News & Events

Niklaus Largier is Chair in the department of Comparative Literature, is a professor in the departments of German and Comparative Literature, and is affiliated with the Programs in Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and the Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory.

Congratulations to Ph.D. Alum Polina Dimova (2010), who has just received tenure at the University of Denver. Her book, At the Crossroads of the Senses: The Synaesthetic Metaphor Across the Arts in European Modernism, will be published by Penn State UP in November.

Muskaan Shah, a senior majoring in Comparative Literature and Molecular and Cell Biology, was invited to present her paper, "The Impact of Cultural Identity in Irish and Indian Plays in the Post-Colonial Context" at the 43rd Annual Harvard Celtic Colloquium from 11th to 13th October 2024. She was one of only two undergraduates in attendance.

On October 1st, we had the immense pleasure of hosting renowned writer Maya Arad for an intimate conversation in the Comparative Literature 100 "Crossing Borders" class. The discussion centered her 2018 novel, The Hebrew Teacher, which was recently translated into English by the one and only Jessica Cohen. Our conversation explored matters of translation, hyphenated identities, and the role of literature in presenting history and politics as much more murky and complex than one might expect. It was a true pleasure. 

Mario Telò is a Professor of Rhetoric, Ancient Greek & Roman Studies, and Comparative Literature; participating member in the Critical Theory DE.

To start us out, how did you first come to study classics and comp lit? And are there any interests you enjoy outside of academia that you see informing your studies? 

This next interview is very exciting for us, because it’s our first interview with an undergraduate student! I personally met Fabiola Vazquez Espinoza through a literary magazine we’re both editors for: Vagabond Multilingual Journal. But Fabiola is an extremely active part of the arts and humanities community here on campus and is a part of several other incredible organizations that we will be speaking more about. 

Dear readers,

As with many things in my life, this column was partially inspired by aspects of my personal life, partially inspired by literature. And because this column is designated to highlighting the arts and humanities, I thought it would be fitting to begin by introducing the wonderful short story that partially inspired me in this process: “The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis Borges. 

UC Berkeley’s Division of Arts & Humanities is pleased to welcome professor Mohamed Wajdi Ben Hammed as of July 1, 2023. Ben Hammed is an assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and specializes in modern Arabic literature, with a particular focus on how pre-modern Islamic concepts of time negotiate postcolonial transformations within the region’s political economy. 

UC Berkeley’s Division of Arts & Humanities welcomes Roni Masel as of Jan. 1, 2023. Masel, an assistant professor in the campus’s Department of Comparative Literature, concentrates on Hebrew and Yiddish literatures.