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Focus on Faculty
Christoph Emmrich, an associate professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto, recently spoke to a UCSB audience about the fictional retellings of Dhammawati Guruma’s life as a Buddhist teacher. Emmrich’s talk was hosted by Rory Lindsay, a visiting scholar at the 84000 Buddhist Texts Translation Initiative, a global collaboration housed in UCSB’s Religious Studies department that began in 2021.
Ingela Nilsson, a scholar from Sweden, gave a talk at UC Santa Barbara titled Ekphrastic and Embodied, on spatial form in fiction. It was hosted by the Classics department’s Center for the Study of Ancient Fiction.
UC Santa Barbara Germanic and Slavic Studies professor Fabian Offert teaches a course called “Critical AI.“ Offered through the Comparative Literature department, he explores and critiques artificial intelligence’s current abilities with his students, which puts potential threats in perspective.
UCSB Theater and Dance professor Ninotchka Bennahum and Bruce Robertson, emeritus professor in History of Art and Architecture, conceived the exhibit Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance, 1900–1955. The exhibit examines how artists of color and indigenous artists had a deep impact on dance as an art form. It is running concurrently at UCSB’s Art and Architecture Museum and the New York Public Library.
Humanities and Fine Arts Dean Daina Berry and Film lecturer Wendy Jackson joined student moderator Maya Johnson for a panel discussion celebrating Black life in America. They discussed a variety of topics surrounding Black life both personally and within academia, in honor of Black History Month this February.
UCSB French lecturer Marion Labatut sat down to discuss her efforts to build up enrollment in UCSB French courses after COVID-19 related drop. During a Q&A session, she described new ways the department in encouraging students to fall in love with French.
Professor Fabio Rambelli from UCSB’s Religious Studies and East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies departments, speaks about hosting “The Transcultural Exploratorium: Neuro Music and Japanese Culture” event and how he exposed the UCSB community to traditional Japanese sounds.
The UC Santa Barbara Jazz Ensemble performed its Fall Concert with a tribute titled “The Identity of Ellington.” Ensemble director Jon Nathan spoke to HFA reporter Maya Johnson about what it meant for a predominantly white UCSB band to explore the history of race in jazz’s origins, and to give credit to artists and innovators who had been underpaid, discriminated against, and sidelined as jazz culture developed in the 20th century.
The Writing Program at UC Santa Barbara has taken a proactive lead in the field of AI with its recent introduction of a new AI Writing Program Policy. Daniel Frank, a lecturer in the Writing Program and one of the writers of the new policy, explores how instructors and students can implement AI in the classroom.
Richard Croy, the new production and events manager for UCSB’s Music department, sat down for a Q&A to discuss his experience in theater and producing, as well as his plans to revitalize Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall.
The English Department has reason to celebrate, as two of its professors won awards for early career achievements in their fields of study.
Cherríe Moraga, playwright, essayist and activist, gave a talk titled “Imagine This: The (Re)generation of Place,” for the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center’s Imagining California series. Moraga tackled the inherent struggle to define one’s cultural identity in the aftermath of hundreds of years of degradation and mistreatment.
The UCSB Classic department’s Erin Lam, who is the UC President’s Post-Doctoral Fellow, spoke about the poet Ovid’s Arms Amatoria through a new lens in the talk, “Cruising Rome: Queer Orientations in Ovid’s Ars Amatoria,” which examined the poet’s work as it related to eroticism and queerness.
Meagan Carter, a Ph.D. candidate at UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese, developed and taught a course during Summer 2023 that takes on translation and interpreting as professional field, the evolving technologies in use, and ongoing research into what happens in the mind while a professional is at work.
Faculty and students of UC Santa Barbara’s Religious studies kicked-off the academic year with hopes of peace and collaboration in the department and among religious groups worldwide. Department chair Juan Campo urged the campus to focus on efforts to foster peace as students and faculty navigate times of immense violence and suffering on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
UC Santa Barbara Religious Studies professor Kathleen Moore recently sat down for an interview to discuss her introduction of Legal Humanities and Medical Humanities to UCSB in hopes of better-preparing students for their post-graduate careers.
Writing Program lecturer Christian Thomas recently developed UCSB’s first interactive, choose-your-own-adventure game for an undergraduate writing course. The game responds to the player’s choices, and exposes students to Rome’s rich history of art and archaeology,
Shu-Chuan Chen’s, Professor in UCSB’s Department of East Asian Language and Cultural Studies, Chinese class offers students an immersive experience into Chinese culture. From hands-on cooking classes, New Years tea celebrations, and honoring the Lantern Festival, Chen’s class is praised by students for her ability to craft an informative yet engaging course. In this article, Chen sits with Isabella Genovese to talk about her teaching, life, and hopes .
UCSB English and Global Studies professor Bishnupriya Ghosh recently published her third book, The Virus Touch: Theorizing Epidemic Media, which talks about how health experts use graphic and artistic media to portray endemics and pandemics. She discussed her inspiration and writing process during an interview conducted by Political Science major Lauren Barnhart.
Poet and comparative literature instructor Rick Benjamin has urged readers to engage in less self-absorption and make space for compassion for others, in his latest book of poetry, “The Mob Within the Heart.” He read excerpts from what is his fifth book at a recent launch event presented by the UC Santa Barbara student Poets’ Club. Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, it expresses the poet’s feelings about love, political conflict, illness and loss. He describes overwhelming love in his closest relationships and explores the complex responsibilities of being human.
