between the lines - fall 2009

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B E T W E E N the L I N E S 1989-2009 – Germany Twenty Years Aſter the Fall of the Berlin Wall By Anke Biendarra W hen commemorating historical events, people like to play the “Where were you when…” game. Depending on our date of birth, most of us can recall and narrate what we did and how we felt at crucial junctures of our national history: when the various wars of the 20 th century ended, when John F. Kennedy was shot, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded, or the Twin Towers fell. Yet when teaching German cultural history to undergraduate students, this immediacy is often hampered by a geographical and cultural distance from the subject. In the first meeting of my contemporary German culture classes, I like to poll students who often come from fields such as History, English, Art, or International Studies to find out what they actually know about united Germany, the fall of the Berlin Wall and its aftermath. The results regularly remind me that the twenty years that have passed represent an eternity for our students. Given that many of them were barely walking in 1989, German unification and its impact over the past two decades signify little more than ancient history. Despite this and the fact that many Americans still associate Germany with the specters of the Third Reich, inciting interest in the country is less challenging A Publication of UC Irvine School of Humanities • Fall 2009

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Between the Lines - Fall 2009 newsletter

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Page 1: Between the Lines - Fall 2009

B E T W E E N t h e L I N E S

1989-2009 – Germany Twenty Years After the Fall of the Berlin WallBy Anke Biendarra

When commemorating historical events, people like to play the “Where were you when…”

game. Depending on our date of birth, most of us can recall and narrate what we did and how we felt at crucial junctures of our national history: when the various wars of the 20th century ended, when John F. Kennedy was shot, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded, or the Twin Towers fell. Yet when teaching German cultural history to undergraduate students, this immediacy is often hampered by a geographical and cultural distance from the subject. In the first meeting of my contemporary German culture classes, I like to poll students who often come from fields such as History, English, Art, or International Studies to find out what they actually know about united Germany, the fall of the Berlin Wall and its aftermath. The results regularly remind me that the twenty years that have passed represent an eternity for our students.

Given that many of them were barely walking in 1989, German unification and its impact over the past two decades signify little more than ancient history.

Despite this and the fact that many Americans still associate Germany with the specters of the Third Reich, inciting interest in the country is less challenging

A Publication of UC Irvine School of Humanities • Fall 2009

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East Germans felt that their country had been colonized by arrogant Besser-Wessis (the Western know-it-alls), whereas Westerners were dismayed by the high cost of unification and the constant complaining of the Jammer-Ossis (Eastern whiners).

than one might expect. For the generation of today’s college students most things German are shaped firmly by popular culture and often considered cool, thanks to influential music groups such as Kraftwerk or Rammstein, German soccer, and movies like Tarantino’s recent film Inglorious Basterds. On a more academic level, at least two arguments usually take hold and encourage students to go back in time and learn more about the recent past. As an unprecedented historical and political event that effectively ended the Cold War, and as a sociological and economic phenomenon that continues to shape the European Union, unification (or die Wende) provides a fascinating case study of a culture struggling with massive change. Secondly, understanding the respective histories of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic as well as issues related to numerous post-unification debates is of vital importance

to appreciate Germany and the Germans today.

In the years following unification, there was much talk about a “wall in the heads,” a psychological and emotional barrier that had quickly replaced the jubilant joy so often expressed during the memorable fall and winter days of the Velvet Revolution. East Germans felt that their country had been colonized by arrogant Besser-Wessis (the Western know-it-alls), whereas Westerners were dismayed by the high cost of unification and the constant complaining of the Jammer-Ossis (Eastern whiners). Nowadays, twenty years after, German politicians, in particular, like to claim that an overarching unity has indeed been realized; especially in the weeks leading up to the German parliamentary election on September 27, 2009.

This public pronouncement runs counter to my findings in most literary texts dealing with unification.

Over the course of the year 2009 alone, a sizable number of literary publications have memorialized the former German division, appropriating the metaphor of the Wall and effectively focusing on symbols of entrenchment over symbols of unity. While one needs to attribute the surge in publications partly to the literary market place and the media frenzy surrounding the anniversary, literature nevertheless makes visible what statistics or politicians cannot explain. Analyses of anthologies, novels, and short stories by various East and West German writers show that a split remains part

and parcel of the German identity and collective memory. This is especially true for the generation of East German writers who were young adults when the Wall fell. They had neither established a clear political identity in the GDR nor did they possess an unambiguous allegiance to Western democracy. Twenty years after, their narratives grapple with the loss of a GDR childhood and the stifling of dreams by materialism and tell of a generation caught in-between. To investigate these and other ambivalences, the School of Humanities’ Department of German has planned a number of events that commemorate the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This week we will host a traveling photo exhibition entitled Ikonen einer Grenzanlage – Icons of a Border Installation. Sponsored by the federally funded Goethe Institute San Francisco, Icons of a Border Installation displays images that capture the remnants of the Wall in unified Berlin. In the divided city, the Wall had been the material instantiation of stories told by ideologies – here American tourists could

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experience the dangers of how the other side ‘lived’ from a seat in the first row. Berlin was a sort of theme park where the good guys could literally thumb their noses at the bad guys only yards away. While most of these former sites have been transformed by new construction or disappeared altogether, the Wall remains part and parcel of the identity of Berlin and its citizens and

the collective German memory – both as an icon of the Cold War and the division of Germany, as well as a symbol of personal histories and private suffering.

A group of media students from the University of Paderborn tracked down visible and invisible remnants of the Wall with cameras and acoustic recording devices. The exhibit documents their creative efforts in sixteen large-panel photographs that are accompanied by a self-guided audio tour. The show will be on view from September 28 - November 2, 2009 at UCI in the lobby of the Crystal Cove Auditorium (Student Center) and is freely accessible daily from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. The German department will be hosting an opening reception on October 1, 2009 at 5 p.m., with opening addresses by Chancellor Michael V. Drake and Humanities Dean Vicki L. Ruiz.

Later in the quarter, the German department will use the presence of this exhibition on campus as a point of departure for the interdisciplinary conference Walls in Our Heads – Political Divisions and Cultural Imaginaries, which will take place October 22-24, 2009 in Humanities Gateway. The conference aims to explore the relationship between cultural images and the maintenance or breakdown of political divisions. Walls are not just physical entities; they also rely on and propagate segregationist forms of knowing and depicting “the other.” Alternative representations are

necessary if walls are to be replaced by new social unities. While the German context will be the central focus, the conference will include papers that compare other historical situations or spatial configurations.

More information can be found on the German department’s web site at www.hnet.uci.edu/german.

A C O N V E R S A T I O N W I T H V I C K I F O R M A N

Vicki Forman (Programs In Writing, fiction, 1994) won the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference Bakeless Prize for This Lovely Life: A memoir of premature motherhood in 2008. It was released in July from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The following is an interview conducted with her over this past summer by co-Director of the Programs in Writing Michelle Latiolais.

Michelle Latiolais: As I listened to the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings this summer, I was struck by Senator Tom Coburn’s claim that “we now have viability at 21 weeks, why would that not be something that should be considered as we look at what can and cannot happen in terms of the right to privacy that’s been granted in Roe v. Wade?” Can you comment on “viability at 21 weeks” and what you now understand first-hand that to be?

Vicki Forman:With all due respect to Senator Coburn, most neonatologists would not claim that a pregnancy that had reached 21 weeks gestation would produce a baby whose life was reasonably viable. If a woman were to arrive at a hospital in labor with a 21-week fetus, nearly every neonatologist in this country would counsel against resuscitation. The known prognoses for such a preemie indicate that babies born at this gestation would not survive early infancy despite resuscitation. In the cases where known 21-weekers do survive (thanks solely to resuscitation and intensive care treatment and not inherent

Anke Biendarra, assistant professor of German, is currently finishing a book manuscript on the effects of cultural globalization on contemporary German culture. This year in particular, her research and teaching efforts are devoted to the memorialization of unification in literature and various other media. She will present some of her findings at the aforementioned Walls in Our Heads conference.

Professor of German Anke Biendarra

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viability) they do so with lifelong, permanent disabilities. So Senator Coburn ought to append his statement to indicate that “viability” at 21 weeks always portends a life very much touched by disability.

Michelle Latiolais:And what distinction would you make between privacy with respect to abortion and the rights

of parents to determine the course of care their super premature babies receive?

Vicki Forman:In my mind, there ought to be no distinction. In my case, I begged the doctors not to resuscitate, because I knew the high risk of negative outcome (death, permanent disability) in the event of resuscitation. I knew this because I am the daughter of a doctor, and because I was well-informed before going into labor. The doctors insisted that because the babies would be born with signs of life, the laws of the state of California demanded resuscitation. In this country, there are 30 states with such laws that address the so-called “rights of the unborn.”

The question arises, however: who cares for this child if it survives? In those same states where the rights of the unborn prevail, there are often little or no social services to help that same child as he or she matures to develop lifelong health and developmental disabilities. In my opinion, if it’s the job of the parent to care for the child financially and emotionally in these circumstances, then it ought to be the decision of the parent as to whether or not to withhold or provide intensive care at birth.

Michelle Latiolais:In your book, you write about the brain and trauma, and your own brain and the traumatic birth of your

twins. There certainly appears to be an inordinate amount of attention paid to the health and viability of super premature infants, and far less attention geared towards parents and their wishes in these situations, and by extension, a disregard for their families.

Vicki Forman:It was and is the case that I suffered from a great deal of prolonged trauma due to the twins’ birth. Much of that trauma could be classified as post-traumatic stress disorder. For years, very few of my reactions to common events were “normal,” and over time I realized that the symptoms I had were those I shared with other NICU parents. Recent studies, such as the one at Stanford, confirms this is a common experience and yet it remains true that the focus in a premature birth does remain on the infant and not the parents, or by extension, the family as a whole—including siblings.

I had a three-year old daughter when my twins were born. Because of the events surrounding the twins’ birth, I remember almost nothing of my daughter’s third year—who her friends were, what books she enjoyed, when she stopped napping in the afternoon. Nothing. The trauma of those events seems to have blacked out any memories of my daughter from that time.

Michelle Latiolais:Your son survived for eight years to die last summer. Can you talk for a moment about how you are now?

Vicki Forman:My son’s death was shocking and unexpected, nowhere near the ending we had in mind for our story. He had been healthy and developing, albeit with significant and multiple disabilities. His death came about due to an abdominal obstruction that dated to a surgery he’d had while still in the NICU, one that was a complication of his prematurity. It’s a heartbreak to have this book emerge on the anniversary of my son’s death, and yet what can I do? As a friend once said, “life goes on.” And yes, sometimes painfully and inextricably it does.

Because of the events surrounding the twins’ birth, I remember almost nothing of my daughter’s third year—who her friends were, what books she enjoyed, when she stopped napping in the afternoon. Nothing.

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A dream realized. As I sit here behind a makeshift desk and surrounded by unpacked boxes, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude toward the scores of people who made Humanities Gateway a reality – from the brick and mortar craftsmen to the visionary architects to our colleagues who contributed their insight, labor, and love. Assistant Dean Katherine Haines, Director of Facilities Colin Andrews, Senior Project Manager Fran Porcella, and Hensel Phelps Project Manager Rob DeSpain deserve special mention for their attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and good cheer through every stage of construction.

Humanities Gateway captures the Global Village Campus theme of UCI’s Capital Campaign. The Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, the International Center for Writing and Translation, and the Humanities Center all welcome students to the first floor. Other academic units who now call Gateway home include Art History, Film and Media Studies, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Women’s Studies. The Office of the Dean occupies the fourth floor with our neighbor, one of the most renowned humanities centers in the world – the University of California Humanities Research Institute led by Comparative Literature professor David Theo Goldberg, who was recently promoted to Above Scale, a title reserved for scholars of the highest distinction and one only a select few colleagues attain in the UC system.

Exchanging ideas is at the heart of a humanities education and though an imposing building, Gateway provides several spaces for spontaneous conversations from small patios inside the building itself to the beautiful outdoor space, dubbed the International

Courtyard. There are also larger gathering places, including a 130-seat auditorium, a state of the art film screening room, and a colloquium room with a glass wall that opens to the courtyard.

Through the generosity of southern California’s Persian community, led by 2009 UCI Medal honoree Fariborz Maseeh, the auditorium bears a very distinctive name – the Alborz Auditorium in honor of the prominent Alborz School in Tehran.

Offering over one dozen languages and twenty-five majors, including the popular Global Cultures, the School of Humanities prepares students for global citizenship on a grand scale. Joining us in this endeavor are four new colleagues: Rebecca Davis, a specialist in medieval literature, Erica Hayasaki, an award-winning journalist, James Kyung-Jin Lee a senior literary scholar and cultural studies theorist specializing in Asian American studies, and in fall 2010, Casey Perrin, a highly-respected ancient philosopher. During a time of severe budgetary constraints and tough decisions, Humanities Gateway offers an opportunity for celebration and for hope.

Visit the School of Humanities Blog at www.humanities.uci.edu/development/wordpress for weekly updates highlighting news, events, faculty, students, and general happenings in the school.

A Glimpse of Sylvia ReinesBy Alisa Reines Cowden - September 2007D E A N ’ S M E S S A G E

Vicki L. Ruiz, Dean

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B O O K S H E L F

In Art Workers: Radical Practice in the Vietnam Era, Associate Professor of Art History Julia Bryan-Wilson examines an important group of American artists and critics, who in response to the political turbulence generated by the

Vietnam War, sought to expand the definition of creative labor by identifying themselves as “art workers.” She shows how a polemical redefinition of artistic labor played a central role in minimalism, process art, feminist criticism, and conceptualism.

Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It is the second collection of short stories from Maile Meloy, (Programs in Writing, fiction, 2000). The book contains eleven stories, featuring a love-struck young ranch hand, an aging Argentine lover, the ambivalent builders

at a nuclear power plant, and many more. Meloy will be on campus for a reading and book signing at the UC Irvine Bookstore on Thursday, October 15 at 5 p.m.

Lucas Hilderbrand, assistant professor of film and media studies, revisits the analog past with an eye-opening exploration of the aesthetic and legal innovations of home video in Inherent Vice. Tracing the development of videotape from an

essentially bootleg technology to the U.S. courts’ reinterpretation of copyright law to protect users’ rights, Hilderbrand shows how videotape and fair use offer essential lessons relevant to contemporary progressive media policy.

FACULTY NOTES

Linguistics and Languages: An Interview with Professor of German Glenn LevineBy C. Millie Lien, fourth-year literary journalism major

Though experts might have you believe current college students are learning less than their predecessors, Professor Glenn Levine would disagree. In the ten years he has been at UCI, he’s noticed that his students are doing more work than ever before. “Or

maybe I just got better at assigning it,” he says.

Professor Levine came to UCI in 1999 to fill the newly created position of Language Program Director in the Department of German. He teaches Linguistics, German, Yiddish, and Jewish studies courses as well as the student favorite: German Cuisine as Culture. Levine also works with graduate students, helping them bring cultural components, like poems and films, into their own instruction of German language classes.

Students in every major know Levine through his position as director of the Center for International Education (CIE). If Levine had his way, every student would accomplish three things in their time at UCI: learn to write, learn a foreign language, and study abroad. The program has grown tremendously since Levine became involved, reaching more students than ever before. He is proud that seventeen percent of students in every graduating class now study abroad.

In his upper division German classes, Levine uses videoconferencing technology to create a “wall-less classroom,” in which UCI students collaborate with students at Germany’s Universität Leipzig. Levine’s purpose is to propel students beyond their comfort zone and to help them grow in a way that usually only occurs when studying abroad.

Most recently, Levine founded the Humanities

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Language Learning Program (HLLP) which will launch this fall. The program aims to improve the teaching of languages that don’t have their own departments. Faculty in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Vietnamese, and Hindi will attend lectures and workshops on language instruction.

Levine spent his own junior year in college studying Yiddish in Germany. In the spring quarter of 2007, he returned to Germany with a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) grant to conduct a linguistics field-research project at the Freie Universität in Berlin. He continues to travel a lot, but always enjoys returning to Irvine where, as he puts it, “I don’t sit in traffic and people are pleasant.”

Over his last twenty years at UC Irvine, Professor Andrzej Warminski has firmly established his courses in literary theory as some of the most challenging within the Department of English. Warminski began his teaching career at Yale in the early 1980’s followed by two years at Northwestern University. He joined the anteater community in 1989, finding the campus at the time “an intellectually exciting place to be for younger faculty and graduate students.”

Having grown up reading French and German literature, Warminski pursued the study of French theory and German philosophy as a graduate student at Yale, a prelude to his future as a specialist in literary theory. The intellectual intensity that marked his time spent at Yale as a graduate student and later as a professor—learning from and then teaching alongside famed academics like literary theorist Paul de Man and French philosopher Jacques Derrida--inspired his approach to teaching at UCI. The illustrious scholar and critic of English literature, J. Hillis Miller left Yale to come to UCI in 1986, and Derrida followed him shortly thereafter. By coming to UCI, Warminski was able to work together once again with his former colleagues. Warminski looked forward to Derrida’s seminars every

spring—“I will always be grateful to UCI and to Hillis for allowing me to continue my education!”--and although Derrida passed away in 2004, Warminski continues his and de Man’s legacy by teaching courses that study their texts and put them to work.

Reminiscing about his last twenty years on campus, Warminski expresses how impressed he has been with the growing diversity of the student body population, crediting his evolution as a teacher to his changing audience. When developing his courses he takes into account the varied backgrounds and experiences his students bring to the classroom. “It is nice to be at a place where one can make a difference for students ... intellectually in their lives.” He has seen his classes grow not only in size and diversity but also in regards to the quality of students, with more and more excellent students appearing every year.

Students, Seminars, and a Little Sunshine: An Interview with Professor of English Andrzej WarminskiBy Michelle DalPont, 2009 alumna of the literary journalism program, with additional reporting by Humanities staff

If you’re an undergraduate in the School of Humanities interested in interviewing a faculty member for

publication in the next issue of Between the Lines, please contact Kristie Williams at [email protected] for more

information.

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* New Donor

$100,000 and aboveAmerican Council of Learned SocietiesJohn & Catherine MacArthur FoundationFariborz Maseeh, Massiah FoundationDennis L. Nguyen ‘94*

$10,000-$99,999ARTSTOR Inc.*Albert & Elaine Borchard Foundation, Inc.National Humanities Center*Elaine J. Weinberg

$2,500-$9,999Fatemeh F. Akhavan*Nastaran Akhavan*Yassaman AkhavanHadi Asgharzadeh*Peggy ‘68 and Alex MaradudinLuci BerkowitzThe Capital Group Companies Charitable FoundationHaleh Emrani*Bahman Fakhimi*John Randolph & Dora Haynes FoundationIranian-American Heritage Fndn. of Southern California*The Irvine MuseumPaul Makarechian*Kendra S. ‘88 and N. J. MirasolMasoud Moshayedi*Olga Y. and J. Fernando NieblaNasrin Rahimieh and George LangArman Rashtchi*Nira Kozak RostonBijan Sadri ‘07*Eleanor H. and David R. St. ClairThomas T. and Elizabeth TierneyTe P. WongMalea F. ‘90 and Reza Zafari*

$250-$2,499Advanced Pain Treatment Medical Center*Jean H. AldrichCharlotte W. and Richard D. AlexanderJere B. Allan ‘84Alvand Technologies*

Shanaz and Hossein Amanat*Hossein Asadi*Abdi Bahadorie*Kamran Barin*Joseph Barrett*Dorothy and Leslie Barrett*Babak Batmanghelidj*Soofieh T. Bazargan*Caroline J. Beeson*Anne and Alan D. Block*Brady Corporation*Yasuko T. and John B. Bush, Jr.Carolyn L. Canning-White and Adam P. White*Mary and Thomas C. CesarioJune T. and Richard Y. ChaoKaren H. and Bruce R. ClarkFaramarz DavatiJeanne M. Doig ‘83Jackie M. Dooley ‘74Amir T. Ekanej ‘91*Failure & Damage Analysis Inc.*Siamak Farah-bakhshianNezhat Farsad*The Franklin J. Machette Foundation, Inc.Frequency Management Int’l Inc.*Kamran Ghadimi*Ruth and James B. GivenPatricia M. ‘76 and Gary S. Gorczyca ‘73Pascale and Joseph P. Haft ‘69Ilene S. ‘76 and James HarkerHealthy Smiles Dental Care*Robert V. Hine, Jr.Hooshang Pak, M.D., Inc.*IBM International Foundation*Infostreet, Inc.*Lynne C. and David B. Israelsky ‘03Lorinda J. ‘87 and Michael R. JacksonShapour Javadizadeh*Kamyar Kadivar*Kurosh Kamkar*Mansour KeramatHamid Keshavarz*Mahmoud Ketabi*Sariri KorousVirginia H. Laddey

H O N O R R O L L O F D O N O R S

We proudly recognize those individuals and companies who have generously supported the School of Humanities this past fiscal year (July ‘08 - June ‘09)

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$250-$2,499 continuedRodrigo Lazo*Tod A. Marder*M. Michael Massumi*Sara E. and Samuel C. McCullochShahram Melamed*Roshanak Mina and Gholam R. Memar*Shahed Meshkati*Mahin and Faramarz Meshkinpour*Jacqueline A. and John R. Miles*Christina G. and Hamid R. Moghadam*Pardis and Firouz Momeni*Semira D. and Mehrdad Moshayedi ‘81*Rita L. ‘83 and Spencer C. OlinOrange County Italian Cultural AssociationPacific Life*Hooshang Pak*Isabel ‘93 and Steve PerlinskiEleanor C. and Alan J. Phillips*Patricia A. Pierson ‘99 and Arnold L. Pan ‘99Scott T. Pollard ‘83Michael M. Rashtchi*Julie A. ‘76 and John Richwine ‘71Cole W. Robinson ‘07*Royal Paper Corporation*Vicki L. Ruiz and Victor Becerra*Thomas P. SaineMohammad A. Salehabadi*Shahrokh Moktarzadeh A Professional Law Corporation*Leatrice M. and Wayson T. ShikiyaHovann Simonian*LaVonne S. ‘94 and Ewart B. SmithElizabeth D. and John R. StahrTaipei Economic & Cultural Office in LAMojgan Setarehdan and Mohammad Tajaddini*Martha and Steven C. TopikShahram Tousi*Universal Business CorporationCumrun Vafa*Homayoun Vossoughi*Anne WalthallSusan Y. and Jon R. WamplerAfshin Zand*

Up to $250Satomi W. Aihara ‘06*Elahe F. Akhavan*Bob Alavi*Donna R. Allen ‘74*Ildiko S. ‘82 and Jeffrey J. Allen ‘72Sholeh and Mehrdad Amanat*Taraneh Amin and Farzad Rohani*

Charareh Amir-Mazaheri and Farhad Vazirzadeh*Ann B. ‘79 and Roy K. AndriesseRoger R. Angle ‘72*Joann Applewhite*Colette J. ‘98 and Peter L. Atkinson ‘99Patricia B. August ‘71Mauris Azizi*Namdar Baghaei-Yazdi*Gloria BaldwinJo A. Balingit ‘80 and Fred Hofstetter*Agee Barooni*Michelle F. Bauer ‘09*Carolyn P. Boyd and Frank D. BeanKaren J. ‘80 and John E. BeatonCheryl ‘76 and Milt L. BelferKaren C. ‘69 and Leon C. BennettSusan J. and Donald W. Besancon ‘71Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce*Haleh and Babak Bolourforoushan ‘82*Laura C. Bonacker ‘03*Lynn and Michael A. Borich ‘79*Leili Bowers*Vicki L. and J. Paul BowinkelDaphne A. Brooks*Jeffrey M. Brown ‘74*Noell C. Brown ‘06*Mary M. Watson ‘81 and Dickson D. Bruce, Jr.Catherine J. ‘81 and Reginald BruhnJanet L. Buis*Debra L. Byford ‘79*Daisy R. ‘96 and Christopher M. GolkeRonald Carlson*Elizabeth K. Chan ‘07Fred I. Chase ‘71Constance J. Chen ‘92Yong ChenAngela C. ‘87 and Toby F. MaynardJudith F. ‘89 and Michael L. CobinJanet R. and Walter H. Conser ‘71Susan M. CsikeszSoheil DavatiManijeh B. and Behram S. Deboo*Amir T. Dehdashty*Maria and Venancio Delgadillo*Olga L. Delgadillo ‘94*Massoumeh and Khossrow Diba*Mary E. ‘75 and Richard D. DoeblerNina N. ‘98 and Andrew J. DoyleLaura K. Pieczynski and Robert J. Droney ‘94*Massoud Eghtessad*Jane A. Hingert-Eiduson and Mark D. Eiduson ‘79Karen K. and Richard C. Engleman ‘71

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Richard Kroll, Professor of English, passed away February 5th at the age of 56. A major figure in restoration and 18-century literary studies, his books, The Material Word and The Circle of Commerce, reshaped the field, challenging accepted paradigms and opening literary works to rhetorical, economic and political analysis. In addition to his two single-authored books, he edited four others, including the groundbreaking Philosophy, Science, and Religion in England, 1640-1700. Kroll directed the English department’s highly successful summer M.A. program and in 1999 students named him Outstanding Professor in the Humanities, recognizing his dedication and excellence as a teacher.

Up to $250 continuedPaul A. Escobar ‘06*Setareh Nemazie and Farzad Esfandiari*Mostafa A. Fahimi*Ahmad Faramarzi*Ramin Farhangi*Jalil Feghhi*Yukari N. and Edward B. Fowler*Albert S. Fu ‘02Monica Gallegos ‘98*Andrea L. ‘89 and Kevin M. GallupMehran Gangianpour*Alisa C. Garza ‘08*Carol A. and Armando D. Garza*Gevork Consulting Engineering Inc.*Marie J. Ritzo and Norman M. Gleichman ‘76Claudia H. ‘77 and Edward A. GosselinOmar Granados ‘08*Emil S. Grecian ‘09*Shelleen M. Greene ‘07*Naomi J. Greyser ‘98 and David R. Cunning ‘00*Qitao GuoLori ‘77 and John Harch*Ritu M. Hasan ‘97*Ferydoon Hatami*Barbara L. ‘85 and Peter HaukDeborah and Jeffrey P. Hause ‘84Patrice M. Hawker ‘80Rachel A. Heinitz ‘05*Neyram Hemati*Judy and Stephen L. Henkle ‘69Carol L. and Leroy A. Hernandez ‘71*Frayda D. ‘80 and Warren HoffnungQumars Hojjaty*Kyle W. Holmes ‘09*Grace Y. Hong ‘06Savonala and Gerald C. Horne*Suzanne Rivera and Michael B. Householder ‘98Siangjean J. Hsu ‘09*Mary A. Humphreys ‘68Kimberly J. Hyun ‘09*David B. IglerInternational Institute of Cosmetic Dentistry*Lisa and Dariush Ipaktchi*Carol and Hassan Izad*Dan Jachimowicz ‘06*Hossein Jadvar*Ben B. Jakovljevic ‘09*Diane M. ‘80 and Ted F. Janovsky, Jr.Mina Javaherbin*Victoria E. JohnsonBonsita C. Jones ‘86*

Ramnik Josan*Julia E. ‘80 and Robert W. JoslinNancy J. and Parham Kamali*Leslie M. Kaplan ‘85 and Travis R. WallMassoud and Soraya Kashani*Kian Kaviani*Bahar and Babak Khatibloo*Ellen B. Concannon and Reza Khorshidi*Fereidoon Khosravi*Shadrouz Kianouri*Mohsina H. and Maqsood I. Kibriya*Don K. Kim ‘04*Hyesoo Kim ‘06*Lois H. ‘79 and John A. Kimber ‘78*Loraine D. ‘03 and Peter KlotzAfsaneh and KC Kobari*Sandra M. ‘90 and Vincent J. KomaraMinou Khazan and Kamran Z. Koranloo*Lauren E. Korduner ‘04*Chana R. and Daniel P. Kotzin ‘89Heidi I. and Mark R. Krahling ‘74Tony Kuo*Kathleen E. LaFetra ‘70Paula M. Latiolais ‘87*Law Office of Kayhan S. Shakib*Sean N. Le ‘93*Erika J. Lee Deru ‘92Jennifer A. ‘89 and Jonathan M. LeeNahyun Lee ‘09*Jennifer E. Levinson ‘88Judith E. Lewis ‘08*Gloria M. Lewyn ‘79Alexa Lleigh-Germain ‘69Imelda Loya-Amador ‘95 and Hector AmadorWahneema Lubiano*Eileen S. Luhr ‘04Julia R. Lupton and Kenneth M. ReinhardSusan E. ‘89 and Rob LustigKooroosh C. Madnia*Michael J. Mageean ‘96Mohammadreza Maghame*Stephanie Magid*Magtab LLC*Ann U. and Earl W. Maki ‘69Lynn M. Mally and Robert G. MoellerSteve S. Manavi*David Z. Manlin ‘09*Natalie E. Marquez ‘08*Jennifer C. ‘99 and Darrell C. MartinGevork MartirosianKaren L. ‘85 and Robert A. MartzBijan Mashouf*

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Up to $250 continuedJoan C. and John E. McCue ‘68Shaun P. McGuinness ‘04*Jake E. McKiernan ‘09*John G. McKinney ‘75Donald R. McLaurin ‘95Luisito P. Melchor, Jr. ‘01*Myrna and Raffi J. Mesrobian*Laura J. MitchellBarzin MobasherSima and Kambiz Mobini*Karina Nilsen and Robert J. Moffat*Thomas G. Moore ‘78Masoud Moradi*Ladan Moshiri and Ramin Moshiri-Tafreshi*Patricia and Cyrus Mowlavi*Mitra and Ali Nadim*Nandini and Karthik R. Narayanan ‘96*Mehrdad Negahban and Setareh Makinejad*Daniel Ng ‘04*Tooraj Nikzadeh*Margot C. NorrisEileen L. Nyberg ‘86Genevieve A. ‘99 and Shane N. OakesAlison K. Okuda ‘07*Anne M. ‘93 and Emerson S. Olin ‘91Diane E. Olsen ‘74 and David F. LewShahla S. and William S. O’Neil*Chaiya M. ‘90 and Javier F. OrtizMarissa L. Osato ‘09*Rachel S. O’TooleNikki C. Palley ‘73*Karen C. Park ‘09*K. Yvette Paskett-Remlinger ‘89Karin S. Paul ‘74Kevin K. Peng ‘08*Karen L. Phan ‘09*Aram Pirjanian ‘06*Kenneth L. PomeranzQuinton G. Priest ‘69Lois ‘71 and Keith S. RaffelAlicia V. Ramirez ‘05*Raytheon Company/Charitable Gift Fund Foundation*Shiva Ghavami and Farhad Rezvani*Alison J. Richards ‘83*David A. Rios ‘97*Aurora B. Romero ‘08*Timothy S. Roney ‘90Emily S. RosenbergMatthew K. Ross ‘80Judy J. and Richard L. Rowe*Jennifer Rust*Abdolreza Saadat*

Alireza Sadr*Jahansooz Saleh*Aalam Samsavar*Steve Santos ‘01Homa and Nedjat Sarshar*Ariel Schlager ‘09*Kristen A. Schmidt ‘92*Caryl and Terry SchonigDaniel J. SchroeterAmanda J. Schwartz ‘06*John D. Schwetman ‘99Mohammad B. Shadmehr*Don H. Shagam ‘92*Ladan Shelechi ‘08*Barry Siegel*Elizabeth and Abolfazl Sirjani*Christine M. Smedberg ‘99Jennifer L. and Zachary A. Smith*Marla R. ‘99 and Douglas H. SmithFereidoon Sohrabian*Linda W. ‘77 and Gregory J. SouzaState Farm Companies Foundation*Superior Engineers, Inc.*Christopher M. Tagliamonte ‘04Shari R. and Anthony R. Taylor ‘77Patricia A. Tedesco*Heidi E. TinsmanMary J. Loon and Behrouz Vafa*Cheryl L. Vaughn and Thomas Trawick*Shams Vaziri*Yousef Vazirzadeh and Farnoosh Sultanpour*Elsa G. Vineberg ‘69Phuong Vo*Cristina M. Wang ‘98*Sarah C. Watson ‘03Charles J. WheelerJonathan M. WienerKristina R. and Mark R. Wietstock*Christina S. ‘88 and Michael W. Williams ‘92Kristie S. Williams ‘05Rick L. Williams ‘77Tiffany J. Willoughby-Herard*Elizabeth M. Wood ‘75Yao Xu ‘07*Ehsan Yarshater*Owrang YounessiHaleh Shaffie and Massod Y. Zadeh*Rosalind B. ‘81 and Gary J. ZiccardiEhsan Yarshater*Owrang YounessiHaleh Shaffie and Massod Y. Zadeh*Rosalind B. ‘81 and Gary J. Ziccardi

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Graduate

Arlene Cheng Fellowship in Creative Writing Alberto Gullaba, Benjamin Miller, Greg NovemberDean’s Advisory Council Fellowship Megan McCabeDorothy and Donald Strauss Dissertation Fellowship Eric Strand, Kyle WanbergElaine and Martin Weinberg Creative Writing Fellowship in Fiction Janice ObuchowskiGerard Award in Creative Writing Luke ReidGerard Award in Visual Studies Diana AnselmoHoward Babb Memorial Fellowship Matthew HarrisonIrvine Museum Fellowship in Visual Studies Kim Beil Koehn Fellowship in Critical Theory Nasser MuftiLynn Garnier Memorial Award Sarah WyattMacDonald Harris Award for Fiction Kristen SchwarzMacDonald Harris Prize for Fiction Ryan RidgeMachette Foundation Award in Philosophy Joao Pereira, Aaron GriffithMurray Krieger Fellowship in Literary Theory Rebecca Ballon, Katherine DingNora Folkenflik Prize Rachael HoffNora Folkenflik TA Award Isabel MoorePeggy and Alex Maradudin Fellowship in History Danielle VigneauxRobin Shikiya Memorial Award in Visual Studies Kenichi YoshidaSchaeffer Fellowship Pierre Fuller, Duy Nguyen, Jana Remy Theodore Brunner and Luci Berkowitz Award in Classics Clinton Armstrong, Jeffrey Feland

Undergraduate

Ariel Miranda Caldwell Memorial Award Alexis Marie JustmanArthur Marder Essay Prize Sarah HansonBerkowitz Undergraduate Award in Greek Stephen MitchellBerkowitz Undergraduate Award in Latin Ashton Sanderson Bret Baldwin Prize in Poetry Samantha KawalskiDean’s Advisory Council Education Abroad Award Madelyne Oliver, Leslie Platz, Habiba Toorawa Hannah J. Caldwell Student Award Eun Ji KohHester A. Laddey Memorial Award Monica ClaxtonHoward Babb Memorial Essay Prize Christina Kapucija Howard B. Lawson Memorial Scholarship Jesse ChengJao Foundation Award in Asian Studies Alexandra Han-Gwen YeeMarjorie G. Reday Scholarship in Art History Rachel Shapiro

S T U D E N T A WA R D S

We are proud to acknowledge the recipients of this year’s named scholarships in the School of Humanities

Award Recipient Student

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Undergraduate (continued)

Nira Kozak Roston, Daniel Ethan and Elena Suzanne Film Studies Award Sheldon ChauNora Folkenflik Essay Prize Erin HughesNora Folkenflik Essay Prize in Humanities Core Eric HoobsOrange County Italian Cultural Association Award Neda MostafaviSamuel and Sara Ellen McCulloch Award in History Justina HwangShirley Hine Memorial Scholarship in History Armeen KomeiliTheodore Brunner and Luci Berkowitz Scholarship in Classics Eleanor Stuart

Award Recipient Student

From left to right: Janice Obuchowski, recipient of the Elaine and Martin Weinberg Creative Writing Fellowship; Kristen Schwarz, recipient of the MacDonad Harris Graduate Award for Fiction; Benjamin Miller, recipient of the

Arlene Cheng Graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing; Dean Vicki L. Ruiz; and Ryan Ridge, recipient of the MacDonald Harris Prize for Fiction.

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Between the Lines is published by the UC Irvine School of Humanities Office of Development and Alumni Relations – Vol. 4, Issue 1

OCTOBER

Humanities Gateway Building DedicationFriday, October 2, 2009 – 2 p.m.Humanities Gateway International Courtyard, UC IrvineDedication followed by reception and Humanities open house.E-mail [email protected] for more information and to RSVP.

The Alborz School: An International ConferenceSaturday, October 10, 2009 – 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.Crystal Cove Auditorium, UC Irvine Student CenterConference devoted to the history and cultural legacy of the American/Alborz College in Iran.Presented by the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture.Visit www.humanities.uci.edu/persianstudies for more information.

This is How We Do it in the OC: Civic History as Plaything, and How to Fight ItThursday, October 15 , 2009 - 6 p.m. Humanities Gateway 1030, UC IrvineLecture with Gustavo Arellano of OC WeeklyPresented by the Humanities Center.E-mail [email protected] for more information.

NOVEMBER

Reading and Book Signing with Vicki FormanWednesday, November 4, 2009 – 5 p.m UC Irvine BookstoreReading by Vicki Forman (Programs in Writing, fiction, 1994) and Victoria Patterson, author of Drift.Booksale and signing to follow.Email [email protected] for more information.

A Champion for Persian Studies at UC Irvine

Named in honor of the prestigious Alborz High School in Tehran, the Alborz Auditorium in the new Humanities Gateway Building bears its name thanks to the tireless efforts of Dr. Fariborz Maseeh and the Massiah Foundation. Dr. Maseeh, as well as volun-teers from the Jordan Center Board of Ambassadors, galvanized the Persian community in Southern Cali-fornia and beyond in a three-month campaign to raise $150,000. The funds raised by gifts from more than 100 donors will help provide scholarships and fellow-ships for students pursuing the study of Persian histo-ry and culture as well as support the operations of the school’s Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, of which Maseeh is the founding benefactor. Also named by Maseeh through additional gifts, the A. A. Rollestone Colloquium Room and the McCor-mick Screening Room offer the campus state-of-the-art venues for unique gatherings and film screenings.

EVENTSDates, times and locations subject to change. Please visit www.humanities.uci.edu for up-to-date information about Humanities events. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.

Reading and Book Signing with Gao Er TaiThursday, November 5, 2009Humanities Gateway 1010, UC IrvineWriter Gao Er Tai reads from his new book, In Search of My Homeland: A Memoir of a Chinese Labor Camp.Presented by the International Center for Writing and Translation, the School of Law and the Department of History, with support provided by the UCI Bookstore.Email [email protected] for more information.

Lecture and Book Signing with Frank B. Wilderson, IIIThursday, November 12, 2009 – 5 p.m.HIB 135, UC IrvineAssistant Professor of African American Studies Frank B. Wilderson, III will discuss his 2008 book, Incognegro: From Black Power to Apartheid and Back--A Memoir of Exile.Presented by the Humanities Center.Email [email protected] for more information and to RSVP.

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Contact Kristie Williams at 949.824.1342 or [email protected] to be added to the mailing list or to update your e-mail address.

A worldwide expert in micro-electro-mechanical systems, or MEMS, Maseeh’s achievements in the fields of science and technology have allowed him to pursue his dedication to making transformational investments in education, science, healthcare and the arts and humanities through the Massiah Foundation.

“It was a privilege for us to facilitate community-wide recognition of the Alborz Auditorium,” said Maseeh, a 1976 alumnus of the Alborz High School. “I had no doubt that we would achieve our fundraising goal, as those who graduated from Alborz High School have gone on to be prominent in business, politics and academics all over the world and remain committed to the preservation and study of Persian history and culture.”

In recognition of his generosity and dedication to the University of California, Irvine, Maseeh was selected as a recipient of the university’s highest honor, the prestigious Medal award. The School of Humanities congratulates him on this honor and thanks him for helping shape the future of the Humanities at UCI.

For more information on the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, please visit www.humanities.uci.edu/persianstudies. For additional information about naming opportunities within the new Humanities Gateway Building, please contact Carolyn Canning-White, Director of Development at (949) 824-8494 or Jennifer Smith, Associate Director of Development at (949) 824-2923.

Between the Lines is published by the UC Irvine School of Humanities Office of Development and Alumni Relations – Vol. 4, Issue 1