culture

Folklore scholar Tim Tangherlini has organized a large collection into a database that can be searched by topic, storyteller and location.

A year-long focus will be the massive contribution of women in all art forms. The season begins Oct. 8 with “Desdemona.”

In an exhibition opening May 3, hair adornments and a contemporary film address changing ideas of beauty and identity in Africa.

“Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram” and “The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism in India since 1989” both open April 19.

UCLA French and Francophone professor Alain Mabanckou is one of 10 authors worldwide who have been selected as finalists for this year’s Man Booker International Prize.

Students from the UCLA Lab School recently learned about the creative process of K.G. Campbell, the award-winning author and illustrator of “Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters” and “The Mermaid and the Shoe.” The event was presented by UCLA Writing Programs,

The UCLA Latin American Institute is presenting a lecture on chocolate and other community outreach activities to share the latest research findings on the Latin American region with L.A. residents.

Upcoming exhibition will showcase photographs documenting monumental art environments created by artists who find inspiration in their surroundings.

“The Excavation of the Prehistoric Burial Tumulus at Lofkënd, Albania” by UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology’s John Papadopoulos and Sarah Morris opens a window on a cradle of civilization.

Magnetic media, which are deteriorating, make up half of the holdings in archive. To save the most significant materials that are relevant to California the archive has begun posting them online.

Michael Emmerich, an associate professor of Japanese at UCLA, has translated the work of the late Japanese author Yasushi Inoue and opened readers' eyes to his compelling stories.

Video, photos, interviews and mapping tools capture the extent of damage remaining four years after the 2011 quake and tsunami. The data will help other areas prepare.

Intrigued by the question of whether Augustus Caesar transformed Rome from a city of bricks into a city of marble, as legend has it, UCLA professor Diane Favro decided to use advanced modeling software to reconstruct Rome at the time of his reign.

Bryan Kirschen has become a tireless advocate for the endangered language that is often described as the Spanish equivalent of Yiddish.

In a new book, UCLA art historian Meredith Cohen shows that the rich history and cultural significance of the 13th century Gothic chapel are equal in importance to its artistic merits.

A new book by UCLA urban historian Eric Avila gives voice to the opponents of highway construction in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s and, in particular, in communities of color.

“Letter to Jimmy,” Alain Mabanckou’s much-lauded book, is a fitting tribute to the pivotal American essayist, activist and playwright, author of the novel, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and a collection of essays, “Notes of a Native Son,” among other major works.

A lost recording of a 50-year-old speech delivered at UCLA by the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has been unearthed in a storage room and put online.

The first Chicano feature film, “Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive!,” was recently added to the National Film Registry. It was thought to have been lost or destroyed until UCLA professor Chon Noriega got in touch with its creator and had the only copy of it restored.

The first major touring exhibition of Emirati art features more than 50 paintings, sculptures and works in other media.

With an office full of antique projectors known as “magic lanterns” and a conviction to retell media history, Erkki Huhtamo has pioneered the field of media archaeology.

UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library urges you to consult a 1665 treatise on the seven signs that witchcraft or necromancy is behind your ailments.

UCLA linguist Pamela Munro writes about the nearly forgotten language of the Gabrielino-Tongva Indians and her efforts to revive it for descendants of Southern California’s Tongva people.

“Round Trip: Bicycling Asia Minor, 1891” opens Dec. 14 and features 42 black-and-white photos from the historic trip.

After 10 years of research at UCLA, the first mobile website to function as a storytelling trail guide to help people explore the past, present and future of certain downtown L.A. neighborhoods —  as they walk, bike or skateboard in those locations — was unveiled.