An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Global Past

Established in 2026, the UCLA Jeffrey P. Cunard Center for Global Antiquity aims to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries by adopting a capacious and equitable approach to the study of the global past.

Two vignettes depicting offering scenes on the southern wall of the temple.

Global Antiquity capitalizes on the unparalleled intellectual resources of UCLA, where numerous faculty members work on different aspects of the ancient worlds (from eastern, southern, central, and western Asia, to northeastern Africa, Europe, and the Americas), and multiple research institutes, centers, departments, and programs within the Humanities and the Social Sciences explore cultural practices in the pre-modern world.

By bringing these strengths into dialogue, the Center strives to draw new attention to the importance of a broadminded humanism that allows challenges of our present time to be informed by reflection on the ancient worlds.