Posts Tagged: Humanities

Last Friday, December 5, on a beautifully crisp and sunny day at the Clark Library, we gathered with nine scholars who presented their work on the Ottoman, Qing and Mughal empires in the early modern period—topics closely tied to the theme of this year’s Core Program, “Strange Synchronicities and Familiar Parallels in Asia, 1600–1800.” The…

Last month, the Clark participated in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Los Angeles Arch Tour Fest with a special walking tour focused on the North Range—the 1990 architectural addition many of you know primarily as the quiet edge of the Great Lawn. Led by architect Barton Phelps, whose firm designed the project, the tour…

On November 19, the Clark Library welcomed Dr. William Zachs for a fascinating exploration of early printing innovation. In his lecture, “Scotland’s Gutenberg: William Ged and the Invention of Stereotype Printing, 1725–49,” Dr. Zachs explained the origins of stereotype printing—an approach that used cast metal plates instead of traditional moveable type and would later revolutionize…

Now in its 31st season, Chamber Music at the Clark continues to delight audiences with first-rate performances hosted in the intimate and acoustically superb Drawing Room at the Clark Library. Expertly curated by Artistic Director Rogers Brubaker, our current season began with a performance by the Aris Quartett, a young German ensemble performing at the…

On November 10, the Center for 17th– & 18th–Century Studies, in conjunction with Director Bronwen Wilson’s class on Renaissance and Baroque Art History, hosted an illuminating screening and discussion of the powerful documentary We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe. Award-winning filmmaker Fred Kudjo Kuworno was on hand to invite the…

On October 23, the Clark Library welcomed Professor Thiago Sevilhano Puglieri (Art History, UCLA) for an engaging lecture that illuminated the scientific and ethical dimensions of cultural heritage research. Drawing on his interdisciplinary expertise in art history, chemistry, and conservation, Puglieri guided attendees through the analytical methods chemists use to study cultural objects and the…

It is always a pleasure to welcome award-winning British theater company Box Tale Soup to the Clark Library as our artists-in-residence. This Fall they returned with a reimagining of their original Arts on the Grounds adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray, featuring a new set, handcrafted puppets, and an evocative original soundtrack. Noel Byrne, Antonia…

On October 1, 2025, the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library hosted a lively and hands-on puppetry educational workshop led by the acclaimed British theatrical company Box Tale Soup. Known for their imaginative adaptations and innovative puppet design, Box Tale Soup brought their distinctive blend of artistry and storytelling to UCLA.    The artists guided attendees…

Bailey is a master’s student in Library and Information Science at the University of California, Los Angeles specializing in rare books and special collections. With a background in English literature, she focuses on historical materials, archival research, and the intersections of translation, adaptation, and cultural exchange. Her academic interests include early modern English literature, medieval…

The American West as a site of righteous possibility–of a manifest destiny–for the incipient United States in the nineteenth century is often the conventional tale of American continental expansion taught in high school history classrooms. But in the era of expansion, some Americans also considered the West to be a place that inspired abject terror,…

On Saturday, May 31, as the late-spring sun shone brightly on the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, we welcomed birdwatchers, garden enthusiasts, and those invested in urban greenery to the Clark Library Nature and Garden Festival. As guests of all ages enjoyed refreshing popsicles from Mateo’s Ice Cream and Fruit Bars, they perused nature stations…

In 1915, stalagmites in a cave in Hubei, China, were mistaken for dinosaur and dragon fossils. Soon, news spread throughout the Western world, attracting attention from Western scientists. As the Chinese warlord Yuan Shikai learned of the incident through translations and photographs in journal articles, he saw the timely appearance of the “relic” as an…

In celebration of Undergraduate Research Week, we are delighted to recognize Shihui Lin, the winner of the 2025 UCLA Library Prize for Undergraduate Research in the category of best project using resources from the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. Sihui’s project focuses on William Andrews Clark Jr.’s Christmas gift books and their representation of facsimile,…

The Henry J. Bruman Summer Chamber Music Festival returns to UCLA this summer, offering a series of free lunchtime concerts that celebrate the rich tradition of chamber music. Under the artistic direction of violinist Ambroise Aubrun, the festival continues its mission to introduce new audiences to chamber music through performances by distinguished instrumentalists. Tuesday, July…

The Center and Clark thank the following for their generous support during 2024–2025: Major Supporters The Ahmanson Foundation Catherine G. Benkaim and Barbara A. Timmer Legacy Fund Frances L. Brody* Garden Endowment at The Clark Memorial Library Henry J. Bruman* Endowments for Chamber Music at the Clark and Summer Chamber Music Festival Dr. Paul L….

During my time as an Ahmanson-Getty Postdoctoral Fellow at the Clark, I embarked on the process of revising my doctoral dissertation into an academic monograph. My work focuses on the Spanish port of Cartagena de Indias, in modern-day Colombia, and studies how sailors, bureaucrats, and free and enslaved laborers adapted to wider changes in the…

Myrna Ortiz, Academic and Staff Personnel Manager, retired on April 25, 2025 after twenty-one years of service to UCLA, fifteen of them at the Center and Clark. Myrna started her career at UCLA in 2004 at Olive View Medical Center as a Case Manager/Community Representative, and then moved to the Center for Network-Embedded Sensing as…

After being postponed due to the 2025 L.A. wildfires, the “Energy Transitions in Long Modernity” conference resumed critical dialogues in energy humanities. Organizers Robert N. Watson (UCLA), Tiffany Jo Werth (UC Davis), and Todd Borlik (Purdue) advocated for multidisciplinary approaches to energy questions, drawing on Olivia Judson’s framework of five energetic epochs—geochemical, sunlight, oxygen, flesh,…

When we consider which ensembles to invite, one thing we look at is what programs they will be offering.  We were intrigued to see that the Miró String Quartet, who had played at the Clark twice before, would be collaborating this year with noted violist Masumi Per Rostad.  And we were excited to learn that…