Humanities (Video)

The ancient Buddhist sources have a great deal to say about what it means to be a biological man or woman, what it means to be gendered male and female, what kinds of desires and sexual practices are considered normative, and what kinds deviate. But this material is scattered throughout hundreds of different texts and is found in no single source. Drawing on decades of research into the classical Indian and Tibetan Buddhist texts - and on the extensive literature on ancient theories of "queerness" - Jose Cabezon traces the life of a man and woman from conception to death, in the process laying bare Buddhist assumptions about what it means to be normal and abnormal and why these issues were so important to ancient authors. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34403]

Undermining widely held beliefs about the black-Jewish alliance, Marc Dollinger, Professor of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University, describes a new political consensus, based on identity politics, that drew blacks and Jews together and altered the course of American liberalism. Dollinger’s most recent book takes a new and different look at Jewish involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, showing how American Jews leveraged the Black Power movement to increase Jewish ethnic and religious identity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Series: "Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 34566]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Sherry Turkle, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT for a discussion of her intellectual odyssey. In the conversation topics covered included her formative experiences, her education, and the evolution of her thinking about the impact of the objects of the cyber world--computers, internet, cell phones, and robots--on the essential elements of identity formation--solitude, conversation, and empathy. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 34497]

Constructed languages, or conlangs, are well-known in science fiction and fantasy literature as ways of creating an immersive world-building experience. Join us in learning how linguists design the sound systems and grammars to behind some of our favorite conlangs.  With Grant Goodall (Professor and Language Program Director, UC San Diego Linguistics), David J. Peterson (Creator of Dothraki, Game of Thrones), and Paul Frommer (Creator of Na’vi, Avatar). Moderated by Tamara Rhodes (Linguistics Subject Librarian, UC San Diego Library). Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34407]

Historian Yuval Noah Harari has taken the world on a tour through the span of humanity, from apes to rulers of the world. Harari became an international sensation when he argued in his best-selling book Sapiens that humans conquered the world through our ability to believe in collective myths about gods, money and freedom. In this excerpt, Harari discusses the authoritative role of big data and algorithms. Series: "SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34534]

Pianist Cecil Lytle and friends celebrate the Jewish folk traditions of Eastern Europe with spoken word, Klezmer music, and songs from the Yiddish theater. Featured performers include bassist Bertram Turetzky, singer Eva Barnes, and the Second Avenue Klezmer Band. Series: "Rebecca Lytle Memorial Concerts" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 34298]

A Q&A session with Writer/Director/Producer Miguel Coyula and Actor/Co-Producer Lynn Cruz of the documentary Nadie (2017). Coyula and Cruz discuss the production of the film and their work with the subject of the documentary, the reclusive Cuban poet, Rafael Alcides. The Q&A session, moderated by UCSB FIlm and Media Studies Professor, Cristina Venegas, covers the banning of the film in Cuba, the effect that making an “Anti-Revolutionary Film” has had on Coyula and Cruz, and the reception of the film in light of the deaths of both Fidel Castro and Alcides. This is Coyula’s first documentary feature, he was previously awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for the production of Memories of Overdevelopment (2010). Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34472]

Screaming girls, overwhelmed security, and segregated auditoriums all arise in musicology Professor David Novak (UC Santa Barbara) and rock journalist Ivor Davis’ discussion about Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and the Beatles’ American audience reception. Part of a small cadre of British journalists invited, Davis accompanied the Beatles for the entirety of their astonishing first US tour. The two discuss the Beatles’ connections to earlier musicians and the unprecedented passion they were showered with by young American fans. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34473]

The Beatles' final concert, their late-era conflicts, and the complicated history of director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s Let It Be documentary all arise in this discussion between musician Alan Parsons and Music Professor David Novak (UC Santa Barbara). Parsons was a teenage sound engineer at Abbey Road studios when he was assigned to record audio for the Beatles as they worked through this iconic album. Novak draws Parsons into dialogue about recording equipment, studio layouts, and the musical personalities of each member of the band. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 34489]

Peter Biggs experienced the transition from slavery to freedom a decade before the outbreak of the Civil War. Jarred Webb portrays the historical figure who lived in Los Angeles and was one of only twelve people in Los Angeles marked 'Black' on the 1850 US Census. Webb is then joined Dan Lynch (UCLA History) to discuss the high (and low) points of his life. Series: "Innovator Stories: Creating Something from Nothing" [Humanities] [Business] [Show ID: 34370]