute. The authors thank the Institute for Practical Ethics for its support.
UC San Diego News: New Faculty Bridge Black Studies and STEM
The vision to grow interdisciplinary study opportunities at the intersection of race and STEM began with a $500K grant in 2020 through the University of California’s Advancing Faculty Diversity Program. The new cohort of faculty members are advancing research on communities of color, diversifying course offerings through the African American Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities, and providing valuable mentorship for UC San Diego students.
Arts and Humanities Events: Yolanda López: A Studio of One’s Own - A Panel in Celebration of a UCSD MFA Alumx (video)
“Yolanda López: A Studio of One’s Own” celebrated one of the most important Chicano/a/x artists and activists who worked in California over the past five decades, with a special focus on the art produced during López’s MFA ‘79 (Visual Arts) time as a student in the department.
Arts and Humanities Events: Alexandre O. Philippe - Memory: Ridley Scott’s Alien and Mythology (video)
Three-time Sundance Film Festival alum Alexandre O. Philippe, Denise Demetriou (History), and Daisuke Miyao (Literature) explore the cultural resonance and perennial nature of Alien’s archetypal monster and discuss Alexandre’s filmmaking process. This event was co-sponsored by the Film Studies Program and Center for Hellenic Studies in the Institute of Arts and Humanities.
Arts and Humanities Events: Japanese Studies Program Alumni Perspectives 2022 (video)
The Japanese Studies Program in the Institute of Arts and Humanities hosted their annual Alumni Perspectives event on Feb. 11. Five alumni share their inspiring success stories and how Japanese Studies has influenced their current lives.
Department of Visual Arts: The winner of the 2022 David Antin Prize is MFA candidate Isidro Pérez García
“Isidro Pérez García’s gestures unbrick the border walls of 500 plus years of colonialist authoritarian temporality, with its binding of Ixachilan to the death march of the repeating settler Future and History without end,” said department chair Ricardo Dominguez (Visual Arts), announcing MFA student Pérez García (Visual Arts) as the prize winner at this year’s Open Studios.
American Academy of Arts and Letters: 2022 Music Award Winner
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced the 18 recipients of this year’s awards in music, including Marcos Balter (Music). Congratulations to Balter, and the awards will be presented at the Academy’s Ceremonial on May 18. Related: BMI
Literary Hub: “February. Get the ink and weep.” Contemporary Poetry From Ukraine
Three Poems by Iya Kiva, translated by Amelia Glaser (Literature) and Yuliya Ilchuk. “For the last eight years, Kiva has been one of several young poets in Ukraine to describe the simultaneous hopelessness of war and hope in a country seeking an independent identity,” Glaser writes.
Billboard: Detroit Icon Carl Craig Announces Black History Month Event Series
Detroit electronic music icon Carl Craig announced that he will celebrate Black History Month with a series of virtual conversations and performances. Each week, Craig will take part in a conversation with thought leaders from the electronic music world including professor, DJ and composer King Britt (Music). Related: EDM Identity, Magnetic Magazine, Vents, Resident Advisor, Beatport (video interview from Feb. 17).
The San Diego Union-Tribune: At new library exhibit, images are louder than words
Former Ph.D. student Sara Solaimani (Visual Arts) never envisioned “Occupy Thirdspace” as becoming something that would continue past its inaugural exhibition in 2014. A curator and graduate student at the time, Solaimani’s aim was to create and “feed into” the “double-learning between the UCSD Visual Arts Department and important artists in and from Baja California Norte.” Veteran artists in the exhibition include David Avalos MFA ‘93 (Visual Arts), Elizabeth Sisco ‘78, MFA ‘81 (Visual Arts) and Professor Emeritus Louis Hock (Visual Arts), all of whom worked in the Taller de Arte Fronterizo. Additional artists that are connected to the division include Omar Pimienta ‘10 (Visual Arts), Ph.D. ‘19 (Literature); and MFA student Melissa Cisneros (Theatre and Dance).
The New York Times: An Actor Who Cedes the Spotlight While Quietly Commanding It
Daniel K. Isaac, a theater actor with a steady gig on the series “Billions,” is appearing at the Public in Lloyd Suh’s play “The Chinese Lady.” Isaac ‘09 (Theatre and Dance) received his bachelor’s degree at UC San Diego, and was guest speaker at the department’s commencement in 2021.
Bioethics: “The ethical gene”
In this paper, Reuven Brandt (Philosophy, Institute for Practical Ethics) argues that current law and policy governing germline genetic modification are overly broad and in fact prohibit medical interventions normally considered unobjectionable.
Del Mar Sandpiper: Music Mentor: Roger Reynolds
In a career spanning over 60 years and counting, composer (and long-time Del Mar resident) Roger Reynolds (Music) has created a body of work known for its immediacy, intensity, and intricacy.
FIELD: A Journal of Socially Engaged Art Criticism: Issue 20
The Winter 2022 issue includes two essays that analyze the complex processes of street-based and performative protests, waged against authoritarian regimes, writes editor Grant Kester (Visual Arts). The issue also includes a detailed examination of Tre Titoli, an essay that explores a set of innovative, disability arts practices developed in London and Minnesota, and three reviews of recent books that explore various facets of contemporary cultural politics.
KPBS: San Diego weekend arts events: book art, Black joy, double bass and the Brothers Grimm
The on-campus Open Studios event is back Feb. 26 for UC San Diego’s Visual Arts MFA students.
The New York Times: Review: At Rothko Chapel, a Composer Is Haunted by a Hero
“The sensitive percussionist Steven Schick (Music) played the opening shimmer of bells with even profounder quiet, and there were more flickers in Kashkashian’s tone,” writes Zachary Woolfe.
The UCSD Guardian: Two UCSD Faculty Resigns from Critical Gender Studies Executive Committee
Two UC San Diego faculty members, assistant professor Dr. Shaista Patel and associate professor Dr. Wendy Matsumura (History), have resigned from UCSD’s Critical Gender Studies Program’s Executive Committee. Related: Kashmir Scholars Consultative and Action Network
The Triton: UCSD Prepares for Delayed Class of 2020 In-Person Graduation
Adarsh Parthasarathy ‘20 (History) and fellow graduate Kaylee Bashor were both heavily involved in advocating for a postponed commencement ceremony for the Class of 2020.
Opera Wire: Portland Opera to Present Anthony Davis & Richard Wesley’s ‘The Central Park Five’
The opera, composed by Anthony Davis (Music) to a libretto by Richard Wesley, will open March 18. Related: Broadway World
The Detroit News: Creators of Malcolm X opera say production pays tribute to ‘a tragic hero’
“Malcolm is a tragic hero and ... what he went through to arrive at his revelations is, I think, a story people can really identify with,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis (Music).
The Library: UC San Diego Library Gifted $10 Million from Foundation Trustee and Alumna Sally T. WongAvery
University of California San Diego alumna and UC San Diego Foundation trustee Sally T. WongAvery ‘75 (Philosophy) is donating $10 million through the Avery-Tsui Foundation to support East Asian collections, research and scholarly activities at the UC San Diego Library. The gift, which establishes the Sally T. WongAvery Fund for East Asian Collections and the Natasha Wong Endowment for East Asian Collections, will ensure that East Asian scholarship and collections are a key part of the UC San Diego Library in perpetuity.
Campus Notice: CONSTRUCTION ALERT – Revised Dates – Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Studio Facility
From March 23 through March 25, the walking path west of the Dance Studio, through the grove, will be closed.
NBC News: If history is any judge, this could be the last of Kamila Valieva on an Olympic stage
“Within the world of figure skating [in Russia] it is incredibly competitive,” said Robert Edelman (History).
Opera Wire: Susan Narucki to Record Rare Art Songs Album ‘This Island’
Soprano Susan Narucki (Music) announced her plans to record and perform “This Island’ an album comprised of a collection of rare art songs.
American Philosophical Society: Patrick Suppes Prize
Congratulations to Craig Callender (Philosophy, Institute for Practical Ethics) for the Philosophy of Science award in recognition of his book “What Makes Time Special?”
La Jolla Light: Best Bets: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences
The UC San Diego Visual Arts department presents “Yolanda López: A Studio of One’s Own” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, online.
ListN Up: Leilehua Lanzilotti (January 28, 2022)
“The first time I met King Britt (Music), he shared this work with me: a Transmissions episode based on field recordings from a trip to Hawaiʻi. Now based on the West Coast as a professor at UC San Diego, Britt is the creator of the incredible Blacktronika course there,” said Leilehua Lanzilotti.
Monterey County Weekly: Four women artists set out to bond with local homeless women. The results of their unusual, uneasy meeting – of two worlds that rarely converge – is now on exhibit.
“The hope is to open a portal for empathy,” Melissa Smedley MFA ‘93 (Visual Arts) said.
Bandcamp: The Best Experimental Music on Bandcamp: January 2022
“From track to track, Necking — a trio formed in Brooklyn in 2004 and currently based in San Diego — can sound like several completely different bands. And yet there’s a current that runs throughout ‘Final Embers of Sunlight’ that makes it more like a flowing river than a bumpy ride.” Necking consists of staff member and alum Nick Lesley ‘01 (Visual Arts), Amy Cimini (Music) and alum Scott Nielsen ‘07 (Theatre and Dance). The album was recorded and mixed by staff member Andrew Munsey (Music).
The Current: Episode 192: A Life in Music with Kartik Seshadri
Kartik Seshadri (Music) discusses: learning the sitar and performing at a young age, the basics of Indian classical music, his career touring the globe and teaching music at UC San Diego.
Oxford University Press: The Oxford Handbook of Berkeley
Edited by Samuel Rickless (Philosophy), the newly published Oxford Handbook includes new essays, places Berkeley’s philosophy in historical context and provides a comprehensive account of Berkeley’s philosophy.
UC San Diego News: Pepper Canyon West Housing Construction to Start This Summer
The university has selected artists to create a new, 10,000-square-foot mural planned for the exterior of the Visual Arts Facility facing the Epstein Family Amphitheater. The work was developed with the guidance of a committee comprised of Department of Visual Arts faculty and representatives of the campus community, and brings together artists from a wide range of backgrounds with alum Oscar Magallanes MFA ‘21 (Visual Arts) and 3B Collective featured on one of the buildings, and Reinhart Selvik ‘13 (Visual Arts) as a project coordinator as well as one of the artists.
Campus Notice: CONSTRUCTION ALERT – Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Studio Facility
From March 2, 2022 through March 4, 2022 work will occur between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day. The walking path west of the Dance Studio, through the grove, will be closed.
Campus Notice: CONSTRUCTION ALERT – Mandeville Art Gallery Renovation – Start of Construction
The project will impact the Mandeville Art Gallery, mechanical room B100 below the gallery and restrooms 105 & 107 located behind the elevator in the Mandeville Center. Construction will begin on February 17, 2022 and will be completed at the end of December 2022.
University of California Television: Finding the Inspiration Behind “Tattooed Trucks of Nepal”
Former lecturer Ron Ranson (Theatre and Dance), who taught design and painting for the stage, turned his fascination with this colorful art form into the documentary “Tattooed Trucks of Nepal – Horn Please!” now playing on UCTV.
London News Online: EXHIBITION: Danielle Dean’s Amazon exploring the changing nature of human labour
Danielle Dean’s (Visual Arts) “Amazon” explores the changing nature of human labor, examining practices of production, data extraction and commercial advertising. The video installation is set to open Feb. 5 at Tate Britain. Related: The Guardian, Dazed, FAD magazine, SheerLuxe
USA Today: Lunar New Year 2022: What does the holiday and the Year of the Tiger represent?
“The tiger is commonly associated with something like bravery, courage and strength,” said Eddy Keming Chen (Philosophy, Chinese Studies Program). He said Lunar New Year was a time for families to gather, celebrating with grand feasts. Related: Xinhua
The Washington Post: 22 for ‘22: Composers and performers to watch this year
Nominator Nadia Sirota describes the San Diego-based Marcos Balter (Music) as a composer with an “uncanny ear for timbre and [who] makes music that really doesn’t sound like anyone else’s.”
ARTnews: Foundation for Contemporary Arts’s $45,000 Grants Go to Eve Fowler, Raven Chacon, and More
The New York–based nonprofit Foundation for Contemporary Arts named the 20 artists honored with unrestricted grants in 2022. The visual artists honored this grant cycle include interdisciplinary artist Matt Savitsky MFA ‘15 (Visual Arts).
ArtNet: Here Are the 63 Artists and Collectives Participating in the Closely Watched 2022 Edition of the Whitney Biennial
The 63-strong list of artists and collectives chosen includes Danielle Dean (Visual Arts) and alum Rayyane Tabet MFA ‘12 (Visual Arts). Related: Hyperallergic, ArtNews, Artforum, Finestre sull’Arte
MixCloud: Dada Strain Radio with Piotr Orlov - Electronic Improvisation (special guest: King Britt)
Episode 4 features a conversation with the Philadelphia-born and bred producer, DJ and futurist King Britt (Music), now a professor of “Blacktronica” at UC San Diego.
Poetry School: Review – The Voice of Sheila Chandra by Kazim Ali
Kazim Ali’s (Literature) body of work revitalises how we, as readers, perceive history, narrative, and the lyric.
KPBS: San Diego weekend arts events: Brendan Nguyen, San Diego Symphony, Andrés Hernández and more
Brendan Nguyen DMA ‘16 (Music) is one of the cofounders of Project [BLANK], a local performance ensemble and organization. He’s also an accomplished pianist, and will kick off their 2022 season with an interesting series of works for solo piano. Related: The San Diego Union-Tribune
Ebony: Afrofuturism Comes to Carnegie Hall with New Citywide Festival
Carnegie Hall’s programming team identified five top tier experts to assist in the curation of the festival, including King Britt (Music). Related: Broadway World
Pitchfork: Pierre Kwenders Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song “Papa Wemba”
José Louis and the Paradox of Love features Win Butler, Anaiis, King Britt (Music), Ngabo, Sônge, and others
New York Times: Mahershala Ali Finally Gets the Leading Role He Deserves
Current MFA graduate student Chanell Stone (Visual Arts) has their photography work included in the times.
Yale University Press: ‘My Barbarian’
The first monographic publication on the art collective My Barbarian (Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segade (Visual Arts)) offers new insights into the work of this singular group of performers.
Division of Arts and Humanities: Moments newsletter
- Staff Spotlight: Jessica Greenlaw (Visual Arts), student affairs manager
- Investigating the Arrow of Time: Eddy Keming Chen (Philosophy) to investigate time in ambitious, three-year interdisciplinary research project
- Division awards new Inclusive Excellence programs: “Moving (in) the World: Performing and Theorizing Social Change,” submitted by Julie Burelle (Theatre and Dance) and “Building a Diversity Library: Faculty Research and Staff Networking,” submitted by Anthony King (Office of the Dean).
- History of Writing, Ekphrasis: In fall quarter 2021, Amy Sara Carroll (Literature) focused her “History of Writing” course on ekphrasis, traditionally referring to a summoning and summing up of artwork or visual phenomena through words.
Triton magazine: Secrets of the Craft
As student interest climbed for arts and crafts on campus, a variety of classes in the former Craft Center were offered, from neon sign making to home brewing with future master brewer Yuseff Cherney ‘92 (Philosophy).
UC San Diego News: With a $50 Million Gift, USC and UC San Diego Join Forces in Alzheimer’s Research
Recently, the Epstein Family Amphitheater was named in honor of a $10 million gift from Daniel and Phyllis Epstein, and they have established endowed faculty fellowships and chairs at the Rady School of Management, in addition to supporting the School of Global Policy and Strategy, Arts and Humanities, student scholarships and more. Phyllis Epstein serves on the Division of Arts and Humanities Advisory Council.
Los Angeles Times: The faces and facets of classical music’s year of emergence
Equally important, the year gave a major lift to three senior Black composers — George Lewis, Anthony Davis (Music) and Wadada Leo Smith — who have been among the most profound, progressive, challenging and influential American voices for decades but given far too little due by the establishment, writes Mark Swed.
Courier Journal: ‘What day is it?’: Experts explain why time has been at ‘standstill’ since 2020
Imagine that each tick of the clock is an event that happens in your week, Craig Callender (Philosophy) said. If not much is happening, it’s easy to believe that time is passing very slowly. During the first year of the pandemic, many people said every day felt the same. Callender referred to this as a “Blursday” phenomenon, meaning it was difficult to distinguish the beginning, middle and end of a week when everything felt the same.
Forbes: Research Project Will Study How AI Can Be Used In Creative Collaboration
Could an AI be part of a jazz performance in a similar way? Researcher Schlomo Dubnov (Music) says that such an AI “needs to be able to analyze what’s happening and decide when it’s going to improvise with its human partners and when it’s going to improvise on its own. It needs agency.”
Houston Chronicle: Houston-bound Davóne Tines challenges opera conventions with themes of race, sexuality
Later this spring, Tines will sing the title role in Anthony Davis’ (Music) “The Life and Times of Malcolm X” for Michigan Opera Theatre, where he’s serving as artist in residence this season.
Broadway World: If You’re Dreaming of Live Opera, Here Are Some to Think About This Spring
City Opera has another opera planned for the season: “The Central Park Five,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Anthony Davis (Music) and Richard Wesley.
Triton magazine: Winter 2022 Issue
- Tunnel Vision: Exploring the legendary allure of our campus utility tunnels with alum Barbara Denz ‘69 (Literature) and others
- TRITON 5: Erik Jepsen ‘10 (History) shares his perspective as the UC San Diego campus photographer.
- On the Inside: Alumni President Kimberley Philips Boehm ‘82, Ph.D. (History) encourages alumni to act together to ensure the success of the university and all Tritons.
- A legendary reporter looks back: The San Diego roots of investigative journalist Lowell Bergman, a graduate doctoral fellow studying under Professor Herbert Marcuse (Philosophy).
- Destination, UC San Diego: Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla shares the latest developments from campus, including the North Torrey Pines and Theatre District Living and Learning neighborhoods.
Arts and Humanities Events: Antimilitarism in the Pacific Islands (video)
What does a world without militarism look like? Asking this unaskable question is more urgent than ever amidst a growing U.S. militarization in the Pacific that threatens planetary life. This virtual event was sponsored by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies Program, with co-sponsors Department of Ethnic Studies and Transnational Korean Studies Program.
Arts and Humanities Events: Beyond the Campus/Community Split: A Conversation on Effective Partnerships (video)
Learn from various community organizations in Southern California on how to create effective partnerships outside of the university. This event is a collaboration between UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC San Diego (Institute of Arts and Humanities) through the UC Humanities Center Consortium.
UC San Diego News: Holocaust Living History Workshop Series Continues at UC San Diego in 2022
Established in 2008 as a collaborative project between the Jewish Studies Program and the UC San Diego Library, the workshop aims to broaden understanding of the past, foster tolerance and preserve the memory of victims and survivors of the Holocaust while emphasizing their continued relevance in the world today.
ArtNews: Creative Capital Funds 50 Artist Projects for a Total of $2.5 M
The New York–based nonprofit Creative Capital has announced the 50 artist projects it will fund as part of its 2022 Creative Capital Awards, including: Pinar Yoldas (Visual Arts) for the project “Dark Botany: the Dark Banana Plant and other Accelerated Photosynthesis Species,” and alum Crystal Z Campbell MFA ‘10 (Visual Arts) for “Post Masters.” Related: Creative Capital
Carnegie Hall: Meet the Afrofuturism Curatorial Council: King James Britt
“Music represents the sonic possibilities of Afrofuturism. It is the expansive soundtrack to a collective action of dream to reality,” King Britt (Music) said. Related: Afrofuturism x Carnegie Hall Pt. 1 (playlist)
The San Diego Union Tribune: La Jolla Symphony and Chorus cancels January and February concerts because of COVID-19 health concerns
Assuming it can resume concerts in March, the symphony and chorus is scheduled to perform at Mandeville Auditorium on March 12 and 13, April 30 and May 1, and June 4 and 5. The June concerts will be the final ones before Steven Schick (Music) steps down as music director, a position he has held for the past 15 years.
The Poetry Question: TPQ20: Kazim Ali
On Dec. 19, 2021, The Poetry Question editors spoke with Kazim Ali (Literature) for their podcast, expanding the conversation around poetry and literature.
Broadway World: Portland Opera To Receive $30,000 Grant From The National Endowment For The Arts
This Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Anthony Davis (Music) will be performed in March 2022, and will be directed by Nataki Garrett and conducted by Kazem Abdullah.
Soundohm: “Roger Reynolds at 85, Vol II: Piano Etudes”
Roger Reynolds’s (Music) new recording, released in 2021, “carry subtle quotations from Reynolds’ own, earlier piano works as well as the traditional literature of piano etudes.”
Bloomsbury Publishing: “Sync Or Swarm, Revised Edition: Improvising Music In A Complex Age”
The revised edition of “Sync or Swarm” by David Borgo (Music), to be released later this year, explores musical free improvisation through the lens of several contemporary sciences.
UC San Diego News: Computers in a Jazz Ensemble? Inventing Improvisational AI
University of California San Diego Professor Shlomo Dubnov (Music) and Gérard Assayag, a researcher at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music in Paris, received a €2.4 million European Research Council Advanced Grant.
UC San Diego News: UC San Diego Library Set to Host 2nd Annual Art of Science Contest
“On top of being visually stunning, the brilliance behind the research conducted in UC San Diego’s labs is something to be appreciated and celebrated,” said alum Colin Zyskowski Ph.D. ‘18 (Music), director of the UC San Diego EnVision Arts and Engineering Maker Studio, a collaboration between the Jacobs School of Engineering and the Division of Arts and Humanities.