Graduate Students

Young Scholars Worldwide Interact at the International Balzan Prize Inaugural Symposium

The evening Mehfil Concert was a fitting finale to the lively conversations and interactions among the young ethnomusicology scholars. Photo by Christine Bohlman

An Indian hip-hop musician incorporates Hindu messages into his songs. The Black Opry changes country music. Through time, space, and sound, the fates of the Yurok tribe and Chinook salmon on the Klamath River are interconnected.

Music and sound move through generations, different disciplines, and geography. At the Borderlands of Sonic Encounters Inaugural Symposium on Feb. 9 at the Franke Institute for the Humanities at UChicago, young scholars explored multiple topics centering on borderlands, where music and sound are the common denominators.

“This inaugural symposium gathered young scholars from different parts of the world, sparked remarkable conversations, and established the intellectual foundation for the Balzan Prize project,” said Bohlman, the Ludwig Rosenberger Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Music at UChicago.

A UChicago Composer Finds Inspiration in Rome

Baldwin Giang, Photo by Stephan Brigidi

Each morning Baldwin Giang wakes up, walks to the window and looks out over Janiculum Hill, the highest point in Rome. Though his day will surely involve composing music, the University of Chicago graduate student isn’t interested in staying locked inside a studio when the city is at his fingertips.

“Rome is really exciting because it's the kind of place where you can be constantly surprised if you open yourself up to it,” Giang said.

In 2023, Giang was awarded the nationally competitive Samuel Barber Rome Prize, granting him a year of “time and space to think and work” at the American Academy in Rome.

Humanities Division Honors Graduate Students and Faculty at the 537th Convocation

Humanities Division 2023 Convocation Ceremony

Division of the Humanities graduates, faculty members, and the graduating students’ families and friends celebrated the 537th Convocation ceremony in Rockefeller Chapel from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on June 2, 2023. This is the last year that Anne Walters Robertson is serving as Dean of the Division of the Humanities, and the first year for the new Stuart Tave Course Design Awards honoring graduate students for exemplary course design in teaching undergraduate students.

“At every convocation, we are proud to celebrate the achievements in scholarship and teaching of our faculty and students,” said Anne Walters Robertson, Dean of the Division of the Humanities and the Claire Dux Swift Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Music. “I am so pleased that at this, my final convocation as dean, we are launching a new award for excellence in course creation by graduate students: the Stuart Tave Course Design Award.”

Humanities Division Returns to Rockefeller Chapel for 536th Convocation

The Humanities Division celebrated its first Convocation ceremony in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel since 2019.

While many still wore masks, graduates celebrated their first Division of the Humanities Convocation ceremony on June 3 in Rockefeller Chapel since 2019 with unequaled joy. It was finally time for the graduates, faculty members, families, and colleagues to move back to a familiar arena, which their pandemic experiences made the celebration more poignant.

“We were delighted to be back in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel commemorating the accomplishments of our graduates and looking toward their bright futures,”
said Anne Walters Robertson, Dean of the Division of the Humanities. “In my experience, the excitement, appreciation, and gratitude of this year’s graduates was unparalleled.”

In addition to celebrating the achievements of more than 150 graduating students with master’s and doctoral degrees, four leaders in the Humanities Division, including Dean Robertson and Dean of Students Shea Wolfe, recognized nine students and faculty members for their achievements.

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