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The Evolution of Music in an Opera Landscape

The Evolution of Music in an Opera Landscape

UCSB’s Department of Music hosted an Opera Gala last month, showcasing the talents of UCSB and Ventura College students in three separate performances: one at UCSB, one at Ventura College and an abridged version at the Casa Dorinda retirement community. The primary focus of the Gala was six opera singers, all graduate students in UCSB’s music department. The event also featured a chorus, orchestra, and dancers .

Amulets in ancient Egypt: "Personal Guardians"

Amulets in ancient Egypt: "Personal Guardians"

Historian Evan Axel Andersson spoke on amulets and daily life in ancient Roman Egypt at the 2024 Van Gelderen Lecture, hosted by UC Santa Barbara’s History Department. Andersson discussed how these ancient artifacts did much more than adorn—serving as vital protective and spiritual tools.

Raab Writing Fellows: Highlighting Research and Introspection

Raab Writing Fellows: Highlighting Research and Introspection

Twenty students in the 2024 Raab Writing Fellowship program presented their final projects at a showcase last week, displaying multimedia works from books and zines to videos games and interactive websites — including research, fiction and creative nonfiction. Topics ranged from jazz, to AI to incarcerated women, and an Athenian prostitute. The program is generously funded by Santa Barbara writer Diana Raab, a former UCSB Foundation Trustee. It is administered by the UCSB Writing Program.

From Reagan to Trump: Media and Religion in Politics

From Reagan to Trump: Media and Religion in Politics

UC Santa Barbara's Walter H. Capps Center hosted Diane Winston, Knight Chair of Media and Religion at the University of Southern California, for a lecture on her book Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan's Evangelical Vision. She spoke about the role religion played in both Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump's presidency and how media helped popularize the politics of the Christian right.

An Empire of Small Spaces

An Empire of Small Spaces

UC Santa Barbara's Interdisciplinary Humanities Center hosted Swati Chattopadhyay, a History of Art and Architecture professor at UCSB, to discuss her book Small Spaces: Recasting the Architecture of Empire. She spoke on servant quarters and other small spaces throughout the British Empire in India and how these marginalized spaces held together the Empire's infrastructure.

For the Love of Language

For the Love of Language

“HFA Speaks: For the Love of Language” brought together Sabine Frühstück, a UCSB professor of modern Japanese cultural studies, Magda Campo, an Arabic continuing lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies, and Laura Marqués-Pascual, the language program director in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese for a panel discussion. Moderated by Jackie Jauregui, the panel had a conversation about the importance of learning languages, and the related struggles of teaching it at a time of dropping enrollment nationally.

Interpreting Reproduction Through Art

Interpreting Reproduction Through Art

This spring, UC Santa Barbara students co-facilitated the creation of Originalia, an art showcase featuring the painting, sculpture, and interactive artwork of 11 students interpreting their experiences with reproductive biology. UCSB students Emilie Risha and Anastasia Senavsky described how they came together to express their passion for reproductive biology in an interdisciplinary manner.

What it Means to be a Woman: Inside "A Box of One's Own"

What it Means to be a Woman: Inside "A Box of One's Own"

Ph.D. student Letícia Cobra Lima created the recent exhibit at UC Santa Barbara’s Art, Design & Architecture Museum, “A Box of One’s Own: Women Beyond Borders.” Through intricately decorated boxes, women express what womanhood means to them. Lima’s recent workshop 'Bring Your Own Box' invited the UCSB community to actively participate. Inspired by Virginia Woolf, this exhibit explores the use of artistic freedom and empowerment through the creation of these small, meaningful boxes.

On Asian American Responses to Racism

On Asian American Responses to Racism

Russell M. Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, spoke at UCSB about the racial violence and hate that rose during the COVID-19 era and how that racial trauma has affected the community’s mental health. Jeung said that Asian Americans have been able to grow past these traumas by relying on their Asian identities and using cultural responses.

Seeking an End to Poverty in California

Seeking an End to Poverty in California

Ending Poverty in California (EPIC) is a non-profit that is seeks to change attitudes toward those living in poverty and better enact policies and administer solutions. EPIC’s president Devon Gray and its chief adviser for storytelling and narrative, George Kaufmann, joined UCSB History department professor Alice O’Connor for a panel discussion.

HFA CREATIVITY CONTEST 2024: PROSE 3RD PLACE WINNER

HFA CREATIVITY CONTEST 2024: PROSE 3RD PLACE WINNER

This spring, UCSB’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted a creativity contest to highlight the work of creative students across the UCSB campus. The following story won third place in the prose category.

HFA CREATIVITY CONTEST 2024: PROSE 2ND PLACE WINNER

HFA CREATIVITY CONTEST 2024: PROSE 2ND PLACE WINNER

This spring, UCSB’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted a creativity contest to highlight the work of students across the UCSB campus. The following story won second place in the prose category.

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Prose 1st Place Winner

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Prose 1st Place Winner

This spring, UCSB’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted a creativity contest to highlight the work of creative students across the UCSB campus. The following story won first place in the prose category.

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Photography

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Photography

This spring, UC Santa Barbara’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted an annual contest to highlight creative student voices across the campus. The following are the winning submissions in the Photography category.

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Music

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Music

This spring, UCSB’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted a creativity contest to highlight the work of creative students across the UCSB campus. Here are the first and second prize winners in the music category.

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Visual Art

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Visual Art

This spring, UC Santa Barbara’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted an annual contest to highlight creative student voices across the campus. The following are the winning submissions in the visual art category.

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Poetry Third Place Winner

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Poetry Third Place Winner

This spring, UCSB’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted a creativity contest to highlight the work of creative students across the UCSB campus. The following poem won third place in the poetry category.

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Poetry First Place Winner

HFA Creativity Contest 2024: Poetry First Place Winner

This spring, UCSB’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted a creativity contest to highlight the work of creative students across the UCSB campus. This poem won first place in the poetry category.

Honoring Student Creativity: Give Day 2024

Honoring Student Creativity: Give Day 2024

An award ceremony and luncheon was held at UC Santa Barbara’s Mosher Alumni House last week to honor the recipients of the Give Day 2024 Student Creativity Contest, sponsored by the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts. HFA dean Daina Ramey Berry joined students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors to celebrate. Winning entries will run in the coming days on the HFA website.