Prominent Harvard Law Professor Publishes New Book Condemning the Compromises at the Core of American Civic Life
The first Division of the Humanities Berlin Family Lecturer Lawrence Lessig just published America, Compromised, capturing his sweeping, well-documented indictment of U.S. institutions, politicians, and citizens. Published by UChicago Press, the Harvard Law School professor’s new book expands on his lectures, providing a detailed look of why America is on the wrong path. According to Lessig, change is still possible if the American people can acknowledge and reverse its direction.
Media Mentions: October 2018
The latest media mentions, quotes, profiles, and writings from Division of the Humanities faculty, students, staff, and alumni.
Meet the Staff: Mai Vukcevich
Mai talks about the Franke and Chicago in the fall in this month's edition of Meet the Staff.
UChicago Professor Martha Nussbaum Wins $1 Million Berggruen Prize
The UChicago philosopher and professor Martha Nussbaum will receive the 2018 Berggruen Prize, which is given once a year and carries a cash award of $1 million to a thinker whose ideas “have profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement in a rapidly changing world.” She is the author or editor of more than 40 wide-ranging books covering topics such as the place of emotions in political life, the nature of human vulnerability, the importance of liberal education, and the connections between classical literature and the contemporary world.
UChicago Professor Wins 2018 Kirkus Prize for Fiction
Imagination, personal experience, and lucid prose complement the in-depth research and stealthy dose of satire in Severance, Ling Ma’s debut novel, which just received the 2018 Kirkus Prize for fiction. Expanded from what originally began as a short story, her book was selected from 1,193 books published during the past year. Each winning author of the Kirkus Prize receives $50,000 and widespread renown in the book publishing world.
Meet the Staff: Walter Bourdaghs
Walter talks about CEAS and the best concert he ever attended in this month's edition of Meet the Staff.
Media Mentions: September 2018
The latest media mentions, quotes, profiles, and writings from Division of the Humanities faculty, students, staff, and alumni.
Philosophy Professor Gabriel Richardson Lear to Deliver Aims of Education Address
Gabriel Richardson Lear, professor in the Department of Philosophy, the Committee on Social Thought, and the College, will deliver the Aims of Education address to incoming UChicago students on Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. During this celebrated UChicago tradition, she will talk about wonder and how it helps us to understand the world and ourselves.
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Edward Wasiolek, renowned scholar of Russian literature, 1924–2018
In his 40-plus-year career at the University of Chicago, Edward Wasiolek became a renowned scholar of Slavic and comparative literature, and particularly of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Wasiolek edited five volumes devoted to the notebooks for Dostoevsky’s novels, translated and edited volumes on Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, and wrote the widely acclaimed Dostoevsky: The Major Fiction (1964). He also wrote Tolstoy’s Major Fiction (1978) and gave a distinguished presentation on Tolstoy to the United Nations in 1988.
Wasiolek, who passed away on May 3 at age 92, taught from 1955 to 1996 at UChicago, where he was the Avalon Foundation Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Comparative Literature, and the College. He also served as the chair of the Comparative Literature Program and of the Department Slavic Languages and Literatures.
Heralded Composer and UChicago Colleagues Launch New Concert Series
Award-winning UChicago composer Augusta Read Thomas is championing the inaugural session of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. She sees the opening season for these concerts as the start that advances beyond the UChicago campus. For example, one of Center’s featured musicians in the the Grossman Ensemble “could be ambassadors for the university and the city and the composers, and themselves,” says Thomas, University Professor of Composition in the Music Department of the Division of the Humanities.
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