Literatures and Cultures

Major Gift to Reimagine Humanities Research, Community-engaged Projects

June 6, 2024

UC Merced faculty and graduate students collaborate with the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation to record rock art sites in Mariposa County.

Humanities education has been under fire on college campuses over the past decade. “There’s a lot of concern nationally about graduate education in the humanities. We’re producing plenty of Ph.D.s but are there enough jobs for them upon graduation?” said anthropology and...

Human rights activist Nadia Murad is seen in a photo.

Spendlove Prize to Be Presented to Human Rights Activist and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Nadia Murad

Human rights activist Nadia Murad has been selected as the 14th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance. The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize...

Juneteenth: Celebrating Freedom and Hope for the Future

Every American knows we celebrate freedom on the Fourth of July, but very few people know what Juneteenth celebrates, or even recognize the date. A Harris Poll conducted last June found 22% of...

Alicia Garza speaks during a virtual event to honor her with the Spendlove Prize.

Alicia Garza, Civil Rights Activist and BLM Co-Founder, Honored with Spendlove Prize

While this year's ceremony looked quite different from years past due to the coronavirus pandemic, the presentation of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and...

UC Merced Teams Up with Globe Theatre for Shakespeare and Climate Emergency Conference

A major international conference looking at the relationships between William Shakespeare's works and the current climate crisis will soon get underway. UC Merced is co-hosting the virtual event...

Alicia Garza is a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network.

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza is 13th Recipient of Spendlove Prize

Alicia Garza, civil rights activist and co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, will be honored as the 13th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in...

Professor’s Documentary Film about Refugee Family Honored at Vienna International Festival

“Songs that Never End,” Professor Yehuda Sharim’s intimate film about a family transitioning from Iran to life in Texas, is a finalist contender in the International Documentary...

UC Merced Professor Arias Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

Arturo Arias, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation professor in the Humanities at UC Merced, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his ground-breaking study of contemporary...

Global Arts Professor Wins UCOP Fellowship

A handful of UC faculty received the 2019-2020 University of California President’s Faculty Research Fellowship. Among them is Aditi Chandra, an assistant professor of global arts, media and...

Participants in this year's production of "As You Like It" include: UC Merced student Angel Nunez, Yosemite Park Ranger Jess Rivas, local English teacher Bethy Harmelin, UC Merced faculty member Tawanda Chabikwa and UC Merced student Maria Nguyen-Cruz.

‘All the World’s a Stage’ with Shakespeare in Yosemite’s 3rd Annual Production

William Shakespeare’s plays are meant to be enjoyed by a live, theater audience and there is no better place to experience The Bard than Yosemite National Park. For the third year, UC Merced...