Led by disabled artist, performer, choreographer, and activist Alice Sheppard, who is visiting UCLA as Regents Lecturer. Students learn about important work of disability artistry in dance and performance. Sheppard ties together political movement of ideas and movement of disabled dancers, on both street and stage. Consideration of how disabled bodies and minds craft new worlds of movement and performance, as disabled artists draw on their lived experience, traditions, and histories of community expertise, artistry, and disabled wisdom. Exploration of how access and access artistry have become provocative centers of artistic practice. Students look at range of work by companies such as Kinetic Light, contemporary artists such as Kayla Hamilton and Jerron Herman, and elders such as (Clayton) Peg Leg Bates. Class meets February 7 through 10 as follows: Friday 1-3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1-4 p.m., Monday 6-8 p.m.

Alice Sheppard is the founder and artistic lead for Kinetic Light, a disability arts organization, working at the intersections of disability, dance, design, identity, and technology to create transformative art and affirm the intersectional disability arts movement. Victoria (Vic) Marks is an award-winning choreographer whose work migrates between choreo-portraits and action conversations for people who don't identify as dancers (veterans, dads, moms, sorority and fraternity students) -- and dances for and with dancers that fuel Marks' inquiries into movement.

Purpose is to appreciate value of eyewitness testimony of Holocaust. Students have unique opportunity to work with, interview, and learn from Holocaust survivors. Students conduct oral histories with survivors, considering ethics of listening to first-person testimony in service of memory. Students meet in small groups to discuss testimony. Study offers personal framework for approaching larger history of Holocaust. Offered in collaboration with Hillel at UCLA Bearing Witness project, Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, and Jewish Family Service LA.

Todd Presner is Professor and Chair of the Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies. My fields of interest are German-Jewish History, Digital Humanities, Urban Humanities, and Holocaust History and Memory. His most recent book is: Ethics of the Algorithm: Digital Humanities and Holocaust Memory (Princeton University Press, 2024).

Learning and practice go in tandem to link environmental, literary, and cultural studies. Tai chi--which originates from Taoist and Buddhist traditions--addresses need for catholic inclusion: to practice care for people of all colors, gender, class, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations, and disabilities. In one sense, it illustrates yin-yang principle of this unique art: more mindful one is of oneself, more one redounds to welfare of one's community. Tai chi practice, according to both scientific studies and common observations, offers mental and physical health benefits to those who cannot afford gym membership, expensive coaching, sports equipment, medications, time, or home or open space. Environmental principles for learning tai chi, qigong, or other martial arts are natural or regulated breathing and commitment to clean air and green space for all. Immediate goal is for students to experience firsthand the healthful effects of Tai chi, and to learn uncanny connection between literary and martial arts; this practice may also foster sense of community.

Bio: King-Kok Cheung 张敬珏is UCLA Research Professor of English 2024-, UCLA Professor Emeritus of English and Asian American Studies, and Special Advisor of the US-China Education Trust (USCET). Born and raised in Hong Kong, she received her PhD in English from UC Berkeley. She is author of Articulate Silences and Asian American Literature without Borders. Master Yun Zhao is a cofounder of the Yi Shui Training Center of Martial Arts:https://www.facebook.com/YiShuiCMA/.

Exploration of Cantonese culture's impact on Chinese poetry, American history and literature, and world heritage. Students learn (or brush up on) Cantonese by studying two Tang poems (by Li Bai and Meng Haoran) and The Ballad of Mulan; listening to some rap lyrics; and watching two Cantonese opera excerpts (Purple Hairpin Pickup from Purple Hairpin Saga, and Fragrant Sacrifice from The Flower Princess). Students also read excerpts from two awarding-winning memoirs: Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior (1976 National Book Critics Circle award winner and 1978 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner), and Fae Myenne Ng's Orphan Bachelors (2024 California Book Award gold medal winner for nonfiction and 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing administered by Stanford University). Powerful prose of these two memoirs resound to Cantonese cadence and idioms.

King-Kok Cheung is UCLA Research Professor of English and Special Advisor of the US-China Education Trust (USCET). Born and raised in Hong Kong, she received her PhD in English from UC Berkeley. She is author of Articulate Silences and Asian American Literature without Borders. She is recipient of the 2023 Association of Asian American Studies)'s Lifetime Career Achievement Award.

Study of centrality of animal to articulation of human, and resultant silencing of numerous nonhuman species signified by former term. Whether as pet or pest, object dissected in lab or food carved at table, symbol or referent, nonhuman animal looms large though often silent, but still shaping what it means to be human. In living amid, researching, collaborating with, consuming, and above all thinking through nonhuman animal, humans construct who or what they are and how they differ from those deemed to be other than themselves. Exploration of human-animal interactions or intersections across diverse cultures, periods, and disciplines. Students read literary and legal excerpts, and some of latest scientific research on human-animal dichotomy/dualism: research that invites rethinking property status of nonhuman animals.

Arvind Thomas is a medievalist who works on the intersection of law and literature in Latin, German, and English literature. Arvind teaches courses on medieval hagiography and premodern economics. Arvind has also been working on critical animal studies and its relevance to questions of human and non-human rights and environmentalism.

Shakespeare wrote 10 plays about English kings, known as history plays; study covers five. King John is not one of Shakespeare's better-known plays, but contains fascinating characters and raises interesting questions. Others are his greatest history plays including Richard II, Henry IV Part One, Henry IV Part Two, and Henry V. All contain tragedy and comedy; both Henry IV plays include Falstaff, one of greatest comic characters in all literature. History plays receive less attention than his great tragedies and comedies, but they represent some of Shakespeare's greatest work. Study offers good introduction to these plays.

Daniel Lowenstein is an emeritus professor of law and currently director of the UCLA Center for the Liberal Arts (CLAFI). He graduated from Yale College and Harvard Law School. He served as Deputy Secretary of State under Jerry Brown and then as the first chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. At the UCLA Law School he specialized in election law and wrote articles in numerous law journals, as well as the first American election law textbook in the twentieth century. He has also published commentary on Shakespeare and other writers.

Following revolutionary lead of UK and U.S., late 1960s through 1970 were time of profound social and artistic fermentation in Italy. One lasting Italian contribution was progressive rock music, considered second in quality only to pioneering inventions from Britain (exemplified by King Crimson, Yes, ELP, and Gentle Giant). Exploration of Italian flavor and extraordinarily high musical quality of groups that, 50 years on, rise to level of Anglo-Saxon pioneers. They include Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), Area, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, New Trolls, and Le Orme. Among another 50 such bands students sample Picchio dal Pozzo, Osanna, and Museo Rosenbach. Political, regional, and international commitments of these Italian artists also shines through music appreciation-style class. Students listen to music, read critical essays about progressive rock, and may give presentation about chosen song.

Professor Thomas Harrison, who spent formative years of his youth in Rome, Italy, is a dedicated fan of progressive rock as well as blues, jazz, and classic rock. He himself is an amateur musician, whose instruments are the bass and flute. He has taught British progressive rock several times at UCLA alongside the work of Frank Zappa and courses in rock lyrics. He is the Vice Chair of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of European Languages & Transcultural Studies.

UCLA has been stopping point for some of most significant musical creators of our time. Great composers of Broadway, classical, EDM, film, jazz, pop, rock, and video game music have either attended UCLA as students, taught master classes and courses, or performed on campus. Students sample and explore some of this great music.

Born in 1956, American composer Ian Krouse has been hailed in Gramophone as "one of the most communicative and intriguing young composers on the music scene today." Soundboard described his music as "absorbing, brutal, beautiful, and harsh, all at the same time." He is widely known for his pioneering efforts in the development of the guitar quartet, of which he has composed eleven to date, most of which are now featured regularly in the touring repertories of the leading groups of our time. His most notable achievement to date is the creation and premiere of the epic Armenian Requiem.

Students have unique chance to witness preparation of iconic masterpiece of classical music: Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Students attend early stages of preparation, witness individual sessions and rehearsals with chamber orchestra, and attend public concert performance. Performers are UCLA string faculty and students. Question-and-answer sessions, and active give and take atmosphere, encouraged. Class has irregular meeting times; students must be able to attend all sessions: January 30, February 7, 4-6 p.m. SMB; February 19, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 1325 SMB; February 24 or 26 (option), and 28 (public concert), 7-9 p.m., Schoenberg Music Hall.

UCLA Distinguished Professor of Violin Movses Pogossian made his American debut with the Boston Pops in 1990, about which Boston Globe wrote: "There is freedom in his playing, but also taste and discipline. It was a fiery, centered, and highly musical performance". Prizewinner of several important competitions, including he 1986 Tchaikovsky International Competition, he extensively performed as soloist and recitalist in Europe, America, and Asia. Pogossian's discography includes the Complete Sonatas and Partitas by J. S. Bach as well several critically acclaimed contemporary music albums.

Many traditions of political music raise interesting questions such as whether protest songs and revolutionary music are pro-democracy, and whether music for civil rights expansion is inherently pro-democracy. Musical genres studied include folk, proto-rap and rap, leftist protest, national anthems and marching band, musicals, even Schoolhouse Rock. Artists studied include composers from Ludwig von Beethoven to Aaron Copland; Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger; Billie Holiday and Nina Simone; Paul Robeson; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Public Enemy, Gil Scott-Heron, and NWA; and Frederick Rzewski. Class includes student presentations, and possibly student writing and performance of their own pro-democracy songs. Special attention paid to music that has been written for or used by election candidates. Discussion of campaign songs including already-written music, such as This Land is Your Land, Beyoncé's Freedom, and others; and music used against artists' wishes, also including Beyoncé's Freedom and others.

Composer David S. Lefkowitz has written more than 125 compositions, and has seen performances across the country and some 20 countries across the globe. Much of his music reflects his interest in ancient poetic traditions of different world cultures, including those of China, Iran, and Spain. He has composed instrumental music and vocal music, including choral music and a secular cantata Lincoln Echoes.

Introduction to how ethnoracial discrimination in housing has occurred through various institutions and mechanisms. Topics include theories on social stratification, community development, and public policy. Investigation and assessment of book on how government played major role in creation and perpetuation of community segregation. Students gain understanding of segregation's impact on communities of color. Before solving community policy issues, it is important to understand experiences of communities of color, and negative impact of social isolation and disinvestment.

José Loya is an Assistant Professor in Urban Planning at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs. His research examines ethno-racial discrimination in housing by connecting ethno-racial inequality and contextual forces at the individual, neighborhood, and metropolitan levels. His research discusses several topics related to stratification in homeownership, including ethno-racial, gender, and Latino disparities in mortgage access. José received his PhD. at the University of Pennsylvania in Sociology and holds a master's degree in Statistics from the Wharton School of Business at Penn.

Focus on linguistic frames used by election campaigns in oldest democracy, U.S.; and largest democracy, India. Consideration of metaphors and tropes used in campaign slogans, and analysis of relationship between linguistic frames used and campaigns' success. Comparison and contrast of metaphors and tropes used in slogans and speeches in India and U.S. Study looks at changing landscape of perceptions and attitudes towards acceptable forms of messaging of hate and discrimination versus patriotism and nationalism. Consideration of different media forms' role, and their interaction with linguistic framing of voters' values, issues, and ideology. Investigation of how linguistic frames are important component of political campaigns, and have serious consequences for democratic processes and electoral outcomes. Do current linguistic frames used in campaigns lead to misinformation and manipulation, or to better and direct communication with voters? Students make presentations and write short final paper.

Gyanam Mahajan is a Professor of Teaching (Academic Senate) in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. Her Ph.D. is in Theoretical Linguistics and her current research interests are in developing a program in Language Humanities where language learning and teaching goes well beyond a skills based or task based enterprise to languages being taught as a Humanities course with a focus on developing critical thinking skills and content.

Matcha--powdered green tea--has been making its way across trendy café menus and health fad announcements for last few years; but where did this so-called miracle food come from? Study asks what its historical and cultural roots are; how this archaic form of tea production was preserved during centuries of steeped tea ascendance; and what ramifications of its travels beyond East Asia to rest of world are, with and without its cultural connotations. Study designed as scholarly introduction to history, aesthetics, and practice of Japanese Way of Tea (chanoyu, chado, or tea ceremony): traditional practice that preserved matcha as form of tea ingestion. Through short readings and viewings, and weekly presentations, students learn about Way of Tea through history, architecture, tea cultivation and preparation, associated food and drink practices, ceramics and other tea utensils, and Zen Buddhism. Students also participate in tea gathering and get to try sweets and tea.

Professor Michelle Liu Carriger is an associate professor of Theater and Performance Studies and has been studying the Urasenke tradition of chado ("tea ceremony") since 1999, in various locations including Los Angeles, Colorado, Kansas, Boston, London, and in Kyoto during a yearlong Midorikai fellowship at the Urasenke Gakuen Professional College of Chado. She holds a second degree Urasenke teaching license and chamei (tea name) "Somi." Additionally, she researches and writes academically on tea practice and theory and spent two years in Ehime prefecture studying in the Omotesenke tradition.