News

UChicago fourth-year student named 2025 Rhodes Scholar

UChicago student Francesco Rahe named 2025 Rhodes scholar

Francesco Rahe, a fourth-year student in the College at the University of Chicago, has been selected as a 2025 Rhodes Scholar. He will pursue a master’s degree in classical Indian religions at Oxford University this fall and is particularly interested in translating Sanskrit texts.

He is the 55th student from the University of Chicago to be named a Rhodes Scholar. Fourth-year College student Anqi Qu was named a Rhodes Scholar for South Africa last week.

“It means an immense amount to have received this opportunity,” said Rahe, who is majoring in fundamentals and religious studies. “I’m honestly a little stunned, but I also am trying to focus on making good on this opportunity. It’s a gift, but it also comes with responsibilities. I want to make sure what I do in the future is able to repay this thousand-fold.”

Norman Maclean biography uncovers personal stories of beloved UChicago author

UChicago alumna Rebecca McCarthy, AB'77, wrote a new biography of her professor Norman Maclean. Photo by Clara McCarthy

The late Norman Maclean was many things: the most decorated teacher of undergraduates in UChicago history; author of the first original work of fiction published by the University of Chicago Press; and a sage to literary-minded anglers the world over.

Until now, however, Maclean, PhD’40, was not the subject of a biography. Rebecca McCarthy, AB’77, has changed that with the publication of "Norman Maclean: A Life of Letters and Rivers" (University of Washington Press).

Unraveling the ancient past one tablet at a time

Fourth-year student Danielle Levy said her work studying cuneiform tablets written in Akkadian and Sumerian helped her learn about the ancient languages--and the stories and people associated with them. Photo by Jason Smith

In the half-dark of a third-floor office, Danielle Levy lifted a clay tablet out of its box. Carefully examining it with gloved hands, she explained how 3,500 years ago, a student in the ancient city of Nippur had copied a teacher’s cuneiform script—and smudged any mistakes smooth with their fingertips.

Ancient objects each tell their own unique stories, the University of Chicago undergraduate has learned. Through her work on Akkadian—the language of ancient Babylonia—the fourth-year student has discovered her passion for uncovering and sharing its unique history.

Media Mentions October 2024

The latest media mentions, quotes, profiles, and writings from Division of the Humanities faculty, students, staff, and alumni. Visit us on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook for more updates.

Organized Looting Is Dispersing Islamic Heritage
New Lines Magazine
Cecilia Palombo (Middle Eastern Studies) co-authored this article on the organized looting of Islamic artifacts, providing insights into their historical and cultural significance while highlighting the detrimental impact of the illicit antiquities trade on Islamic heritage.

More than any other artist working today, Theaster Gates — ceramist, urbanist, archivist, sculptor — has earned the title “multidisciplinary.”
The New York Times Style Magazine
Theaster Gates (Visual Arts) is featured in this article for his multidisciplinary practice that bridges art, community, and urban development. He restores buildings on Chicago's South Side, preserving Black cultural archives and creating spaces for art and community. His vision to revitalize disinvested areas exemplifies his model of an artist as an active shaper of the city's cultural and physical landscape.

These notorious Roman emperors became ghostly legends
National Geographic
Shadi Bartsch-Zimmer (Classics) was mentioned in this article about the haunting legacy of notorious Roman emperors. She noted that Nero’s interests in performing arts, seen as dishonorable by Romans, likely led historians to portray him as a “master of pretense.” This characterization has contributed to the enduring, dark legends surrounding Nero.

Meet the Staff: Sarah Hill

More than 100 staff members work in the Division of the Humanities. We’ll introduce you to our staff in this continuing series.

Sarah Hill
Department Manager
Middle Eastern Studies

What do you like most about your job?

I like so many things about my job. I like that I get to do something different every day, and that I work in so many areas of the department and with many different people. I find it to be very engaging, and I’ve learned so much in the two and half years I’ve been here. The most rewarding part of my job, however, is working with students. I like helping a student overcome an administrative hurdle, solve an issue, or just celebrate their success with them. It’s wonderful being able to see students grow into scholars and know I’ve played even a small role in helping them get there.

What was the last good book you read?

I read Agatha Christe’s Murder on the Orient Express recently, which I liked all right. I thought I was smart and had solved the mystery, but then I remembered I had seen the movie a few years ago. I think the last book I enjoyed reading was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I thought it was going to be a silly vacation read, but I ended up really loving it. The characters were so likeable, and the story was captivating.

You might work with me if …

You’re an Middle Eastern Studies student and have questions about your degree milestones or need help navigating an administrative issue. Or, if you’re a prospective student or want to take courses in our department. You might also work with me if you’re a faculty member and need administrative support. And if you’re a department administrator, I’d encourage you to work with me. When I first began my position, I found navigating the university both overwhelming and challenging.

Each department does things differently, but I think we can all be a good resource and support system for each other.

Howard Aronson, advocate for study of Slavic and non-Slavic languages, 1936-2024

Prof. Emeritus Howard “Howie” Aronson, who built the foundation for the University of Chicago to become a major hub for research in Balkan and Caucasian languages, passed away in Chicago on Oct. 26. He was 88.

In his four-decade career at UChicago, Aronson advocated for the study of Slavic languages and linguistics—and for the incorporation of indigenous and non-Slavic languages of the former Soviet Union into the field. A leading expert in both Balkan and Caucasian languages and linguistics, he particularly focused his scholarship on Bulgarian and Georgian. Aronson also contributed to the study of Russian, English, Yiddish, among others.

Werewolf books and movies that make us more human

Actor Lon Chaney Jr. on the set of The Wolf Man (1941) Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

A full moon rises. A howl pierces the air. At the University of Chicago, a new course explores how scary stories of wolfish transformations can spring from our deepest anxieties about being human.

In “The Werewolf in Literature and Film,” a new College course offered by the Department of Comparative Literature, students explore the fuzzy boundaries between animal and human across time and media. The class is taught by seventh-year doctoral candidate David Delbar, a self-described “amateur lycanthropologist.”

Lessons from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

UChicago film scholar Jacqueline Stewart

For four years, Prof. Jacqueline Stewart, AM’93, PhD’99, has applied her knowledge of film as a scholar and archivist to educate a wider audience. She served first as the chief artistic and programming officer and then as director and president at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. This fall, she returns to UChicago to teach and work on her own scholarship.

During her time in Los Angeles, this specialist in Black and silent cinema continued to serve as a host for Turner Classic Movies—a tenure that began in September 2019. Adding to her laurels, Stewart received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2021.

UChicago philosopher to receive the prestigious Luhmann Science Prize

Prof. Robert B. Pippin’s wide-ranging scholarship encompasses studies of 19th-century philosophers like Hegel and Kant to 20th-century filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. For his contributions to the political, moral, and aesthetic self-image of society, Pippin will receive the Luhmann Science Prize from the Sparkasse Bielefeld Foundation on Dec. 9 in the Bielefeld Wissenswerkstadt, Germany. The Prize includes more than prestige; prize winners receive €25,000.

“Pippin is an outstanding American interpreter of the philosophy of German Idealism,” said Prof. Angelika Epple, Rector of Bielefeld University and chair for the jury of the Luhmann Science Prize.

UChicago writer Ling Ma received 2024 MacArthur Fellowship

UChicago alumna Ling Ma returns to campus as an associate professor in January 2025.

Ling Ma, AB’05, an award-winning University of Chicago fiction writer renowned for prose that highlights the similarities between the fantastical and the everyday, has been awarded a 2024 MacArthur Fellowship.

Given each year by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the prestigious grants recognize individuals from across disciplines who show “exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.” Fellows receive $800,000 stipends to use as they see fit.

“I am amazed that strangers who have read my work decided to nominate or recommend my fiction,” Ma said. “For someone who spends most of their days alone, that's pretty unbelievable.”

Media Mentions September 2024

The latest media mentions, quotes, profiles, and writings from Division of the Humanities faculty, students, staff, and alumni. Visit us on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook for more updates.

Meet the Staff: Margot Browning

More than 100 staff members work in the Division of the Humanities. We’ll introduce you to our staff in this continuing series.

Margot Browning
Associate Director, Franke Institute for the Humanities
Lecturer, Humanities Collegiate Division

What do you like most about your job?

I like the diversity of it. First of all, it is the many departments in the Humanities Division, and the widely ranging specializations in each department, like a continuously moving kaleidoscope of ideas and activities. And second, I enjoy the diversity of projects at the Franke Institute—from the Franke Fellows and Grants to Every Wednesday to the Bulletin to the website. At the core of these projects is providing arenas—in person or online—where people and ideas mix.

What was the last good book you read?

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values by Brian Christian, who's a computer scientist as well as a poet and philosopher. Christian interviewed dozens of current AI researchers who have developed new AI capabilities—and then find themselves trying to solve unanticipated problems that emerge. For example, it turns out that the datasets that are used to train AIs are biased, so the AI outputs are biased too—reflecting the racism and sexism of our human world. How can we define and communicate human values, so that machine learners are aligned in their problem-solving to novel outcomes that are truly beneficial?

You might work with me if...

Your department has a faculty member or graduate student awarded a Franke Fellowship, or they're developing a proposal for a Franke grant, or they've received a Franke grant. Or about a course in the Big Problems capstone curriculum (a collaboration between the Franke Institute and the College), we might exchange information for the Registrar or the College catalog.

What topic could you give an hour-long presentation on with little to no preparation?

Prof. Philip V. Bohlman to address complexity of "doing good" through music during Humanities Day keynote

UChicago ethnomusicologist Philip Bohlman photo by John Zich

A pioneering ethnomusicologist, Prof. Philip V. Bohlman seeks to reveal how music helps human beings deal with critical ideas and look at crucial problems in migration globally. He uses a multidisciplinary approach in which ethnography, historical research and music performance intersect. His work in ethnomusicology spans multiple languages and continents.

“Ethnomusicologists study world music, which often occurs in places where human societies are in danger such as borderlands for migrants,” said Bohlman, the Ludwig Rosenberger Distinguished Service Professor and artistic director of the New Budapest Orpheum Society in the Department of Music at UChicago. “Music crosses borderlands and can connect people.”

New human rights track offers MA students new opportunities for learning

With deepening conflicts in the region, human rights are central to the study of the modern Middle East. As a result, the UChicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) has added a new track for the study of human rights to its two-year master’s program in partnership with the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights, starting in 2024‒2025.

“At this moment in the political landscape, no one can discuss the Middle East without talking about human rights,” said Kathleen Cavanaugh, executive director of the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights and senior instructional professor in the College at UChicago.

Acclaimed UChicago composer's new orchestral composition debuts at the New York Philharmonic

UChicago scholar Augusta Read Thomas at the world premiere of "Bebop Kaleidoscope" at the New York Philharmonic photo by Chris Lee

During her lessons, Thomas discusses her students’ work and offers her thoughts such as “this chord is fantastic,” or “the rhythmic syntax needs to be different because the tension dips.” She describes every lesson with her students as different but extremely engaging.

“We often discuss the way incredibly detailed moments can impact the entire formal trajectory of a piece, and vice versa,” said Justin Weiss, a UChicago PhD student in Music. “In her music, I feel such a strong sense of formal trajectory and clarity, yet each note is so clearly crafted.”

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