Before his research helped discover the healing powers of writing and the Secret Life of Pronouns, Jamie Pennebaker’s curiosity killed the crab.
Features
Landscapes: Latino Studies’ Journey to 50th Anniversary
Celebrating this milestone may look and feel different this year, but it is in the act of remembering that we preserve our future.
Teaching, Learning and Living
Randy and Mary Diehl, 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipients, share a dedication for championing education and a joy for lifelong learning.
2020 Vision: Examining Some of the Country’s Big Issues
Experts from UT Austin’s College of Liberal Arts weigh in on some of the major issues facing our country and the president-elect over the next four years.
Understanding Your Past
Michael Stoff, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, teaches his students to approach history with respect, empathy and context.
Giving Voice to History
Jacqueline Jones, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, discusses why it’s essential to learn the history behind today’s headlines.
Rebooting Our Lives After COVID-19
The world’s new reality amid the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to confront issues and critically think about how to revive communities slowly, safely and sustainably.
Ukraine’s Social Media Presidency
UT Austin student researchers delve into the state of democracy in Ukraine, and the role of youth political engagement and social media.
No Stopping Her
Margaret Siu, a Plan II honors senior from Dallas, is the recipient of a 2020 British Marshall Scholarship. The scholarship will fund her graduate education at the University of Oxford.
Gault Site Reveals Ancient Origins of Texas
More than 90 years ago the first anthropologist at the University of Texas, J.E. Pearce, began digging at a site near Florence, Texas, in effect turning the first pages on a story many millennia in the making.
It’s More Than a Movie
There is so much to be learned from film studies — about ourselves and the world around us — if we view it through a liberal arts lens.
The Taco Truck: Author Takes His Research to the Streets
Robert Lemon examines the evolution of taco trucks and how it transforms U.S. cities.
Moral Fuel: Energizing a New Internship Program
Students explore work and social justice through Jewish teachings.
Truman #22
Government and humanities senior Alyssa Ashcraft received one of the country’s premier graduate awards, which she will use to pursue a dual degree in law and public policy. As a 2019 Truman scholar, Ashcraft received $30,000 toward graduate school and the opportunity to participate in professional development programming to help prepare for a career in […]
Solving the World’s Most Pressing Issues
J. Thomas “Tom” Ward Photography by Brian Birzer Education: B.A. Government ’54, The University of Texas at Austin; and M.S. Educational Administration, University of Southern California Hometown: Austin, Texas Tom Ward is a retired foreign service officer formerly with the U.S. Agency for International Development, based in Washington, D.C. After serving in the U.S. Army, […]
History Not on Repeat
Brian P. Levack Photography by Brian Birzer Education: B.A. History ’65, Fordham University; and Ph.D. History ’70, Yale University Hometown: New York, New York Brian P. Levack is the John E. Green Regents Professor Emeritus in History at UT Austin, where he has taught for nearly 50 years while earning distinguished teaching awards. During his […]
Building for the People
The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. Since 1984, the annual award has been given to alumni, faculty members and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits or have participated in service related to the college. […]
Rising Stars: Q&A with the 2019 Larry Temple Scholars
Starting the semester with an extra $11,000 in the bank is an experience that two liberal arts sophomores have every fall, thanks to the Larry Temple Scholarship Endowment. The award was established by the UT System Board of Regents to help outstanding liberal arts students enjoy university life and learn from their campus experiences. The […]
Three Questions to Ask When You’re Stressed Out
From big class presentations and midterms to navigating the social scene and balancing a large workload, the school year — and life in general — brings on stress, but asking yourself three questions can help fight anxiety with curiosity rather than panic. Jasper Smits, a psychology professor and director of the Anxiety & Stress Clinic […]
Why the most popular candidate in a close election will probably lose
The Presidential elections of 2000 and 2016 were controversial, in part, because it seemed like the wrong person won. In 2000, Republican George W. Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore by 5 electoral votes after losing the popular vote by about 540,000. And in 2016, Republican Donald Trump garnered 27 more electoral votes than Democrat Hillary […]
The Color Complex: Student Research Abroad in Ghana
This summer, an International Relations and Global Studies senior was awarded the experience of a lifetime when her student research team received the UT President’s Award for Global Learning. Christina Cho and a team of three other undergraduates traveled to Accra, Ghana, for 10 weeks to research colorism and how to mitigate its effect on […]
Drawing Inspiration
Edward Carey’s office is filled with fanciful artwork, including several large drawings of the gloomy-eyed characters who inhabit his books.
Foreword Found: Newly Discovered Langston Hughes Essay on Race in America
Historical research can be exhausting work. Hours spent sifting through archives in search of elusive details from the past may yield nothing, but it may lead to an extraordinary discovery. “It can be mind-numbing,” says Steven Hoelscher. “And, of course, you don’t always find what you’re looking for and sometimes you don’t even know what […]
Fighting for Change: A Q&A with the 2019 Randy Diehl Prize Recipient
Megan Abrameit, a psychology and humanities double major from Tyler, Texas, has received the 2019 Randy Diehl Prize in Liberal Arts. Now in its fourth year, the $17,000 award was established by donors to support a graduating liberal arts senior who is committing the year after graduation to service for the greater good, be that […]
Austin Plants Urban Roots
“Food will not solve food injustice.” It’s a strange sentiment from an urban farmer whose East Austin farm has nourished the community for the last decade. But Max Elliott, the executive director of Urban Roots community farm, knows better than most how America’s framework of economic and racial inequality permeates its food system. “If you […]