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Student Art Spotlight

Illustration by Megan Liao.

On the canon

Something I have come to think about is the creation, maintenance and revision of the "canon" in literature. It seems that at least within the Western intellectual tradition for the past 30 years, the canon has been treated as something that itself emerged as a Western or European concept in the first place. Through the unraveling of history, as the narrative goes, it gradually came to be imposed through imperial and colonial means as a normalizing criterion upon the literatures and cultures of every nation. In short, the canon in literature has come to be seen as more or less an instrument for the imposition of a Eurocentric socio-cultural ideology upon the world. Supposedly, a continued socio-cultural subjugation of other peoples, societies and cultures under a Western normativity makes possible an ideological system of power relations.

Student Art Spotlight

Illustration by Megan Liao

Student Art Spotlight

Student Art Spotlight by Megan Liao.

‘To some people, you’ll be Cinderella. To others, Marie Antoinette’

“Inheritance Games” begins with Avery Grambs, a high school student with a simple plan: keep her head down, stay out of trouble and get good enough grades to earn an actuarial science scholarship to the University of Connecticut. One day, her fortunes change when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery nearly his entire estate — the only stipulation is that she has to move into his house, a riddle-filled mansion where the mostly disinherited Hawthorne family still lives. However, she has no idea who he is or why he would want to leave all his money to an apparent stranger. Questions quickly pile up: why did Tobias Hawthorne disinherit his family? Why choose Avery of all people? At the same time, buried family mysteries start working their way to the light, and Avery and the Hawthorne family must work together if they want answers. 

Student Art Spotlight

Student Art Spotlight by Megan Liao.

"Emma.": My comfort movie of 2020

As someone who enjoys watching and analyzing movies, some of my favorite films are those that dive into the darkest corners of the human psyche and explore some of the most challenging emotions a person can experience. However, at the end of a long week, I just want to sit back and enjoy watching a group of well-dressed young people in Regency-era England attending balls and falling in love. If you are also having a not-so-easy time with everything that's going on and want to watch a comfort movie, I present to you “Emma.”

Student Art Spotlight

Student Art Spotlight: illustration by Megan Liao

The life of a freelance composer: Music meets business

The work of freelance music composers is not as solitary as it may sound. They collaborate with institutions, theatres, and individuals. They work on solo pieces, operas, orchestra pieces, chamber pieces, and more. They have a flexible working schedule for exploring and envisioning creativity in music, yet they live a busy lifestyle managing their music careers and businesses at the same time. Last Thursday, Feb. 4, the Music department invited freelance composer Stacy Garrop to share experiences and reflections on her career in the first Music Department Colloquium of the semester. 

Loneliness

As the majority of students return to their homes after a quite different Fall semester, those few remaining on campus face long periods of isolation. As seen in the empty streets of Brandeis University, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are not only social but also environmental.

E-cards: thank you faculty and staff!

A bit of color

The artists’ community at Brandeis has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the art studios adapting their practices according to the required safety measures, the fall 2020 semester has proven to be a challenge for the arts community on campus. 

Interview with Prof. Gannit Ankori: The reopening of the Rose Art Museum

Although so much is closed or virtual this semester, Brandeis students will be happy to learn that one campus institution is still open in-person: the Rose Art Museum. It offers, as Prof. Gannit Ankori (FA) described it in a Nov. 1 email to the Justice, “a quiet space for reflection, contemplation, and enjoyment” that could be a good mental break from the chaos of 2020 for students, staff and faculty alike. She is an active member of the Rose's Advisory Board, and I recently had the chance to correspond with her about the museum’s current programs and upcoming developments. 

Man befriends mollusk in ‘My Octopus Teacher’

On Nov. 3, as many of my fellow Americans were glued to news broadcasts watching the results of the presidential election, I turned off my phone and opted for some oceanic escapism on Netflix instead. I figured that I was not going to get any answers about who had won the presidency on Tuesday night, so why not immerse myself in something as relaxing and otherworldly as “My Octopus Teacher”?

Cartoon of the week

Cartoon of the week by Megan Liao

Cartoon of the Week

Cartoon of the week by Megan Liao

David Ohannessian: bringing Armenian ceramics into Jerusalem

Last Thursday, the Brandeis Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research invited Sato Moughalian, a renowned flutist and the author of "Feast of Ashes — The Life and Art of David Ohannessian,” for a virtual lecture on David Ohannessian, a well-known Armenian ceramicist. Moughalian is Ohannessian’s granddaughter, and she spoke about his art and how his experience in the Armenian genocide and being deported influenced his interpretation of ceramics. The event was supposed to happen last spring in person, but because of the pandemic it was rescheduled for this fall. 

Cartoon of the week

Cartoon of the week by Megan Liao

Chloe Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’ more than earns its praise

Moments into its opening scene, “Nomadland” invites us to witness a deeply private moment: after leaving behind most of her belongings in a remote storage post, Frances McDormand’s Fern pulls her white van onto the side of the road, runs out into a vast field, disrobes below her waist and relieves herself. It is a definitive moment in a film full of them, one that makes clear from the outset that “Nomadland” will be unsparing in its depiction of reality. 

“Youth”: the purpose of living and the meaning of death

For those feeling trapped in quarantine, “Youth” is an invitation to a lush hotel in the Swiss mountains where retired composer Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) spends his days wandering through verdant fields, getting massages and watching nightly performances from artists in every medium from opera to giant soap bubbles. Yet this idyllic vacation is marred: he is apathetic, his daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz) says, and he refuses to conduct or compose new music.