In July 2016, a gunman ambushed Dallas police officers, killing five, injuring an additional nine (along with two civilians), and fueling public rhetoric about a so called “war on cops.” At the time of the Dallas shooting, Michael Sierra-Arévalo, now an assistant professor of sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, was doing fieldwork […]
The Sequencing of our Success: Q & A with Kathryn Paige Harden
In her book, The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality, psychology professor Kathryn Paige Harden explores how genes contribute to variation in complex life outcomes such as educational attainment and income level. She argues that understanding genetic impacts on these outcomes could and should be used to promote greater equity among individuals with […]
Spring Books Unfold
Disentangling: The Geographies of Digital DisconnectionOxford University Press, July 2021Edited by Paul C. Adams, Professor, Department of Geography and the Environment, and André Jansson, Karlstad University After the rapid rise of digital networking in the 2000s and 2010s, we are now seeing a rise of interest in how people can disentangle their lives from the […]
The Linguistics Research Center Celebrates 60 years of Innovation and Scholarship
Imagine a website that allows people from a variety of academic and non-academic backgrounds to learn ancient languages and research their histories. Now imagine it existing in 1999, way back in the early years of the internet. That’s the year the Linguistics Research Center (LRC) launched its free, online lesson series. The internet was a […]
Leaf Through a Good Book
Keep your to-read list up-to-date with our fall book list, featuring a selection of titles from College of Liberal Arts faculty members and alumni.
Balancing Art and Academia
Lisa B. Thompson is doing great. Not “all right” or “pretty good under the circumstances” or any other common COVID-era reply to the question of “how are you?” Just great. And it’s not surprising. Her life of late is series of awards, achievements and new projects so plentiful that it’s honestly a bit hard to keep track of them all.
Podcast Roundup: Fall 2021
This is a collection of some of our favorite podcasts from liberal arts faculty members. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe.
Maya and Angkor Adapted for Climate Change
Societies in Mesoamerica and Southeast Asia whose collapse was thought to have been caused by dramatic changes in climate displayed more resilience and adaptability than previously believed.
The Misinformation Age
Depending on whom you ask, conspiracy theories are either having a heyday or it’s just business as usual. But whether or not there is a long-term increase happening, certain factors likely influence the ebb and flow of conspiratorial beliefs.
A Texas Politics Explainer
Many Texans learned a new word this year: quorum. And, no, it’s not the collective noun for a group of opossums. A quorum is the minimum number of assembly members that must be present in order to conduct business. For the Texas House of Representatives, that minimum is two-thirds of its members.
Making the Most of Self-Care
March marked the one-year anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic, and to say that it’s been a rough year would be an understatement. Whether we’ve lost loved ones, jobs, or simply the ability to distinguish between Sundays and Mondays, everyone is struggling under the weight of a constantly shifting “new normal.”
Travel by the Book
Literature and life guide Peter LaSalle’s latest collection of travel essays, The World is a Book, Indeed.
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.
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.
How Bias Sneaks into Big-Data Policing
Like all human endeavors, technology is at its core still social, argues Sarah Brayne in her new book Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing.
Exploring the World Through Language
Sometimes we fall in love when we least expect it. Arriving at The University of Texas at Austin as a mathematically inclined freshman, Heather Rice had no intention of learning Russian.
Turning the Past into Poetry
H.W. Brands hopes his latest book, Haiku History: The American Saga Three Lines at a Time, won’t be a page turner.
Women’s Activism in Tunisia
In 2014, Maro Youssef arrived in Tunisia just one day before the country passed a constitution that is among the most progressive in the world. She was serving as a foreign affairs analyst at the American embassy in Tunisia.
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.
Race By Any Other Name
In her award-winning book, The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages, Geraldine Heng argues that race did exist even if the language of the time had yet to capture the phenomenon.
From Bloody Shoes to Dancing Mice: The Evolution of Fairy Tales
In the Grimms version of Snow White, our heroine is awoken from her bewitched slumber not by a handsome prince’s kiss, but when the jostling of a clumsy servant dislodges a chunk of poisoned apple from her throat.
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. […]