As many of you already know, I spent most of this past week in Los Angeles, primarily to do some research at the Film & Television Archives on the campus of UCLA. It ended up being a productive trip, and will prove beneficial to an article I'm writing about political humor on TV in the late fifties and early sixties (with a focus on the work of Mort Sahl). Anyway, in addition to mentioning how friendly and helpful the staff at the Archives were, I wanted to also mention that UCLA is one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever had the privilege of visiting. I typically arrived early in order to be sure to get a parking space, and that gave me the opportunity in the hour or so before the Archives opened each morning to stroll around and take some pictures. Here are some of those shots:
Above is a picture of the Powell Library, where the archives are located. It's a pretty impressive structure, maybe even more so inside, with large, open reading rooms and some very impressive exhibition space in the center chamber (where there was a very interesting display of "Americanized" views of North Africa in popular culture-- movies, novels, comics, etc.).
This is a shot of the sculpture garden in the social sciences quad. And yes, I think the statue on the left is mooning me/you.
The whole campus is very green and lush, with tree-lined walkways and little gardens. Wouldn't this make for a pleasant walk to class every morning?
This is the hillside meadow that slopes down from the center of the campus towards the athletic fields. A little later in the day, this would be littered with students catching some sunshine between classes.
Last is a picture of the main concourse of the campus. The Powell Library is just to the right; across the way is Royce Hall which is, I believe, the original campus building, and pretty impressive with its arched outdoor corridor (which you can make out on the left). I hate to say it, but the campus where I teach has no central gathering spot like this, and its nice to see students milling about, socializing, reading, maybe just catching some rays-- it gives a real sense of vibrancy to a campus. I know that I felt energized being there just for a few days.
Above is a picture of the Powell Library, where the archives are located. It's a pretty impressive structure, maybe even more so inside, with large, open reading rooms and some very impressive exhibition space in the center chamber (where there was a very interesting display of "Americanized" views of North Africa in popular culture-- movies, novels, comics, etc.).
This is a shot of the sculpture garden in the social sciences quad. And yes, I think the statue on the left is mooning me/you.
The whole campus is very green and lush, with tree-lined walkways and little gardens. Wouldn't this make for a pleasant walk to class every morning?
This is the hillside meadow that slopes down from the center of the campus towards the athletic fields. A little later in the day, this would be littered with students catching some sunshine between classes.
Last is a picture of the main concourse of the campus. The Powell Library is just to the right; across the way is Royce Hall which is, I believe, the original campus building, and pretty impressive with its arched outdoor corridor (which you can make out on the left). I hate to say it, but the campus where I teach has no central gathering spot like this, and its nice to see students milling about, socializing, reading, maybe just catching some rays-- it gives a real sense of vibrancy to a campus. I know that I felt energized being there just for a few days.
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