Leonard Nimoy. Photo by Beth Madison

Cecile McKee, associate dean for research in SBS and professor of linguistics, and Elly Zimmer a graduate student in linguistics, wrote about Leonard Nimoy and his appreciation of language. Nimoy was instrumental in commissioning the development of the structurally complex Klingon language. And through the character of Spock, Nimoy explored what makes us human. More 

David Schmidtz

The Center for the Philosophy of Freedom received a $2.9 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The gift will allow the center to hire a postdoctoral fellow with the Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law undergraduate program, as well as help the center build a network of philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) programs spanning several universities and four continents. The center will also create new hybrid online and traditional PPE degree programs, including a program in ethics, economy, and entrepreneurship for high school teachers. More

Mt. Lykaion excavation in Greece

An Arizona Daily Star article discusses the new Center for Mediterranean Archaeology and the Environment, directed by Anthropology Professor Steve Kuhn. The center involves researchers from the School of Anthropology, the Tree-Ring Lab, the Radiocarbon Lab, and the Department of Geosciences. By combining their different perspectives and methodologies for reconstructing the past, the researchers aim to gain a greater and more highly resolved picture of past human experience in the cradle of Old World civilizations. More 

Ander Monson's new book

Ander Monson, an assistant professor in the Department of English, has a new book out, titled "Letters to a Future Lover: Marginalia, Errata, Secrets, Inscriptions, and Other Ephemera Found in Libraries." A review from NPR says the book "is a breathtakingly original, thoughtful consideration of what it means to be a reader--or a writer, or a human being." The review goes on to call the book a "masterpiece," and Monson "one of America's best living authors." More

UA linguists Massimo Piatelli-Palmarini, Tom Bever, and Simin Karimi with Noam Chomsky

After his session at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 15, Chomsky will spend time with the faculty and students in the Department of Linguistics. Chomsky's connections to the UA are deep and long-standing, mostly stemming from the various sojourns of UA linguists at MIT, where Chomsky worked for more than 50 years.

  

"We're thrilled, of course," said Simin Karimi, head of the Department of Linguistics. "Many of the faculty, myself included, maintain professional relationships with Chomsky. And for our students, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the man who is widely considered to be the father of modern linguistics." More 

Eddie Redmayne in his new movie. Credit: Universal Pictures

Cecile McKee helps a child use the finger tapper.

Kate Kenski

Rosi Andrade