Creative Misuse
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations changes name to Department of Middle Eastern Studies
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago Division of the Humanities announced Aug. 19 that it will be renamed the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, effective immediately.
The change is the result of the Department’s work in recent years to acknowledge the interdisciplinary and geographic research of its scholars. In an email announcing the change, Department Chair Ahmed El Shamsy wrote that the new name is “more recognizable, fits the region geographically, and arises from a new understanding of its relevance and significance now and throughout its ancient history.” Also, he noted that the usage and meaning of “Near Eastern” have changed over time.
Prof. Shadi Bartsch-Zimmer Elected to the British Academy
Prof. Shadi Bartsch-Zimmer would like to abolish the siloed nature of knowledge and embrace the interdisciplinarity of the humanities and sciences. For the broad scope of her scholarship and innovative ideas, the University of Chicago classics scholar was elected on July 18 as a fellow to the British Academy.
Bartsch-Zimmer is well known for her books and articles on ancient Rome, on rhetoric and philosophy, and on the reception of the western classical tradition in contemporary China. Her book "Persius: A Study in Food, Philosophy, and the Figural" received the 2016 Goodwin Award of Merit, and her translation of the “Aeneid” was one of The Guardian’s best books of the year.
Lewis 'Alan' Longino, UChicago graduate student and scholar of postwar Japanese art, 1987‒2024
Lewis “Alan” Longino, a University of Chicago graduate student who studied and curated contemporary art around the globe, passed away on July 8 in Biloxi, Miss., after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 36.
A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Art History, Longino focused his research on postwar Japanese conceptual art and global contemporary art. In particular, he examined the Japanese artist Yutaka Matsuzawa’s approach to a dematerialized practice, which was based upon a system of quantum physics, non-Zen Buddhism and parapsychology. In 1988, Matsuzawa (1922‒2006) published his “Quantum Art Manifesto,” which set out directions, instructions, kōan and other meditations for readers to consider their connection to art on a quantum level.
Florence Illuminated project to receive generous NEH grant
Humanities Assoc. Prof. Niall Atkinson is spearheading a comprehensive, collaborative, multi-university digital research platform called Florence Illuminated: Visualizing the History of Art, Architecture, and Society. The National Endowment for the Humanities is supporting this crucial scholarship with a grant of $349,969. It’s one of 238 humanities projects in 2024 to “help preserve and expand public access to important historical records and humanities collections at archives, libraries, museums, and universities” nationwide, according to the NEH.
The NEH grant for this project will provide a model for other digital collaborations, which will allow individual projects in the digital humanities to grow and expand on their own while also seamlessly integrating scholarship. Through a public web-based interface, the Florence Illuminated project will consolidate data from five digital humanities projects focused on the cultural history of late-medieval and early-modern Florence, supporting even more research in many fields and prompting questions that scholars haven’t even considered yet.
