HFA videographer Denise Shapiro checked in with Humanities and Fine Arts students during fall 2020, to see how they were coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and to hear their perspectives on studying remotely. From writing commentaries to producing a mockumentary, UC Santa Barbara's students are keeping up with their education and keeping themselves entertained while social distancing.
For more information on how to protect yourself amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, check out UCSB’s Resource Index at www.ucsb.edu/COVID-19-information/resource-index.
Rose Hayden-Smith, digital media expert, discussed with UCSB students the importance of digital media platforms during a public humanities workshop That’s the Tweet: The Use of Social Media for Academic Practice, sponsored by the IHC’s Crossing Borderlands research focus group.
Focus on Faculty: A profile of Carlos Morton, a pioneering playwright for Latino Theater, who recently wrote a play called “Trumpus Caesar,” in which he critiques outgoing president Donald Trump. Morton uses his plays to share his experience as a Latino man in the United States.
Earlier this month, the Center for Black Studies Research held a panel titled “Anti-Blackness & Technology” featuring UCLA information studies professor Safiya Umoja Noble, along with African American studies professor Ruha Benjamin of Princeton University, André Brock a scholar of Black digital media at Georgia Tech, and Charlton Mcllwain a New York University media and communications professor. Hundreds attended the virtual event.
Hannah George is a third-year English major at UCSB. After three years of working for The Daily Nexus as an Artsweek writer, she is now working towards becoming a professional journalist.
Last week, the Center for Middle East Studies hosted a conversation with Brooklyn-based clinical psychologist Hala Alyan about culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed therapy. The conversation was moderated by UCSB communication professor Walid Afifi.
The Capps Center at UC Santa Barbara recently held a two-part virtual event, where student panelists aired their thoughts on political issues that drive the electoral decisions of young voters. The session leading up to the election was titled “What Students Want?” and the one held a week after voting aptly asked “Where Do We Go From Here?”
UCSB Professor and internationally-renowned data visualization artist George Legrady recently sat down for an interview to discuss how remote placement has affected the data visualization course he is offering in the Winter.
Why We March is a play written, directed and performed virtually, by UC Santa Barbara Theater students. The action takes place the night before the biggest fictional mass protest in the country. The play touches on heavy topics surrounding our world and the reform needed.
The art of five UC Santa Barbara students will be featured in a UC Santa Cruz’s online exhibition and webinar called “What Makes Us Human: An Art + Genomics Convergence.”
Stanford film professor Shane Denson spoke about his recent book Discorrelated Images for the Media Arts and Technology program’s Seminar series last week. He told a UCSB virtual audience that digital technologies bring us closer to the images we see in time and space and introduce an element of chance by regenerating moving images every time we see them.
A Student Spotlight on Molly McAnany, a fourth-year double major in political science and english. McAnany shares her passion for music, classic literature, and educating others. She is able to combine all of these passions in her radio show on KCSB, “Shamrocked,“ where she airs Irish music and poetry.
UCSB Film and Media faculty members Lisa Parks and Anna Everett have launched a campaign to improve on the underrepresentation of people of color working in the news business — and featured on camera. They spoke in a recent webinar about how American media scholars can work to influence news executives to improve coverage of race issues in the news.
Thanks to UC Santa Barbara’s Creative Computing Initiative, graduate student Kevin Whitesides incorporated hands-on multimedia projects in his Linguistics course Memes: When Language and Culture Go Viral . Donor Ross Dowd ‘94, has provided funds for Humanities and Fine Arts instructors and students to apply computer technology and digital tools to their areas of study.
