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UC SANTA BARBARA NEWS FOR Alumni & Friends of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies & The Graduate Center for Literary Research Summer 2019—Spring 2020 UC SANTA BARBARA CHAIR OF THE PROGRAM UNDERGRADUATE ADVISOR NEWSLETTER EDITORS Comparative Literature Program Dominique Jullien Melissa Powell Marcel Strobel [email protected] [email protected] Jordan J. Tudisco 4206 Phelps Hall Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4130 VICE CHAIR STUDENT SERVICE MANAGER GRADUATE PROGRAM COORDINATOR Information: (805) 893-3161 Eric Prieto Carol Flores Tyler McMullen Fax: (805) 893-8341 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Comparative Literature UC Santa Barbara 01 Notes from the Chairs and Directors Dominique Jullien, Chair, Comparative Literature 01 Jean Marie Schultz, Incoming Chair, French & Italian 02 Elisabeth Weber, Chair, Germanic & Slavic Studies 02 Sara Pankenier Weld, Incoming Chair, Germanic & Slavic Studies 03 Suzanne Jill Levine, Advisor Emerita, Translation Studies Program 03 02 The Graduate Center for Literary Research 04 03 New Hires and New Affiliated Faculty 05 04 Updates from Affiliated Faculty 06 05 Newly Graduated 10 06 News from Our Alumni 11 07 New Doctoral Candidates 11 08 Welcoming New Graduate Students 12 09 Other Graduate Student Updates 13 10 Our Grads at the 2020 Institute for World Literature 15 11 UCSB Memory Studies Group 16 12 Undergraduate Honors Reception 17 13 PASC Staff Updates 18 Notes from the Chairs and Directors Dominique Jullien Chair, Comparative Literature In September 2019, I took over as chair of Comparative Literature, following seven years of Catherine Nesci’s superb leadership. This was a hard act to follow; I feel that I learned much, but there is still so much to learn every day. I am immensely grateful to PASC’s wonderful staff, whose competence and infinite patience help steer our Comparative Literature Program vessel in these troubled waters. In response to the COVID remote work rules, the staff has been truly remarkable in their resilience and resourcefulness, and I could not have dreamed of a better team to work with. Make sure to read all the exciting Staff news. I am also much indebted to the kindness and expertise of my colleagues, who assist and enlighten me with unfailing generosity. The Comparative Literature Advisory Board has been invaluable in helping me navigate the visit of our External Review Committee and the various initiatives in the aftermath of its report. It is a privilege to work with Eric Prieto, Vice Chair and Graduate Advisor, and Roberto Strongman, Undergraduate Advisor. Thanks as well to Julie Carlson for taking on the job of Diversity Officer, and to Nadège Clitandre who fulfilled that role for several years, and is now taking a much-deserved sabbatical. Most of all, my thanks go to Catherine Nesci, for her expert and helpful guidance in all aspects of the job. External Review This year saw the visit of the External Review, which took place in late January 2020. Its six members reviewed the Comparative Literature Program Program, the French and Italian Department and the Germanic and Slavic department all at once. I am pleased to say that the report was very positive, praising the program as a “hidden gem.” The External Review Committee also made a number of practical recommendations, which we are beginning to implement. One key recommendation was to streamline the PhD exam structure, with the goal of shortening the timeline and enhancing the professional relevance of the exams. After extensive consulting with the Board, affiliate members and graduate students, we put forth a proposal for a revised exam structure, which was approved by the Graduate Council in June and will begin to be implemented next Fall. Initiatives Comparative Literature Program continued to offer a wide range of courses that bring fields and disciplines in conversation. New initiatives are being developed, in particular in the Environmental Humanities. A ground-breaking new summer course on “Storytelling in the Anthropocene” was offered in July 2020, team-taught by an Associate from the Bren School and an Associate in Comparative Literature. A Vegan Studies minor, building on Professor Renan Larue’s very successful course offerings on vegan issues, is in the works, as is the addition of the Graduate PhD Emphasis in Environment and Society (IPEES) in Comparative Literature. The annual spring conference of the Graduate Center for Literary Research, on the theme of “Climate Fictions” had to be postponed because of the pandemic and was moved to Winter of 2021. The Critical Memory Studies group continues its lively quarterly meetings, most recently holding a zoom discussion of Jessica Nakamura’s book Transgenerational Remembrance. This year is not for the faint of heart. With its multiple challenges, from a viral pandemic and anti-Black racism and violence to economic and climate crises, 2020 truly is an unforgettable year. In the face of adversity, everyone has been intrepidly striving to teach, learn, and administer in this brave new remote environment. As online teaching becomes the norm for the foreseeable future, we are mutating into quite the zoom experts. Stay safe everyone! COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 1 Notes from the Chairs and Directors Jean Marie Schultz new, dynamic intermediate French Vagt and Wolf Kittler organized Incoming Chair, French & Italian language program at UC Berkeley, a three-day long international one that drew on my experiences conference on “Modeling the As the new chair learning and teaching languages Pacific: Oceanic Research in Science, of French and and on my experiences in literature. Technology, and Humanities.” This Italian, it will be a This calling then led me into Applied highly interdisciplinary conference pleasure working Linguistics, which was an emerging brought together scholars from with all colleagues field at the time. Interestingly, my the sciences and the humanities to in Comparative work in critical theory, which was explore the history and function of Literature in an expanded way. In a major emphasis in Berkeley’s modeling for our understanding of my role as Director of the French programs, contributed to my work in oceans in general, and the Pacific Language Program, I have had the Applied Linguistics and distinguished Ocean in particular. It connected privilege of working with graduate some of my publications from those of scientific and engineering modes students in Comparative Literature other researchers. of studying oceans and marine life for a number of years. My own with approaches from Media Studies, background in Comparative Literature The upshot of this is that work in History of Science, and Literature. (PhD, UC Berkeley) has given me Comparative Literature prepares It was a wonderful gathering with insight into the unique needs and scholars for a variety of unpredictable exceptionally rich discussions. professional interests of the graduate undertakings. The words of one of my students with whom I have worked, graduate student colleagues who had In March 2020, Elisabeth Weber particularly in helping them hone a dynamic career at Harvard still rings organized a day long international their teaching skills and build their true. She told me to make the very conference on “Heidegger and CVs in terms of competency in the most of my graduate education, and Kabbalah. Exploring Elliot Wolfson’s teaching of languages and of French especially in preparing for the PhD Work on Martin Heidegger and in particular. exams. As stressful as the work might Jewish Mysticism.” Scholars from be, this is the one time when one can Israel, England, Turkey, Germany Perhaps my own career trajectory indulge so completely in the study and Poland engaged with Wolfson’s is a good example of the flexible of literature and its interdisciplinary path-breaking new book, Heidegger and transferable skills that develop intersections. Once working, even in a and Kabbalah. Hidden Gnosis and as a result of a “comparative” college or university, the professional the Path of Poiesis which traces orientation. My own doctorial demands eat into this special time. with breathtaking erudition a deep focus was on 19th- and early 20th- connection between Heidegger’s century French, Russian, and English Elisabeth Weber thought and the vast corpus of Jewish literature. These foci inevitably Chair, Germanic and Slavic Studies mysticism, including, but not limited took me into other disciplines— to Italian, Castilian and Provençal history, music, art—of course, as In 2019-2020, Kabbalists, thereby uncovering the well as linguistics. And, in studying GSS colleagues profound impact of Jewish mystical literature written in the original, one continued the long- thinking on a philosopher most cannot help but reflect on language standing tradition commonly known for his involvement learning. The opportunity to teach of contributing with National-Socialism and averred in the Departments of French and a significant anti-Semitism. Comparative Literature at Berkeley number of classes to the Comparative were invaluable experiences for Literature curriculum. A medical Our new chair Sara Weld’s me. I will say, however, that it was emergency and the pandemic international conference entitled in learning to teach French from a prevented us unfortunately from “Fallout: Chernobyl and the Ecology great master teacher that I really welcoming our annual Kade Visiting of Disaster,” planned for Spring 2020, learned how to connect with students Professor from a German-speaking had unfortunately to be postponed and create an interactive classroom country who usually teaches cross- due to the pandemic. environment, one that I was able listed classes, both undergraduate to transfer to courses in literature. and graduate. We are grateful and proud that our Through twists and turns of fate, I search for an Assistant Professor was eventually called on to create a In Fall 2019, Professors Christina for the History and Theory of Digital Humanities was successfully 2 UC SANTA BARBARA Notes from the Chairs and Directors concluded with the hire of Dr.

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