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Focus on Faculty
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.
UCSB’s World Indian Ensemble led an hour-long performance in the Department of Music’s Music Bowl, as part of its World Music Series. The ensemble is headed by Department of Music professor Scott Marcus and will hold an end-of-year recital on June 8th.
Mariano Silva is an instructor for UCSB’s Exercise and Sports Studies (ESS) program who teaches a class on Capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts dance form that emphasizes cultural history, personal growth, and inclusive community. UCSB economics major Maiya Nishime explores Silva’s class in a video she produced for her Digital Journalism class.
UC Santa Barbara’s Sustainability Transportation Committee chair and English professor Ken Hiltner recently spoke about a transportation survey the committee sent out last month. The survey asked students questions about modes of transportation in order to come to a better understanding about why transportation emissions are so high on a campus that prioritizes bike culture.
Jaime Alves, Black Studies professor at UCSB, said that scholars should frame Blackness as a resistance to Latin American colonial narratives that have falsely asserted Blacks were fully integrated into society. This talk was part of the 21st Hispanic and Lusophone Conference, hosted annually by UCSB’s Spanish and Portuguese department.
A UC Santa Barbara professor in the Writing Program Paul Rogers recently sat down for an interview about his research for a chapter of a book “Writing as a Human Activity: Implications and Applications of the Work of Charles Bazerman,” he wrote. In the interview, Rogers discussed how students can contribute to the growing field of social entrepreneurship by using writing as a tool for social change.
UC Santa Barbara historian Salim Yaqub recently published his book on contemporary U.S. history, Winds of Hope, Storms of Discord: The United States since 1945. Yaqub aimed to provide a “fresh look” at modern America by documenting modern events as recent as the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and Donald Trump’s presidency to help readers understand America’s past.
UC Santa Barbara composition program chair Joao Pedro Oliveira recently showed his latest visual music opera — “The 70th Week” — in downtown Santa Barbara, as part of the Corwin Chair Concert Series. In an interview with communication student Sarah Phan, Oliveira talked about the work’s biblical inspiration, and the challenges he faced as a composer during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Professor Mario García recently retired after 47 years at UC Santa Barbara, having focused his research on Chicano history with an emphasis on civil rights, Chicano Catholic history, and the Chicano movement. In a recent interview, García discussed his legacy and his passion for Chicano studies.
UCSB Film and Media Studies professor James McNamara recently became the showrunner for The Artful Dodger, an Australian Disney+ television series. In an interview with film student Douglas Chen, McNamara discussed balancing his creative projects with his teaching career.
Adrienne Edgar, a UC Santa Barbara Professor in history, held a talk about her book The Intermarriage and Friendship of People: Ethnic Mixing in Soviet Central Asia. The talk, sponsored by The Center for Cold War Studies and International History, focused on the historical background of the Soviet Union’s advocacy for intermarriage and the experience of the Soviet people, as well as the aftermath of scientific thinking coming to the forefront in the 1960s.
Scholars from all over the world will meet at UC Santa Barbara this August to collaborate and exchange ideas in the field of children’s literature as it intersects with environmental awareness. Germanic and Slavic studies professor and chair Sara Pankenier Weld, is an organizer of the conference as a board member for The International Research Society for Children’s Literature.
Cherríe Moraga, UCSB professor of English and co-director of Las Maestras Center for Xicana Thought, Art, and Social Practice, was recently awarded the annual Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano and Latino Literature. Moraga spoke at an IHC event, delving into her role as a writer and her passion for Chicano studies. She shared part of her memoir, Native Country of the Heart, explaining the meaning behind the story.
UC Santa Barbara professor of Theater and Dance Jessica Nakamura organized a lab event on decentering Japanese performance. She recently spoke about the outcomes of her lab event in an interview.
Jody Enders, medievalist and UCSB Distinguished Professor in the department of French and Italian Studies, recently translated two books of French farce. Enders spoke at a recent IHC Humanities Decanted event with Leo Cabrantes-Grant, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese. They discussed contemporary themes in medieval farces that resonate with a 21st-century audiences and how Enders approaches translating.
UC Santa Barbara history professor Anthony Barbieri has published his fifth book, The Many Lives of the First Emperor of China. The book unites the past and the present day, exploring perceptions of First Emperor Ying Zheng as both hero and villain. In a recent interview, Professor Barbieri discussed his research and writing experience.
Curtis Roads, professor and chair of Media Arts and Technology at UCSB, spoke to a Santa Barbara audience last week about his career in electronic music composition and music software development. During the lecture, he played some of his more recent pieces and updated his audience on future projects.
