Renaming Contest Results

November 12, 2004

Ralph Hexter, Dean of the Arts and Humanities Division of the College of Letters & Science, is pleased to announce the results of the competition to rename Framing the Questions.

At the end of September, 2004, as part of a website redesign, Dean Hexter solicited proposals for a new name for the online publication, which showcases the research undertaken by faculty and students in the humanities and arts on the Berkeley campus. The competition elicited over 300 entries from more than 60 individuals. Entrants included faculty, students, and staff at Berkeley, as well as UCOP staff, alumni, and members of the community.

The new name was chosen unanimously by the selection committee: Illuminations: Berkeley's online magazine of research in the arts and humanities. The committee found "Illuminations" to resonate on a number of levels—as an association with the University’s motto, "Fiat Lux"; as a reference to medieval illuminated manuscripts; as an allusion to an important collection of cultural critic Walter Benjamin’s essays. Most importantly, the committee agreed that "Illuminations" captures the nature of humanities and arts research—work that sheds light on areas of obscurity, that shines as a guiding beacon, and that glows in lively constellations of associations. The newly named publication is scheduled for relaunch in late January 2005.

Three entrants submitted "Illuminations" to the contest. Each entrant will receive dinner for two at Chez Panisse.

The winners are:

Scott Combs, Graduate Student, Film Studies, and Elizabeth Wadell, Administrative Assistant, Rhetoric and Film Studies (joint submission)
Michele Rabkin, Associate Director, Consortium for the Arts
Karen Goodman, Manager, East Asian Languages and Cultures

From left to right: Karen Goodman, Michele Rabkin, Elizabeth Wadell, Scott Combs