Faculty

The Division of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce Fumi Okiji as the new Director of the Arts Research Center (ARC), starting July 1, 2026.

Okiji is a performer and theorist whose work moves across Black studies, critical theory, and sound and music studies. Her first book, Jazz as Critique: Adorno and Black Expression Revisited (Stanford, 2018), reconsiders the critical potential of art through an encounter between Theodor Adorno and traditions of Black creative music. Her new book, Billie's Bent Elbow: Exorbitance, Intimacy and a...

Linguistics Professor Nicole Holliday was featured in an article for NBC News titled "'86 it': Restaurant workers say the term at the center of James Comey's indictment is 'everyday lingo.'"

Federal prosecutors say former FBI Director James Comey's use of the term “86” on Instagram was a threat “to do harm" to President Donald Trump — but some food service workers say the term is "...

Psychology Professor Dacher Keltner was featured in an article for The New York Times titled "‘Wowsabout’ Looks to Nature, and Jim Henson, in Hopes of Inspiring Awe."

The filming of a children’s television special isn’t usually threatened by the approach of a full-grown American black bear.

In this case, the furry interloper ultimately veered far away from the TV crew, but the production, “...