Humanities at Stanford
Inside the humanities at Stanford University
Featured Research
Featured Humanities Research
January 2013
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Stanford's Bing Concert Hall opens to rave reviewsEarly reviews of Bing Concert Hall from the press, performers and patrons are in, and they are glowing. |
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Stanford historian and Martin Luther King Jr. scholar Clayborne Carson offers a personal perspective on King's legacyIn his new memoir, Martin's Dream, Stanford historian Clayborne Carson recounts his personal journey from a young civil rights activist to preeminent Martin Luther King Jr. scholar. |
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Stanford scholar Roland Greene holds up poetry as cultural mirrorThrough a survey of the world's poetry, the professor of English and comparative literature finds that globalization and technology are changing the way poetry is viewed and used. |
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Roland Greene elected second VP of Modern Language AssociationWith Roland Greene's appointment, 5 Stanford professors will have served as president of the MLA in the past 20 years. |
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Stanford musicians find musical inspiration in the rafters of the new Bing concert hall. |
December 2012
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Zinn's influential history textbook has problems, says Stanford education expertHoward Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" offers bad lessons in historical thinking, says School of Education Professor Sam Wineburg. |
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Made in translation: Stanford scholar explores Italian-Chinese collaborations in fashionA Stanford anthropologist studies how the transnational business relations between Chinese and Italian clothing manufacturers are reshaping the people and culture of each country. |
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Stanford "Chocolate Heads" dancers, musicians, and visual and spoken-word artists prepare for their Bing Concert Hall debut with William Parker. |
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Students from across campus bring Beethoven to BingWith Beethoven as their muse, students in the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra will usher in a new era of performance at the Bing Concert Hall. |
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Authors sharing royalties make a difference for first-time authors at Stanford University PressIn the world of academic publishing, young scholars can represent an economic risk. Stanford University Press has found a small way to help them. |
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Stanford "Chocolate Heads" dancers, musicians, and visual and spoken-word artists prepare for their Bing Concert Hall debut with William Parker. |
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Students from across campus bring Beethoven to BingWith Beethoven as their muse, students in the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra will usher in a new era of performance at the Bing Concert Hall. |
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Stanford scholars have become stewards of the legacy of the legendary auto enthusiast magazine Road & Track.The collection will now benefit Stanford's Revs Program, which was launched in 2011 to raise the level of academic understanding and discourse about all aspects of the car, from its engineering intricacies to its role in the social sciences and the arts. |
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What Can Neuroscience Tell us about Greek Theatre?During the Lorenz Eitner Lecture at Stanford, classics scholar Peter Meineck explored how cognitive research methods shed light on the ancient and contemporary theatrical experience. |
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Stanford researchers find clues to the Baltic Crusades in animal bonesA multidisciplinary project seeks to understand the Eastern Baltic Crusades through the lens of ecology. Horses, for example, aided the Christians in battle, while the castles the Crusaders built decimated forests. |
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Russia's most infamous tsars weren't so terrible after allDrawing on untapped criminal records, Stanford's Nancy Kollmann reveals that 17th-century Russia was not as autocratic as Vladimir Putin would have you believe. |
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Stanford historian Peter Duus honored with the Order of the Rising Sun |
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Stanford launches new interdisciplinary center to advance 'information age of genomics'New partnerships linking the sciences, social sciences and humanities are already under way. |
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Teaching in the streets of Istanbul, Stanford historian urges students to look beyond the monumentsThrough an exploration of Istanbul's back alleys and shantytowns, Stanford students get up close and personal with a city caught between a glorious past and a global future. |
November 2012
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Chinese typewriter anticipated predictive text, finds Stanford historianBy reorganizing the typewriter's characters into ready-made clusters of commonly used words, Mao-era Chinese typists solved problems that cell phones only came to recently. |
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International mural artist creates a space for Stanford students to celebrate their Latin American identitiesThe Spiral Word: El Codex Estánfor, a four-part mural at El Centro Chicano, marks Juana Alicia's return to campus. |
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Holly Herndon: Stanford’s newest ingenue muses on "Movement"Holly Herndon, a Ph.D student in electronic music at Stanford, talks about how her "genre defying" album of "pulsing house beats" was inspired by her time on the Berlin club scene. |
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Political Cartoons are no Laughing MatterFrom pear shaped French Kings to iconic fists and a brightly colored ski mask, Stanford scholars discuss the power of caricature as political dissent. |
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Lecture series offers religious perspectives on war, peaceThrough a survey of the world's major religions, a multidisciplinary course titled "Religious Perspectives on Violence and Nonviolence, War and Peace" offers tools to recognize and resist arguments that foster intolerance, hatred and violence. |
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Stanford scholar, bestselling author Adam Johnson shares secrets of his writing processThe author of the bestselling novel "The Orphan Master's Son" says the personal characteristics seen as flaws during his early years ‑ daydreamer, liar, rubbernecker, exaggerator ‑ all came together to make for a successful career as a storyteller. |
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Stanford Libraries acquire the archives of leading environmentalist William McDonoughStanford Libraries will create a "living archive" with the visionary who is considered to be the leading environmental architect of our time. |
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Who needs the humanities at 'Start-up U'? Everyone doesStanford magazine takes a look at the efforts of historians, philosophers and literary scholars to articulate the importance of the humanities during the age of entrepreneurship, as well as the initiatives those scholars have created. |
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Stanford University Libraries acquires large Bahá'í collectionStanford University Libraries has established the first academic, university-based Bahá'í collection in the United States. The donation of one of the most extensive Bahá'í libraries in private hands preserves a history that might otherwise be lost. |
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The unspoken problem of the unmanned drone, from a Stanford humanities perspectiveAs the ongoing use of unmanned drones in the Middle East prompts protests in Pakistan, Stanford scholars urge politicians and citizens to reconsider the detrimental impact of these eyes in the sky. |
October 2012
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Nine centuries of how the French invented loveStanford scholar Marilyn Yalom takes a historical romp through nine centuries of romance and desire in French literature and culture. |
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Michael Ignatieff, former leader of the Canadian Liberal Party, urges a return to civility and compromise in politicsDuring the annual Stanford Humanities Center Presidential Lecture, Michael Ignatieff, the former leader of the Canadian Liberal Party, underscored how the acrimonious nature of partisan politics is causing voters to walk away from democracy. |
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From the Bible to the lab: Stanford scholar decodes the near-death experienceThrough an interdisciplinary study of literature, film and neuroscience, Stanford scholar Laura Wittman traces the evolution of near-death experiences in modern culture. |
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Stanford scholar studies a time when books reignedDenise Gigante traces the power of the book in the 19th century and then looks toward the future of the written word. |
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Stanford's 'Another Look' to discuss the best books you've never readA new Stanford book club will focus on short masterpieces that "have not earned the readership they deserve," according to English Professor Tobias Wolff. |
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Language & Politics: The Discourse of PowerAt San Francisco's premier literary festival Stanford and Berkeley professors examine how language influences politics. |
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Ethics series explores wealth and humanity relationshipSpread across the academic year, a series of talks, readings, films and performances organized by the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society will explore the ethical questions at the heart of wealth. |
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More than 200 pianos make music accessible and nearly inescapable at StanfordThe remarkable number of accessible pianos on campus inspire pickup jam sessions, support student group rehearsals and provide an important creative outlet for music and non-music students. A generous donation improves the pianos' life expectancy. |
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Getting to know you: Stanford scholar examines domestic surveillance in the USSRWith new access to KGB files, Stanford's Amir Weiner explores the differences between the "mind control" techniques employed by the KGB and domestic surveillance in today's Western-style democracies. |
September 2012
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Dance all day? Arts boot camp energizes Stanford students and staffArts Intensive students roll up their sleeves, put on their dance shoes and warm up their vocal cords for a rigorous exploration of the arts during September Studies. A program assistant shares her perspective. |
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Medieval exhibition spotlights Stanford Libraries' manuscript collectionScripting the Sacred, a Stanford Libraries exhibition of Western European manuscripts and fragments, opened last week and continues through Jan. 6, 2013, in the Peterson Gallery and Munger Rotunda of Green Library. |
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Stanford scholars search for documents from the Chinese workers who built the U.S. Transcontinental RailroadWith help from the public, the Stanford-led project will give a voice to the Chinese migrants whose labor on the Transcontinental Railroad helped to shape the physical and social landscape of the American West. |
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A humanistic perspective on the European financial crisis, from Stanford Europe Center scholarsViewing the debt saga through the prism of history reveals much about the modern European mindset, scholars affiliated with Stanford's Europe Center say. |
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Foreign students get a leg up on language and culture at StanfordStanford's English for Foreign Students program helps international students communicate and cultivate a life on campus. |
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Stanford gathering explores why national security needs the humanitiesMilitary leaders, Stanford scholars and government officials contribute to a congressional report on how the humanities factor into international relations and national security. |
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This is your brain on Jane Austen, and Stanford researchers are taking notesResearchers observe the brain patterns of literary PhD candidates while they're reading a Jane Austen novel. The fMRI images suggest that literary reading provides "a truly valuable exercise of people's brains." |
August 2012
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Map collection portrays California as an islandA new Stanford Libraries' acquisition of 800 maps illustrates how California was portrayed as an island for more than a century. Cartographers consider the error the greatest snafu ever. |
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Stanford linguists seek to identify the elusive California accentWith the Voices of California project, Stanford linguistics professors and students aim to discover and document the diversity of California English. |
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Why do we still let the Electoral College pick our president?Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack Rakove thinks the Founding Fathers, who were experimental politicians, might agree that it's time to change the Electoral College as a way to select the president. |
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Greed was different in the Middle Ages, says Stanford's Laura StokesThere was a time and place – medieval Europe – where open greed was unacceptable to the community, and could even lead to murder. |
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Authors Daniel Orozco, Elisabeth Tova Bailey win Stanford's 2012 Saroyan Prize for WritingAwards honor short story writer who tells of the trauma in everyday routine and a bedridden author who chronicles her life with a gastropod. |
July 2012
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Scholar maps music used to control Holocaust prisonersBy mapping the melodies piped into Nazi concentration camps, German Studies doctoral student Melissa Kagen examines how music was used to control and torture Holocaust prisoners. |
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At Stanford's humanities camp, participants focus on critical thinking skillsStanford humanities camp introduces high school students to the challenges and rewards of scholarship at the university level. |
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Arnold Rampersad wins Anisfield-Wolf Book Prize Lifetime Achievement AwardBiographer Arnold Rampersad wins lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the study of cultural diversity. |
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Diagnosing the human condition: Stanford medical students add art, music and literature to studiesThe Arts, Humanities & Medicine Program allows Stanford School of Medicine students to explore their artistic passions in conjunction with their medical studies. |
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Fiction books give a boost to the brain, says Stanford professorStanford scholar's new theory of fiction reveals how reading literary works is like bringing your brain to the gym. |
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Stanford professor leads exploration of the work of actor, playwright Sam Shepard |
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Book, movie and iPhone apps to start discussion about the value of art in ninth annual 'Three Books' program |
June 2012
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Stanford scholar reveals influence of German philosophers on current ideas of sex, marriageScholar finds connections between the ideas of Germany's most influential philosophers and in the same-sex marriage debate . |
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Stanford's Apostolidès teaches his gender studies/French film class for the last timeFor the last 20 years, Professor Apostolidès has been challenging undergrads to develop a critical understanding of gender representation throughthe study of film in a class called "Images of Women in French Cinema: 1930-2000." |
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José David Saldívar named next director of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at StanfordJosé David Saldívar, a professor of comparative literature whose research centers on the minoritized literatures of the united States, has been named next director of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford. |
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New interactive database lets Stanford scholars map a mindsetA new interactive database generates graphical interpretations of language trends embedded in almost two centuries of Texas newspapers. |
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Everyone has a story; the Stanford Storytelling Project shares themThe Stanford Storytelling Project is a forum for students and faculty to share their personal stories on topics ranging from lying to nakedness. |
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Stanford philosopher examines why some things should not be for saleThe free market fosters innovation and facilitates transactions. But it also has a dark side when it comes to markets for human organs, child labor, weapons and addictive drugs. Philosopher Debra Satz's research tackles these issues. |
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Stanford research reveals the intimate side of boxing"Closeness in Boxing," a collaboration between humanities scholars and the East Palo Alto Boxing Club, reveals the intimate side of violence in the ring. |
May 2012
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Meditation's MigrationStanford Religious Studies Professor Carl Bielefeldt says that the meditation practice that has gained traction in the U.S. strays far from ancient Buddhist technique |
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Walter F. W. Lohnes, Stanford Professor Emeritus of German Studies, Dies at 87Walter F.W. Lohnes, author of the book that became the standard for beginning German language textbooks, German: A Structural Approach, changed the way German is taught in the United States and abroad. |
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Controversial Author Martin Amis Coming to Stanford on May 7Martin Amis, famous for his sharp, inventive prose and hist barbed public comments, will give a reading of his next novel about a violent criminal who wins the lottery. |
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Actress and Author Anna Deavere Smith Brings "Grace" to StanfordThrough a series of moving monologues, Anna Deavere Smith demonstrates the many manifestations of 'grace' at the Heyns Lecture of Religion and Society. |
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Stanford Classics in Theater to Perform "Women on Top"The members of Stanford Classics in Theater have combined their translation skills with biting social commentary to produce Women on Top, an insightful and modern interpretation of Assemblywomen. |
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Inside a Mathematical Proof Lies Literature, says Stanford's Reviel NetzStanford scholar Reviel Netz discusses why some of the greatest mathematicians were also some of classical history's most poetic storytellers. |
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Stanford Humanities PhD Students Pitch Their Talents to High-tech ExecutivesAt Stanford's second annual BiblioTech conference, business-style elevator pitches will showcase the versatile assets of 21st century humanities graduate students. |
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Stanford professor, IT specialist create interactive map of the Roman EmpireORBIS, an interactive digital model of the ancient Roman transportation system, shows how the empire was shaped by economic constraints. |
April 2012
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Three Stanford Humanities Scholars awarded Guggenheim FellowshipsMichael Arcega, Tamar Herzog, and Denise Gigante are among the 181 scholars, artists, and scientists who were awarded 2012 Guggenheim fellowships, selected out of a group of nearl |
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W.S. Di Piero awarded Ruth Lilly Poetry PrizeW.S. Di Piero, professor emeritus of English, has been awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. The $100, 000 prize is sponsered and administered by the Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. |
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Stanford historian Richard White earns a Pulitzer finalist spotAmerican history professor Richard White's publication Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of a Modern America has earned him a finalist spot in the 2012 Pulitzer Prize history category. |
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Four postdoctoral humanities scholars named Mellon fellowsSelected from over 600 applicants, Eliizabeth Bennet, Beatrice Kitzinger, Paul Roquet, and Adena Spingarn make up the four post-doctoral students who will come to Stanford in fall 2012 on two year Mellon fellowships. |
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Stanford Author Adam Johnson on Truth and Totalitarianism in North KoreaAssociate Professor in English, Adam Johnson's new New York Times bestselling novel, The Orphan Master's Son, offers new insights about North Korea. The launch of a long-range rocket schedules for April 15 says a lot more about consolidating the Kim John Un regime than it does about any global aspirations, according to the author. |
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Renowned Stegner Fellowship Program Announces 2012-2014 FellowsFive poets and five fictions writers have been awarded Stenger Writing Fellowships. These authors will spend two years developing their writing skills in the company of peers and under the guidance of Stanford faculty. |
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Stanford musicologist Stephen Hinton gets inside the music of Kurt WeillStanford musicologist Stephen Hinton presents an in-depth portrait of the artistic and cultural contributions of one of the most influential figures in 20th-centuy musical theater - German-Jewish composer, Kurt Weill. |
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Stanford's Ozgen Felek Investigates the Power of Dreams in SufismThrough a study of dreams, Ozgen Felek charts the ascendance of the 16th-century Ottoman ruler Sultan Murad III from humble disciple to spiritual and political leader. |
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Sarod Maestro Amjad Ali Khan Brings his Teaching PhilosophyThe Department of Music expands its non-Western musical offerings by hosting one of Northern India's greatest living musicians during the spring quarter. Maestro Khan will present a solo concert on the sarod, an Indian stringed instrument, on June 1. The Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra will perform a portion of his piece "Samaagam" on June 2. |
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Mantis, published by Stanford students, translates a world of poetryPoetry and poetics from around the globe is features and translated in the multicultural, student-run poetry journal Mantis, now celebrating its 10th year at Stanford. |
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Faith and DemocracyDuring the "Faith and Democracy" panel discussion held earlier this month, four scholars delved into the historical, philosophical, theological and jurisprudential links between democracy and Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism. |
March 2012
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From glovebox to archive: Private collector gives huge trove of roadmaps to StanfordIt is one of the most significant and comprehensive collections in the West, yet Rober Berlo's mother lode of 13,000 road map began modestly with one young boy's cross-country trip to Boston. |
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Stanford lectures, research examine religion, sexuality, and the cosmos.Through a combination of guest lecturers, coursework, and research, the "Religion and Gender Lecture Series" highlights how the study of gender and sexuality transforms the way scholars understand religious traditions, practices, and beliefs. |
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Innovative Stanford class project turns urban studies students into filmmakers.In a course taught by an urban historian, students combine historical film footage and hip-hop videos to create film project that expresses the transformation of an economically depressed urban landscape. |
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Learning how to speak 'American'Under Stanford's Language and Orientation Tutoring Program, humanities graduate students help international graduate students improve their English language skills and offer them insights into America's academic and popular culture. |
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Artist take performance to new heights at Stanford biological preserve.Visiting artist Ann Carlson brings her background in dance, choreography, theater, visual art, and performance art to an unlikely stage-Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains |
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Exploration of human and electronic sound at CCRMA.Devotees of new music were treated to a double dose of accomplishment and legend on the CCRMA Stage when Joan Le Barbara and Morton Subtonick discuss their work and share footage of recent performances. |
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Stanford visiting artist Ellen Lake creates a cultural paradox across decades.Ellen Lake, a visiting artist at Stanford's Experimental Media Lab (EMS Lab), is mining Kodachrome film footage to create new works that explore the evolution of technology. |
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Stanford Humanities Center Hosts annual celebration of publicationsFrom poetry to philosophy, the 19th annual Celebration of Publications showcased the scope of the humanities at Stanford. |
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Humanities Circle visits Library Special CollectionsThe Humanities Circle, (an undergraduate group sponsored by the Stanford Humanities), visits Green Library Special Collections. |
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Stanford researchers' innovative curriculum brings high school history classes to lifeStudents who used the "Reading like a Historian" curriculum outperformed their peers in traditional high school history classes, study finds. |
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Trans-Atlantic Bond between Keats brothers was a poetic inspiration, Stanford scholar saysStanford English Professor Denise Gigante deflty examines the lives of John Keats through the lens of his relationship with his American immigrant brother, George, in her book The Keats Brothers: The Life of John and George. |
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Searching for a new soul in HarlemHistorian Allyson Hobbs explores Harlem Renaissance authors who wrote about "racial passing" (otherwise known as individuals of mixed-race heritage who passed as white) as a means of understanding its function as "a literary vehicle to critique racism and to draw attention to the absurdity of the American racial condition." |
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Google Waltz Lab teaches Stanford students to think on their feetResulting from a partnership between Google and Richard Powers, a Stanford Dance Division lecturer, the Google Waltz Lab is much more than just a dance class. It is a forum in which Stanford students learn to think about problem-solving and improvisation in a new light through social dance. |
February 2012
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Rare Judeo-Spanish memoir gives a voice to the people of a lost culture.Historians Aron Rodrigue and Sarah Abrevaya Stein bring the history of Ottoman Jews to life through the words of Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi, a resident of 19th Century Ottoman Salonica. Sa'adi, a prominent journalist, publisher and muckraker publically questioned and rebelled against the strict rabbinical authority that ruled the Jews of Salonica. The memoir he created is the only memoir written during this time in the indigenous Jewish language of Ladino. |
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Author and philosopher Martha Nussbaum says a declining emphasis on study of the humanities could lead to a world of “useful profit makers with no imaginations.”While speaking to an audience at Stanford’s Cubberley Auditorium on February 2, 2012, Professor Nussbaum, author of Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, warned that education leaders are being short-sited in their efforts to stay economically competitive. While technical skills are important for the future health of nations, Nussbaum said that they alone do not make for a fully educated student. |
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Saldívar receives a 2011 National Humanities Medal in honor of his cultural explorations of the U.S-Mexico border.In a White House Ceremony on Monday, February 13, President Obama awarded a National Humanities Medal to Stanford English and comparative literature Professor Ramón Saldívar. His teaching and research, centering on globalization, transnationalism and Chicano studies, were recognized for "his bold explorations of identity along the border separating the United States and Mexico." |
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Stanford professor Haiyan Lee chronicles the Chinese “love revolution” though a study of cultural changes influenced by Western ideals.Haiyan Lee, an associate professor in Stanford’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, has been studying Chinese literature and culture from the pivotal period between 1900 and 1950 with the aim of documenting what she calls the “sentimental revolution” of China. |
January 2012
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Aphasia: A Stanford music professor's work, with hand gestures and odd sounds, about obsessive attention to ridiculous thingsAphasia, a composition by Mark Applebaum, associate professor of music at Stanford, is a 9-minute piece expressly written for a "singer" to perform without making a single sound. Premiered in February 2011 during a Stanford Lively Arts event, Aphasia consists of hundreds of transformed vocal samples derived from the voice of professional baritone Nicholas Isherwood and set to a score of hand motions coordinated to each sound. |
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New generation explores cultural changes through Asian music at Stanford festivalThe Stanford Chinese Music Ensemble, created just three months ago, provides an outlet for Stanford students to develop the uncommon practice of playing an ancient Chinese instrument. The ensemble will perform at the eighth annual Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival. |
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Stanford's 2012 Tanner Lectures explore ancient philosophies as ways of lifeIn two lectures at the annual Tanner Lectures on Human Values, John Cooper, the director of the Program in Classical Philosophy at Princeton, will delve into the ancient philosophies of Socrates and Plato and describe the relevance of their views on human nature and psychology in the moral lives of their supporters. |
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Walker Evans' iconic photos of the Great Depression at Cantor Arts CenterThe "Walker Evans" exhibit will present Evans' inspired images of the Great Depression and a display about his collaboration on the renowned book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Stanford English Professor Gavin Jones will lead a book discussion to help readers work through the compelling issues raised by the groundbreaking publication. |
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Stanford Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar infuses new national memorial with visual interpretations of King's metaphorical languageClayborne Carson, director of Stanford's Martin Luther King Institute, drew on his vast knowledge of King as he advised urban planners, architects and designers on the memorial that now stands on the National Mall in Washington, D.C |
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Papers of Europe's first female professor to become available online, with help from Stanford's librariesLaura Bassi, a noted 18th-century Italian scientist and Europe's first female professor, left behind 6,000 pages of intriguing documents that describe her life and work. They now rest in the archives of the principal municipal library in Bologna, Italy, safe but not accessible to the world at large. That is about to change. Stanford's libraries have teamed up with the Bologna library and the Istituto per i beni culturali della Regione Emilia-Romagna to scan Bassi's archives and make them easily accessible online later this year. |
December 2011
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What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Literature and the ArtsThe panel discussion, What Can Scientists Learn from Ballet?, highlighted the common creative process for artists and technologists. A ballerina, a surgeon, a music professor, a robotics scientist and an entrepreneur explored how creative processes offer insights into the consumer psyche. |
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Study of comic books helps scholars identify cultural trendsIn recent years, scholars have taken an interest in how graphic narratives reflect increasing hybridization in the digital age, both artistic and cultural. A group of researchers at Stanford formed the Graphic Narrative Project, an academic workshop where they take an interdisciplinary approach to studying this dynamic art form. |
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A study of two historical sites shows different paths to protecting cultural heritageIn recent years there has been a growing movement within archaeological circles to define historic sites by their links to the human rights of the indigenous populations. This contested connection was recently explored by Professor Ian Hodder in a talk for Stanford's Program on Human Rights Collaboratory. |
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Analysis of World's Languages Traces Evolution of Sentence StructureAn unlikely collaboration between a Stanford linguist and a Nobel Prize-winning physicist provides proof of a more linear evolution of language.Drawing on a sample of 2,135 of the world’s known languages, they have created a phylogenetic Language Tree that provides new insight into how our ancestors may have communicated. |
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Tobacco industry dying? Not so fast, says Stanford expertSmoking is not going away. Worldwide, says Stanford historian Robert Proctor, the tobacco industry continues to create toxic products that cause not just lung cancer but also cataracts, ankle fractures, early onset menopause, spontaneous abortion and erectile dysfunction, among other maladies. |
November 2011
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Edgy Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin is writer-in-residence at StanfordThe soft-spoken man with a slight stutter and a startling cascade of shoulder-length silver hair may not look like a one-man Russian revolution, but Stanford's newest writer-in-residence, Vladimir Sorokin, has created his own brand of literary warfare. "He's the greatest living Russian writer," said Stanford Slavic scholar Nariman Skakov. "He is a living monument, one of the greatest avant-garde writers who consistently undermined Soviet ideology in the 1980s." |
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Classic theater offers perspectives on agingA dozen scenes from classic theater will be performed by members of the Stanford community at the Poetics of Aging conference being held in San Francisco from November 16-19. “The scenes are to loosen up the conference, help people to go inside of themselves, give them a visceral experience,” says organizer Nader Shabahangi, who received his doctorate in German Studies at Stanford and who co-founded Bay Area residential care provider AgeSong. “Life is play and theater can take the edge off our tendency to be too serious about life,” he says. |
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Rare books chronicle the evolution of the printed wordThe Stanford University Libraries rare books collection contains examples of early printing that provided the inspiration and foundation for the typography that has become an integral part of both desktop publishing and traditional publishing today. A two-part exhibition of materials, Monuments of Printing, by Curator of Rare Books John Mustain, ranges across five hundred years, shedding light on the evolution of typography and printing that forever transformed the way people communicate. |
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New social media? Same old, same old, say Stanford expertsIf you feel overwhelmed by social media, you're hardly the first. An avalanche of new forms of communication similarly challenged Europeans of the 17th and 18th centuries. "In the 17th century, conversation exploded," said Anaïs Saint-Jude, director of Stanford's BiblioTech program. "It was an early modern version of information overload." |
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Study of fifteenth century criminal records reveal the origins of the witch-huntA dark but iconic moment in U.S. history, the Salem witch trials of 1692, are taught in American schools to educate students about religious extremism and the judicial process. But the origins of witchcraft prosecution can be traced back to Europe centuries prior, when pre-Reformation courts first induced criminals to admit to heresy and witchcraft to exert social control through displays of harsh and often violent punishment. |
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Stanford scholar calls for new definition of the humanitiesDuring a presentation for alumni during homecoming weekend, 2011, English professor Jennifer Summit described this new disciplinary cluster as “the academic equivalent of the European Union.” The humanities, Summit explained, were defined separately in an effort to counter-balance the rapidly expanding study of the natural and social sciences, much like the EU acts as a counter-balance between the United States and the Soviet Union. |
October 2011
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Thinking Twice: Can, and should, gender make a difference in arguments against war?Stanford scholar Anne Firth Murray, who will co-host the on-campus event, and historian Estelle Freedman study the impact of war on women through different scholarly lenses. In Thinking Twice: Women and War, they explore the topic of women and war around the world and throughout history. |
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Dancer arrives at Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological PreserveThe Stanford Arts Initiative-supported collaboration will encompass two undergraduate classes and culminate in a winter performance of Carlson's new work – a series of live-action recreations of historical Jasper Ridge photos. |
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Posters from the Golden Age of Turkish Cinema reflect a changing societyFictional characters of all sorts, from lovers and aliens to cowboys and superheroes, came to life in the numerous film production studios of Istanbul during the mid-20th century. The headquarters for all of the country’s major film production houses were on Yeşilçam Street, in the heart of the city. |
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Stanford scholar finds the origins of Western poetry in troubadours' songsStanford Assistant Professor Marisa Galvez has written a book about medieval songbooks, pointing to troubadours as the models for modern poets. |
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Stanford gets revved about automobilesWith an April 7 event, Stanford will launch the Revs Program at Stanford, a new program to secure the place of the automobile in our history and culture. |
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Thinking Twice : CANCERIn this edition of Thinking Twice, Stanford assistant professor of anthropology Lochlann Jain and professor of medicine Douglas Blayney examine the topic of cancer from their unique perspectives. |
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Interactive Website Merges Technology, History, and LiteratureProfessor of English Literature Martin Evans spent many days searching for houses, apartments, pubs, and other buildings associated with literary figures throughout London.This interest led him to create Authorial London, a website where he could share his knowledge of these locations. |
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Stanford's 'Painted Ladies': Cantor exhibition shows how the ancient world used color – and how science reveals the faded pastWere ancient Greece and Rome filled with dignified white marble statuary? Not a chance. A Stanford sophomore shows an ancient statue the way it was meant to be seen – in Technicolor. Her Cantor Arts Center exhibition also shows the technology that helped rediscover long-lost colors. |
February 2011
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Stanford Libraries Share a Treasure Trove of American HistoryA new rare books exhibit,“The American Enlightenment: Treasures from the Stanford University Libraries,” showcases an array of artifacts from the great age of intellectual discovery that produced the American Revolution. The exhibit is open from February to May, 2011 in Stanford's Green Library. |
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Ancient shells meet high-tech: Stanford researchers study the sound of pre-Incan conchesWhat did it mean when, three millennia ago, the pre-Incan residents of Chavín de Huántar raised those ornately decorated conch shells to their lips in the underground corridors of their temple? Nobody knows for certain. But a few Stanford researchers are determined to find out. The result has led to an unusual collaboration between archaeologists and acousticians, under the auspices of Peru's Ministry of Culture, leading into the rarified realms of psychoacoustics and archaeo-acoustics. |
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Historian Joel Beinin on the Egyptian Labor CrisisHistory professor Joel Beinin's research focuses on workers and minorities in the modern Middle East. In recent years he has interviewed Egyptian workers and explored the history and the current state of the labor movement. Now, Professor Beinin addresses the current Egyptian uprising. |
January 2011
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Two famous authors discuss one war: Tim O'Brien, Tobias Wolff on writing about VietnamThey both are megastars in the literary universe, and both were Vietnam War soldiers. And both have succeeded in an unpleasant genre: writing about war. Award-winning writers Tobias Wolff and Tim O'Brien met onstage this week as part of Stanford's "Ethics and War" series to discuss their craft. |
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New curriculum gives English majors the big pictureIn a survey, students said they weren't getting the "big picture" of English literature. Faculty responded with a curriculum that bypasses a "March of the Masterpieces" approach and focuses instead on how literature develops and changes over time. |
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Stanford archaeologist shows how the Romans made pottery in BritainWhat the Romans in Britain lacked in aesthetics they more than made up for in efficiency – and Melissa Chatfield, a research fellow in ceramic geoarchaeology, shows how they did it by recreating and firing a kiln based on the late Iron Age and Roman models in Britain. |
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Humanities Scholars Shed New Light on Environmental ChangeStanford University history professor Richard White might seem an unlikely source for fresh perspectives on today’s environmental debate. But White, among other humanities scholars, can use their unique backgrounds to shed light on environmental change. White believes that looking at the past gives insights into what has shaped the present and offers glimpses of what the future holds. |
December 2010
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Non-consumptive research? Text mining? Welcome to the hotspot of humanities research at StanfordBooks aren't just sacks of raw data – or are they? "Text mining" and "non-consumptive research" may create an altogether different kind of literary history. Stanford is at the cutting edge of the humanities in the computer age. Matthew Jockers’ work is not only new data, but a new idea of what research looks like in the humanities. |
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Study of Literature Under Attack?As some universities reconsider the need for requiring students to study literature, Joshua Landy, co-director of the Philosophy and Literature Initiative defends the value of a liberal arts education. Landy told a group of Stanford freshman to chose a major that they are passionate about. |
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Why the West Rules - For NowFor the past 200 years, the world’s economic, political and cultural center of gravity has been firmly rooted in the West. However, times are changing. By the end of the century, Eastern social development is predicted to put an end to the reign of Western dominance. |
October 2010
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Thinking Twice: GLOBALIZATIONDo you think globalization unites or divides people from different nations? Professor of English and Comparative Literature Ramón Saldívar and Professor of Political Science Judith Goldstein offer their unique perspectives as they address the forum question. |
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Exploring Race and Ethnicity Through Art and LiteratureStanford humanities professors shared examples of representations of race and ethnicity in literature and art at San Francisco's premier literary festival, Litquake. During the presentation the scholars discussed how artistic portrayals of race and ethnicity impact contemporary culture. |
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Stanford Class creates Graphic NovelsStudents collaborate in comics journalism to produce books on contemporary social issues. |
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'Ethics and War' explores the contradictions of modern conflictDirector of the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society Debra Satz develops a program exploring the ethical questions raised by war. |
September 2010
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Wikipedia, if it were run by academic experts, would look like thisStudents, here's an Internet site you can footnote. The entries in the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy are written by leading experts and vetted by others before they appear. From quantum mechanics to "Human/Non-Human Chimeras," these articles, based on serious research, attract 700,000 visits per week. |
August 2010
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Archive Preserves Ancient Cambodian MusicA Stanford researcher has recently completed the first in-depth study of an endangered Cambodian Buddhist musical tradition that combines liturgical texts with complex melodies. The researcher? Trent Walker '10, a religious studies major who was first exposed to the genre while traveling in Cambodia between high school and college. |
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Students Produce "Academic" Music VideoA team of undergraduate students from Stanford’s Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL) is approaching digital humanities projects with an eye for design. Zachary Chandler, the DLCL Department's Academic Technology Specialist, founded a DLCL in-house design group, called “Experimedia,” to offer humanities students more opportunities to merge technology and artistry with humanities research. |
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Examining Conversations About Race with a Multidisciplinary Scope“Everyone’s just a little bit racist” is the title of a catchy song with provocative lyrics, sung by Muppet-like characters in the Broadway musical “Avenue Q.” The statement made by the song is also a point of discussion in Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century, a collection of new essays that offers readers a unique interdisciplinary analysis of race and ethnicity in contemporary society. |
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Graduate student uncovers Hopkins' immigrant historyA bare stretch of beach separates Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Dirt, scrub brush and broken concrete obscure evidence of previous life, but the rocky bluff above once went by another name: Point Alones. More than 100 years ago, the area was a fishing village and home to hundreds of Chinese Americans. Bryn Williams, a Stanford graduate student in anthropology, excavated the land as part of his dissertation work. |
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Stanford legend Robert Conquest: new books at 93 for the historian and poetConquest is a man of contradictions: He has been called "a comic poet of genius" and "a love poet of considerable force" – but he made his mark as one of the first to expose the horrors of Stalinist communism. |
July 2010
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Juana Briones ArchiveBridging the gap between academia and public service, select students from the Fall 2009 course, "Introduction to Public History and Public Service" became volunteer historians, assembling an archive of unique and local importance. During the course, taught by Department of History Lecturer Dr. Carol McKibben, students applied historical study to public settings such as heritage sites and state parks. |
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Culture of DiagramWe now live in what is being called the Information Age, because with the invention of the internet and digitization humans can access, exchange, and act through massive quantities of knowledge more easily than in any previous time in human history. |
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Stanford acquires a cache of ancient Chinese booksChina's ancient treasures are now at Stanford – thanks to China's patient labor and today's technology. The 9,100 volumes capture the best of China's past. They are reproductions, certainly, but reproductions of a caliber not seen before. Stanford is reaping the benefits of China's patient labor and high technology; in the United States, Reproductions of Chinese Rare Editions Series (Zhonghua zaizao shanben) is available in its entirety only at Stanford and Harvard. |
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Stanford book tells the tale of the ill-starred life of Nikolai Bukharin, the BolshevikFrom beginning to end, Stalin was a deadly element in the Bukharin marriage – a saga that ended in front of a firing squad. The couple's story is told in a compelling new book. Author Paul R. Gregory writes that his story is a cautionary tale "for those sympathetic to benevolent dictatorships as a way of escaping national poverty." |
June 2010
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Scholars and Students Explore Intersection of Religion and ViolenceLeading scholars representing a range of disciplines are lending their expertise to a new Religious Studies course that encourages Stanford students to think globally about how religion, violence and politics converge in the 21st century. Every Wednesday during the spring course entitled, “Religion and Global Conflict,” a different guest speaker is addressing this timely issue from their unique research perspective. |
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Stanford Students Use Digital Tools to Analyze Classic TextsWhat happens when students with little or no computer science background are tasked with working with a collection of digitized 19th century texts in a course taught by a humanities computing scholar? The combination of these three elements made for an enlightening research endeavor for both students and professor in an on-going Stanford course entitled “Literary Studies and the Digital Library” – a class so engaging that almost all of the students chose to continue their projects for a second and third quarter. |
May 2010
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Annual event showcases Stanford authorsRarely does one get the chance to interact with an array of top scholars and writers in one afternoon, but Stanford's annual event, "A Company of Authors," presents just such an opportunity. For one afternoon each year, students, faculty, and community members can attend a book salon type event, during which an array of writers associated with the University present their most recent works. |
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Stanford Classics in Theater to perform “An ancient satire with modern obscenities”This weekend the student-run group, Stanford Classics in Theater, will perform a modernized and slightly cheeky version of the classic Greek play Clouds, originally written by famed comic playwright, Aristophanes over 1500 years ago. Performances, which are free and open to the public, will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 14th and 15th in Annenberg Auditorium. |
April 2010
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Memories of Loss Help Communities Recover From TragedyAs citizens of Chile and Haiti transition from survival to recovery after the devastating earthquakes that took place in each country, four Stanford scholars co-chair “History, Memory & Reconciliation," to investigate “how communities that have undergone deep and violent political transformations try to confront their past.” |
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Stanford Eastern Europe scholar: Despite catastrophe, 'Poland will survive'In his comments about the death of the Polish president and other top civilian and military leaders in a plane crash, Stanford scholar Norman Naimark points out that this "tragedy of enormous proportions" has greater repercussions because of Poland's catastrophic historical experiences. |
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From a POW camp to Berlin to Stanford: an avant-garde director's careerCarl Weber, Stanford professor emeritus of directing and dramaturgy, was Bertolt Brecht's protégé and brought Germany's experimental theater to America. |
March 2010
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‘Arcade’ traces the life cycle of an idea — from blog to bookRoland Greene, head of Stanford's DLCL, launches a website that provides a digital salon for scholars. |
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Scientist studies emotion in psychology, art and acting to help autisticsStanford researcher David Wilkins is comparing how artists, actors and psychologists know facial emotions. He hopes to use his findings to help individuals with autism, who often are very poor at recognizing facial emotions. |
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Humanities Scholars Consider Contemporary Culture of Afghanistan and PakistanIn 2010, as the U.S. government commits more troops to Afghanistan in its efforts to quell insurgent activity in the region, scholars are raising doubts as to whether sufficient attention is being paid to historical precedent, especially in regards to the region's recent history and varied cultural traditions. |
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How Do You Write?What is the secret to great writing? How do writers, both creative and non-creative, organize and convey their thoughts? How do they actually work? Hilton Obenzinger, Associate Director of Stanford's Hume Writing Center for Honors and Advanced Writing is in a better position than most to answer these questions. |
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Thinking Twice: ENCHANTMENTAre enchantment and science compatible? French associate professor Joshua Landy and physics professor Roger Blandford offer their unique perspectives as they address the forum question. |
February 2010
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Play Highlights Literary Career of Renowned Chemist, Carl DjerassiCarl Djerassi, emeritus professor of chemistry at Stanford, is best known for his achievements in science; he was awarded a National Medal of Science for the first synthesis of the birth control pill, and he received a National Medal of Technology for contributing to the development of environmentally safe methods of insect control. On Saturday, February 6th, 2010, a large audience, many familiar with Djerassi's work, gathered at the Pigott Theater not to applaud another scientific discovery, but to celebrate Djerassi’s impressive second career as a writer of plays and fiction. |
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Cantor Arts Center stages first-ever U.S. exhibition to spotlight 'national treasures' of 20th-century ChinaIn the West, they are little known. But on the other side of the Pacific, they are national treasures who redefined an ancient art form – insistently painting with ink through the worst vicissitudes of the 20th century, including the Chinese Cultural Revolution. |
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Isaac Babel's Stanford biographer explores the Russian writer's world of violence, ironyAs a teenager in the mid-1960s, Gregory Freidin moved with his family to a rough side of Moscow, to what he described as a neighborhood notorious “for its Jewish thieves, counterfeiters and dealers in stolen goods.” He had entered “the Jewish underworld.” In short, the Soviet kid discovered Isaac Babel's world. |
January 2010
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Historian Discovers that the Chinese Typewriter is No JokeHow do you represent a language, consisting of tens of thousands of characters, on a personal keyboard? For a hundred years, the Chinese have been contemplating the same question. |
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Ancient Rome in AmericaEighteenth-and nineteenth-century Americans were fascinated by ancient Rome and emulated classical style and philosophy in many facets of their lives. During this pivotal period of United States history, homes were adorned with classical architectural elements, students learned Latin in school, and the founding fathers aspired to the ideals of the ancient Roman republic. |
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Terry Castle Expresses Herself in a New Collection of Darkly Humorous EssaysDescribed by critics as “fearless,” “brain-goosing,” and “wildly funny,” for her emotionally honest and poignantly humorous writing, Stanford English professor Terry Castle releases a collection of recent essays this month. |
December 2009
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Stanford conference on Afghanistan, Pakistan draws passion, angerPresident Obama's decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan fueled the Stanford conference on "Alienated Nations, Fractured States: Afghanistan and Pakistan," which drew impassioned, sometimes even angry, responses from the participating scholars and about 150 members of the public. |
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Stanford technology helps scholars get 'big picture' of the EnlightenmentResearchers map thousands of letters exchanged in the 18th century's "Republic of Letters" – and learn at a glance what it once took a lifetime of study to comprehend. |
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Ancient Coin Hoards Help Solve Population MysteryRecently, two professors, one a historian and the other a scientist joined together in an unlikely scholarly collaboration to investigate whether ancient coin hoards could help them paint a more accurate picture of the population count of ancient Rome. |
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Stanford Students Dig Into Archaeological SiteThis summer, an international excavation team gathered at the small town of Binchester. Shovels and pickaxes in hand, the group, consisting primarily of students from Stanford and Durham University UK, broke the surface soil on new trenches at one of the UK’s most significant archaeological sites. |
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Thinking Twice: MOTIVATIONIs an individual solely responsible for his or her actions? In this edition of Thinking Twice, Philosophy professor Michael E. Bratman and Psychology professor Greg Walton explore the issue from different point of views. |
November 2009
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Networking Humanities Style in a Virtual 'Salon'In the academic sense, a salon is a gathering of intellectuals who engage in thought provoking discussions. Taking a cue from the social media trend, a group of humanities scholars have created a new and improved virtual incarnation of the salon. The new interactive website, entitled "Arcade," is the first widely accessible platform for intellectual networking in the humanities. |
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Stanford Scholars Reflect on the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin WallNovember 9, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. For the Germans living there then and now, 1989 represents a turning point in an era that continues to shape their culture. Modern European historian James Sheehan and Amir Eshel, a professor of German Studies, reflect on the consequences of this important anniversary. |
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Thinking Twice: BOUNDARIESAs societies become more globalized, how important will boundaries be? In this edition of Thinking Twice, Religious Studies professor Charlotte E. Fonrobert and Associate Director of the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation Byron Bland explore the issue from different point of views. |
October 2009
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Twain's Tales Reveal Ardent Animal Welfare Advocate in their AuthorMark Twain's varied and complex writing raised awareness about animal cruelty and exploitation, demonstrating a Darwinian influence and a love of animals both commonplace and exotic. Shelley Fisher Fishkin's research reveals the animal welfare advocate in Twain. |
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Stanford Scholars Discuss the Future of the Essay at LitquakeWhat is the future of the essay? Is it attempting too much nowadays? How valuable is it in the 21st century? Four Stanford scholars address these questions and discuss the metamorphosis it is undergoing at Litquake, San Francisco's annual literary festival. |
September 2009
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The Funny Thing About Growing OldYou might be surprised to discover what linguistics professor Yoshiko Matsumoto's research suggests about the aging population in Japan. Contrary to popular belief, conversations between older Japanese women are lively and energetic. |
August 2009
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Stanford Musicians on Two Continents Meet in New Virtual World for Live ShowsStanford music and humanities scholars will entertain European and on-line audiences with a unique hybrid of music and technology this Fall.Researchers from the Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics [CCRMA] and the Stanford Humanities Lab [SHL] will perform two mixed reality shows at the Torino Milano International Music Festival, often referred to as MiTo. Performers on both acoustic and electronic instruments located in Stanford, CA and simultaneously in Italy, will meet online in a custom virtual environment before a live audience in Milan. |
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Finding New Meaning in One of the World's Oldest BooksStanford religious studies professor Paul Harrison’s latest research suggests that previous translations of the Diamond Sutra may have incorrectly interpreted certain words in a way that affects the entire meaning of the text. For the last seven years Prof. Harrison has been working on re-editing and re-translating the Diamond Sutra. |
July 2009
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Local Teachers and Stanford Faculty Partner to Improve Humanities EducationTeachers involved in a two-week long institute partnered with Stanford professors to design new approaches to instruction in the humanities.During the recent Teaching Studio seminar held at Stanford, local high school teachers, predominantly in English and history, learned that taking a more holistic approach to teaching humanities subjects can yield positive results for their students. |
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Tracing the Roots of CelebrityArt historian traces fame's double-edged sword to 19th-century Paris.Throngs of people rush to a storefront where the latest image of a famous musician has been placed in the window. The performing artist in the image is captured looking somewhat sinister in dramatic lighting with a background that looks like a prison. This portrayal seems to confirm rumors of the performer’s strange personality and criminal history. Though the picture could pass as a digitally enhanced celebrity photograph from a 21st century fan magazine, it is actually a 19th century lithograph of a renowned Italian violinist. |
June 2009
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Taking The Time to Study SpeedStanford professor launches exhibit exploring representations and implications of speed in our culture“Life in the fast lane” is a contemporary phrase we often use to describe exciting, action-packed events in our lives, but just what is the human obsession with speed? Jeffrey Schnapp, Stanford professor of Italian and of Comparative Literature, explores this very question in an exhibit titled, Speed Limits, at the Canadian Center for Architecture (CCA). Through a variety of multimedia exhibits in six different galleries, Schnapp explores the concept of speed and its cultural evolution in all aspects of life, including construction and production, household functions, traffic and transit, and workplace rhythms, into its role in contemporary life. |
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Digital Archive Offers Glimpse into the 'Dark Side' of The EnlightenmentStanford professor, Dan Edelstein, works to create a digital archive of lesser known, darker pieces from The EnlightenmentWhen most people talk about the age of enlightenment they are usually referring to a period in 18th century European history when logic and reason rose to supremacy. During this important period of cultural growth, public intellectuals like John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire dedicated themselves to solving perennial human dilemmas. They and their contemporaries gathered in salons and coffeehouses and exchanged volumes of letters in the name of sharing knowledge and improving the human condition. Dan Edelstein, a Stanford French professor, has been exploring an aspect of the Age of Enlightenment that is less familiar to most, the so-called “dark side” of the enlightenment... |
May 2009
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In Praise of the Undergraduate EssayFrench professor Dan Edelstein writes on the worth of undergraduate writing in American education[Writing] is responsible for teaching students how to think in innovative ways, and may help explain the success of the American university. Writing should accordingly be granted greater importance and attention in the academic curriculum. Let me begin by illustrating this point with an anecdote. For the last four years, I have taught an Introduction in the Humanities (IHUM) course at Stanford on “Epic Journeys, Modern Quests.” All incoming freshmen must choose from one of these dozen or so introductory courses; in the one I teach, they read literary works ranging from Gilgamesh to The Trial, and write a series of papers analyzing the texts along the way. |
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Going Back to ComptonProfessor of history, Albert Camarillo, looks at the city of Compton from the eyes of his own childhood experience, as well as the eyes of a grown historian.A recent article entitled “Straight Into Compton” on Newsweek.com rekindled memories of the city of my youth, a place I now regularly visit as an academic. I grew up in Compton, the city where my family’s roots extend back nearly a century. Like so many other children of immigrants, I yearned to fulfill my family’s aspirations through educational achievement. I left the city in 1970. When I returned in 2000 as an academic, a history professor from Stanford University, what I found was a city striking in its familiarity to my memories of the past... |
April 2009
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Artifacts of the slave trade were designed to convey messages of power, ownership, and even refinementThe Slave Mart Museum building in Charleston, South Carolina doesn’t draw much attention from passersby. The stone, two-story building with an unassuming entry-way certainly doesn’t give any clues about the building’s pivotal role as a slave auction house. But to Rhonda Goodman’s trained eye the building has a lot to teach us about how ante-bellum Americans felt about the especially de-humanizing but integral facet of the slave trade; the slave auction. |
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Experimental Music Composer Draws Inspiration from his StudentsStanford music professor and avant-garde composer Mark Applebaum discusses inspiration and innovation in his music.Britney Spears, Nirvana, Outkast, The Who -these are names we associate with sold-out concerts and faded t-shirts, but not so much with lectures and term papers. Yet that is exactly the material that makes up the coursework of music professor Mark Applebaum’s popular course “Rock, Sex, and Rebellion.” As a music scholar, Professor Applebaum is best known for musical experimentation such as converting live brainwave data into MIDI music, or composing music for an avant-garde live floral arranging performance, of which he has an event coming up on May 15th. Applebaum admits to being primarily a composer, but says that rock music inspires his experimental composition on occasion. |
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Stanford Researcher Uses Cell Phones to Make MusicStanford professor Ge Wang sees his work with cell phones as part of the "mobile renaissance."The sound is unearthly—the sort of hypnotic drone you might hear from the chanting of state-of-the-art Tibetan monks. Or a vibration picked up via radio signals from another galaxy. In fact, it's not a human sound at all. It's a half-dozen mobile phones. The eerie music is part of a "mobile renaissance," said Ge Wang, creator of the Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra, known as MoPhO. Wang is also the founder of the Stanford Laptop Orchestra and an assistant professor of music at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), one of the foremost computer music research centers in the world. |
March 2009
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Stanford Artists Swept Up in Rising Tide of Environmental AwarenessInnovative three-day conference designed to foster interdisciplinary dialogue about the relationship between aesthetics and the green movementStanford art professors Gail Wight and Terry Berlier are both directors of Rising Tide: The Arts and Ecological Ethics, an upcoming conference that will explore the intersection of art, ethics and the environment. Public policy is shaped by cultural habit and the aim of the conference is to demonstrate how creative professionals and artists can influence global environmental policy. |
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The Novel's Political PunchStanford professors and graduate students from the Center for the Study of the Novel invite renowned scholars to discuss the novel's political implications in this year's conference“I don't believe there can be a poetic novel without political consciousness.” Nearly twenty years ago, American author Marguerite Young uttered these words in an interview, and today the sentiment remains as pertinent as ever. Stanford’s Center for the Study of the Novel, considered the recurring significance of politics in the novel and decided to explore the topic in the Center’s annual conference. |
February 2009
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An ancient Athenian's advice to President ObamaProfessor Josiah Ober explores the similarities between politics in ancient Athens and the modern United StatesIn his latest book, Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens, Josiah Ober, a professor in Classics and Political Science, explores the pros and cons of democracy and demonstrates the valuable lessons Athenian political practices hold for us today. Here Prof. Ober offers some thoughts about how Barack Obama might benefit from re-visiting the tenets of Athenian democracy as he begins his presidency. |
January 2009
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Buying, selling, owning the pastStanford Professors, including Lynn Meskell and Paul Harrison, weigh in on issues of antiquity ownershipStanford's archaeologists and scholars who study art or antiquities often find themselves intervening in controversies over who truly owns the artifacts. The past decades have seen a booming international antiquities market. National and international bodies have tried to curtail the illicit trafficking. But still, the world's museums are full of objects that many people think don't belong there. |
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Saving worlds: Preserving the digital and virtualHenry Lowood, Stanford Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections, works on a project to preserve virtual and digital materialHenry Lowood is overseeing a two-year grant to the Stanford libraries for a project called Preserving Virtual Worlds, in order to keep a record of the evolution of digital culture and experience. |
December 2008
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Historian questions DoD counter-terrorism projectStanford Historian, Priya Satia, Raises Red Flags about Dept. of Defense Counter-Terrorism InitiativeAt first glance, Satia’s research might not seem relevant to Department of Defense counter-terrorism strategy, but her recent book, Spies in Arabia: The Great War and the Cultural Foundations of Britain’s Covert Empire in the Middle East, has made her a useful appraiser of current American surveillance and counter-insurgency strategies in the region. |
November 2008
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Landmark Asian American art book shatters wall of silenceStanford History Professor, Gordon Chang, is the senior editor of Asian American Art: A History, 1850-1970Asian American Art is more than a compendium of a century of art. According to Stanford University Librarian Michael Keller, "It's a historic undertaking." |
October 2008
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Dinosaurs and Dragons, Oh My!Stanford Fossil Historian, Adrienne Mayor, Links Dinosaur Bones to Mythological CreaturesMany paleontologists today believe there are connections between the mythological dragons that ancient peoples believed in and the human discovery of dinosaur fossils. |
September 2008
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The Stories Our Libraries TellJennifer SummitA person’s memory may only last a lifetime, but the collective human memory has endured for eons. The stories of those who came before us are told to us through their books, art and language. |