News Archive

June 8, 2017 — UC San Diego takes the stage in many programs—its Department of Theatre and Dance easily commanding the spotlight. Proof positive are three recent Tony Award nominations earned by alumni Michael Greif (MFA directing, ’85), nominated for Best Direction of a Musical, “Dear Evan Hansen;” Jefferson Mays (MFA acting, ’91), nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, “Oslo;” and Paloma Young (MFA, costume design, ’06), nominated for Best Costume Design of a Musical, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.”

May 31, 2017 — The University of California San Diego takes the stage in many programs — its Department of Theatre and Dance easily commanding the spotlight. Ranked among the top five acting programs in the world by Hollywood Reporter, the department’s students graduate well-prepared for the theater profession. Cast with experience — due in part to a dynamic partnership with its acclaimed neighbor, La Jolla Playhouse — UC San Diego graduates consistently take the lead in television, film and stage careers. Proof positive are three recent Tony Award nominations earned by alumni Michael Greif (MFA directing, ’85), nominated for Best Direction of a Musical, “Dear Evan Hansen;” Jefferson Mays (MFA acting, ’91), nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, “Oslo;” and Paloma Young (MFA, costume design, ’06), nominated for Best Costume Design of a Musical, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.”

May 11, 2017 — Science fiction and fantasy came to life in the real and human forms of authors George R.R. Martin and Kim Stanley Robinson May 2 at the Price Center West Ballroom. The genre giants, each with ties to UC San Diego through the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop, bantered on stage under bright lights against a backdrop flanked by the emblems of the Great Houses featured in the “Game of Thrones,” HBO’s enormously popular adaptation of Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.

April 28, 2017 — The University of California San Diego’s Department of History is flush with scholars studying the fascinating histories of many parts of the world, from Africa and the Americas to the Middle East. Among them is assistant professor Nir Shafir, whose research explores what he calls “manuscript pamphlets” in the Ottoman Empire. These were cheap, short and handwritten treatises that transformed the religious and intellectual life of the Middle East over the 16th to 18th centuries.

April 17, 2017 — George R. R. Martin, author of the series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” adapted on HBO as “Game of Thrones,” will visit the University of California San Diego May 1 and 2 to help raise funds for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop. Martin is a former instructor for the oldest science fiction and fantasy writing program, which resides within the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination. Considered the most prominent fantasy writer since J.R.R. Tolkien, Martin will engage in conversation about the craft of writing science fiction and fantasy with Kim Stanley Robinson, an esteemed science fiction writer and a UC San Diego Department of Literature alumnus. Their public discussion takes place Tuesday, May 2, 7 p.m., in the Price Center West Ballroom. Tickets are already sold out.

April 12, 2017 — For 38 years Don Wayne applied his time and talent to the University of California San Diego in various capacities, from graduate student in literature to provost of Revelle College. Wayne, now professor emeritus in the Department of Literature, returns to campus as the department’s featured Alumni Lecture speaker.

March 13, 2017 — The University of California San Diego’s Division of Arts and Humanities is welcoming its first visiting artist under the newly established Roghieh Chehre-Azad Distinguished Professorship. “Parissa,” Iran’s most distinguished female vocalist, will visit UC San Diego during the first part of spring quarter to share her deep knowledge of the “Radif”—the classical repertoire of Persian traditional music. She will present a talk, Tuesday, April 4, from 5 to 7 p.m., in the Conrad Prebys Music Center, Recital Hall. The dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities, Cristina Della Coletta, will give the introduction.

March 9, 2017 — The University of California San Diego’s fine arts programs are ranked among the top in the nation. Department of Visual Arts lecturer Huai Li is among the many talented teachers who enhance that reputation and influence aspiring artists at the university. With a goal of engaging the greater San Diego community in her work—not unlike the university’s own efforts to reach beyond campus—Li is opening a solo exhibition titled “You Fascinate Me” March 11 at the Sparks Gallery in the Gaslamp Quarter in Downtown San Diego.

February 8, 2017 — The University of California San Diego’s Program in Transnational Korean Studies will continue its Korean diaspora film series by offering audiences a rare opportunity to meet two award-winning film artists, Jane Jin Kaisen from Denmark (Feb. 9-10) and Heung-Soon Im from South Korea (Feb. 21-22). Highlighting the hidden stories of modern Korea, the series combines film, criticism and dialogue in an examination of transnational adoption, militarism, globalization and social protest. It also highlights the struggles and voices of women.

January 26, 2017 — As the United States prepares for a future under the leadership of President Donald Trump, The Global Forum at International House provided a space for community discourse that examined what we know—and what we don’t know—about the new presidency. Addressing that uncertainty was a diverse group of experts from the humanities and social sciences, just days before the inauguration.