Arts & Humanities

Student Sofia Liashcheva: Honoring my Russian culture through art and activism

March 15, 2022
Ivan Natividad

As a Russian immigrant experiencing economic woes, Sofia Liashcheva expressed herself through art. As a UC Berkeley student, she speaks out against the war in Ukraine: “There is no excuse for the war, and I will do what I can to speak out against it. Because I stand with Ukraine.”

This I’m A Berkeleyan feature was written as a first-person narrative from an interview with student Sofia Liashcheva, a first-year cognitive science major. Have someone you think we should write about? Contact news@berkeley.edu...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/03/15/student-sofia-liashcheva-honoring-my-russia…

Stephen Miller, who led Berkeley’s excavation in Ancient Nemea, Greece, dies at 79

August 16, 2021
Gretchen Kell

Stephen Miller, a professor emeritus of classics who for nearly 50 years led UC Berkeley’s archaeological excavation in Greece of a site of the ancient Panhellenic Games, died Aug. 11 in a Greek hospital. The Greek Reporter, an international news outlet, reported that 79-year-old Miller died that morning following a hemodialysis treatment. Miller retired from Berkeley in 2004, and he and his wife, Effie, had been living in a home they’d built...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/08/16/stephen-miller-who-led-berkeleys-excavation…

College of Letters & Science announces winners of inaugural L&S Faculty Awards

April 20, 2023

This spring, the College of Letters & Science Advisory Board launched its first-ever L&S Faculty Awards to celebrate outstanding Letters & Science faculty. Awardees were selected for their exceptional scholarship, service to the College and community, and transformational teaching. These extraordinary individuals not only embody the excellence of the College of Letters & Science, but they also serve as an inspiration to the entire campus community.

Award Namesakes: Honoring Blackwell, Manz,...

UC Berkeley alum Hua Hsu wins 2023 Pulitzer Prize

May 9, 2023
Michelle Phillips

Pulitzer Prize award against a blue backgroundHua Hsu, who graduated from UC Berkeley in 1999, is a 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner in the category of memoir or autobiography for his book, Stay True, Columbia University announced Monday, May 8, on the recommendation of the Pulitzer...

For University Medal finalists, the pandemic was a stormy voyage of discovery

May 17, 2023
Ed Lempinen

The UC Berkeley Class of 2023 may be known to history as the COVID class — the students’ first year on campus was cut short by the pandemic, and the virus roiled their lives, wave after wave.

But for University Medal winner Catherine Vera, and for finalists Aaron P. Hill, Rohith Sajith, Andrea Sandoval and Rosie Ward, the pandemic was just one challenge on an often profound voyage of discovery.

They had to contend with learning by Zoom and...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/05/09/for-university-medal-finalists-the-pandemic…

Professor Polina Barskova's "Living Pictures"

March 8, 2023
How did Living Pictures come to be?

This is a rather unusual story -- I got a letter from a person I didn't know, who suggested that I write a play. When I responded that I was a poet, not a playwright, the future stage director of this play said: but poetry has so much to do with theatre! At that time I worked with the diaries and letters of two amazing real-life characters, a curator and an artist who worked and lived in the Hermitage museum during the Siege of Leningrad.

Besides the play, this book includes four texts about the Nazi Siege of Leningrad...

How Art Practice honors student Jacob Li Rosenberg is resurfacing family history to honor his Bay Area roots

May 17, 2023
Sarah Fullerton

Each year, nine seniors in the Department of Art Practice are selected to receive an honors studio for their final semester. Each student receives their own studio space with 24/7 access. The studio space allows students to work on longer-term projects and explore new mediums alongside their cohort. Arts & Humanities had the opportunity to interview three of the nine students in this year's honors studios as they completed their final projects for Professor Stephanie Syjuco's Art + Archive class. Jacob Li Rosenberg is a multi-media artist who is graduating this spring. All photos by...

https://artshumanities.berkeley.edu/news/how-art-practice-honors-student-jacob-l…

From athlete to advocate: Berkeley graduate gives newcomers a sporting chance

May 17, 2023
Anne Brice, Berkeley News

Benjamin Coleman has always loved being on a team.

The UC Berkeley senior, one of more than 10,000 graduating students walking in Saturday’s commencement ceremony, grew up in Calgary, Canada. At age 5, he joined his first hockey team, the Glenlake Hawks. He played with the same teammates until he graduated from high school. Although he played a lot of other sports growing up — badminton, soccer, skiing, swimming — hockey was his favorite....

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/05/12/graduating-student-benjamin-coleman/

UC Berkeley's Black Graduation: Celebrating community, culture, and achievement

May 4, 2023
Michelle Phillips

As commencement season kicks off across the U.S., UC Berkeley’s Department of African American Studies is preparing to host the annual Black Graduation ceremony on May 20, 2023, at Zellerbach Hall. Black Grad, as it is affectionately called, honors and celebrates Black-, African-, and African American-identifying students upon completion of their undergraduate, master’s, Ph.D., J.D., and professional degree programs from departments all over campus. Black Grad is more than just a ceremony; it is a celebration of resilience, perseverance, and achievement. Grace Carroll,...

Transfer Student Bryce Wallace Honored with 2023 Beinecke Scholarship

April 11, 2023

2023 Beinecke ScholarIn Fall 2021, Bryce Wallace (’23, English & Linguistics) was still stunned that he had gotten into Cal as a transfer student from Irvine Valley College, when more UC-related honors started pouring in. He has since received the merit-based Sharer and Gilman Scholarships and was granted a College Corps Fellowship for his strong commitment to community service, especially in the areas of...