About Us

The Center provides a forum for the discussion of central issues in the field of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century studies. It organizes academic programs, bringing together scholars from the region, the nation, and the world, with the goal of encouraging research from as early as the time of Lope de Vega and William Shakespeare to the defeat of Napoléon and the death of Lord Byron. Established in 1985, the Center also administers the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, located on a historic property in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Clark serves as the research laboratory for a distinguished array of fellows working either in early modern studies or the fin-de-siècle world of Oscar Wilde. The Center also offers a range of cultural programs, including chamber music concerts, theatrical performances, and lectures.

Core Program

The annual core program—a series of interdisciplinary events developed around a common theme—ranges from three or four consecutive workshops to a series spanning a year or more, with a full complement of symposia, workshops, graduate seminars, and public lectures, held at the Clark or on UCLA’s main campus. Core programs are organized each year by the current Center/Clark Professor or Professors, who are encouraged to design programs that will lead to publication in the Center/Clark series. The Center’s Ahmanson-Getty Fellowships are linked to the core programs as well, both in terms of themes and events.

Conferences

In addition to the annual series of conferences associated with the Core Program, each year the Center sponsors or co-sponsors four or more additional academic conferences, often held at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.

Lecture Series

  • Kenneth Karmiole Lecture Series on the History of the Book Trade—an annual event endowed by Kenneth Karmiole, a Santa Monica antiquarian bookseller—focuses on the book trade in England and Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
    Browse list of Kenneth Karmiole Lecture Series on the History of the Book Trade talks.
  • Stephen A. Kanter Lecture on California Fine Printing—a biennial event supported by Stephen A. Kanter, M.D.—explores the history and practice of the printing arts, especially as practiced in California.
    Browse list of Stephen A. Kanter Lecture on California Fine Printing talks.
  • William Andrews Clark Lecture on Oscar Wilde—a biennial event endowed by Dr. William Zachs, scholar and antiquarian—considers Wilde, his literary circle, and the decadent movement of the 1890s, highlighting the Clark’s collection of Wilde material.
    Browse list of William Andrews Clark Lecture on Oscar Wilde talks.

Lectures

In addition to individual talks, the Center sponsors the Clark Quarterly Lectures at the Clark Library and the Early Modern Cosmopolitanisms series on the UCLA campus.

  • Browse list of Lectures, 2000–.
    Note: The list does not include pre-2015/16 talks associated with the Karmiole, Kanter, and Wilde lecture series.

Music Series

  • Chamber Music at the Clark—an annual series established in 1994 with the support of a pilot grant from the Ahmanson Foundation—presents internationally acclaimed chamber ensembles in the drawing room of the Clark Library. Chamber Music at the Clark is made possible by The Ahmanson Foundation, under the auspices of Lee Walcott; The Colburn Foundation; Martha Bardach; Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Ph.D. and Barbara Timmer; Dr. Rogers Brubaker; Dr. Susan Harris and Mark Harris; Judy Hellinger; Henry J. Bruman Endowment for Chamber Music; Dr. Sheldon H. Kardener and Monika Olofsson Kardener; Elaine and Bernie Mendes; Janet Minami; Bette I. and Jeffrey L. Nagin; Dr. Jeanne Robson; Carol E. Sandberg; Charles H. and Carol “Jackie” Schwartz; Dr. Patricia Bates Simun and Mr. Richard V. Simun Memorial Fund; Patricia Waldron, M.D., and Richard Waldron; and Roberta and Robert Young. Browse list of Chamber Music at the Clark seasons.

    • Henry J. Bruman Summer Chamber Music Festival—an annual event founded in 1988 by Professor Henry J. Bruman—aims to introduce new audiences to chamber music at informal concerts on campus. Concerts are made possible by the Henry J. Bruman Trust, a gift in memory of Raymond E. Johnson, and a gift from Wendell E. Jeffrey and Bernice M. Wenzel.
      Browse list of Henry J. Bruman Summer Chamber Music Festival seasons.

    Arts on the Grounds

    Arts on the Grounds creates intersections of literature and the performing arts. Events have included modern interpretations of classical theater and site-specific productions designed for the Clark grounds. The program engages a broad new range of audiences and brings the Library’s rich collections to life through performance. The 2014–15 Arts on the Grounds series was made possible with support from Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Mark Rabinowitz, UCLA’s Office of the Dean of Humanities, and the UCLA Department of Spanish and Portuguese.
    Browse list of Arts on the Grounds performances.

To request an accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact the Center at c1718cs@humnet.ucla.edu or call (310) 206-8552.