Jason Roberts on Siberian shamanism, or how to cross a river on a roll of plastic wrap
Waste Not, Want Not?
Rebecca Falkoff wants you to think differently about hoarding
The Horse and the Whale
Janet Davis on how animals tell the story of American development
A Citizen of the Arts
James Cox gives Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs his due
Illustrating COLA: A Q&A with Dave McClinton
Meet the artist behind COLA’s latest poster project — and get a preview of the final designs
“It’s Always Our Decision Who We Are”
Bob Solomon and Kathleen Higgins’ ‘80s Love Story
Making Things, Making Meaning
Jürgen Streeck on linguistics, hip-hop, and car mechanics
Modeling Disability Justice, One Relative Unit of Forward Movement at a Time
Alison Kafer and Julie Minich are using their institutional platform — along with a financial boost from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation — to make waves in the field of disability studies
Kingship, Godship, Scholarship
Azfar Moin locates the roots of secularism in the sacred kingship of Emperor Akbar
Education, Dementia, and COLA’s Largest-Ever Grant
Lead investigator and sociology professor Chandra Muller on the first year of her record-breaking project
A Selfless Art
A wanderer (and COLA alum) puts down roots and grows communities.
Old Threads, New Threads
Faegheh Shirazi weaves a career in cultural textiles.
2023 Keene Prize in Literature Winners
The Scholarship Committee of the College of Liberal Arts has completed the judging for the Keene Prize in Literature and is pleased to announce the 2023 Keene Prize goes to Reena Shah, for the fiction entry, “Every Happiness.”
“Defining Freedom” Dialogue Features Range of Voices, Perspectives at UT’s College of Liberal Arts
On February 16, two distinct voices from different academic disciplines and positions on the political spectrum met for a moderated dialogue about how they define freedom.
This is the Work: Nine Things to Know About Amira Rose Davis
An assistant professor of sociology, Davis specializes in 20th-century American history with an emphasis on race, gender, sports, and politics. But there’s a lot more you should know about her.
Black Health Matters
Christy Erving has taught about the sociology of health in general for several years, but it was the realities of life during COVID that steered her to design her new course, “Black Health Matters,” specifically focused on the health of Black Americans. It debuts this fall.
Peace in the Middle East…ern Studies Department
Over 20 years ago, UT Austin’s Department of Middle Eastern Studies (MES) was characterized by intense volatility and internal conflict. After re-structuring itself around the principles of transparency, democracy, and egalitarianism, the department is now a bastion of support, respect, and cheerful collegiality.
The Taylor Swift Songbook Course Swiftly Makes Over English 314
Professor of English Elizabeth Scala teaches a lower-division course in Liberal Arts Honors, E314L: “Literary Contests and Contexts,” nearly every fall. For fall 2022, Scala decided to structure the course around an unusual literary figure: Taylor Swift.
Keeping it in the (Liberal Arts) Family
All three of the front-desk staff members in the Dean’s Office in Gebauer Building are alumnae of the Cellege of Liberal Arts. We spoke to Kaley Aguero, Richelle King, and Kacie Vanecek about their past, present, and future.
¿Cómo te sientes hoy? Department of Spanish and Portuguese Launches Course on Spanish Language in Mental Health Contexts
When Wilfredo José Burgos Matos designed and taught Spanish in Mental Health Contexts this spring, through the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, it was the culmination of a long journey. Burgos, a doctoral candidate in the department, first became aware of the need for such a course when he was struggling to find bilingual mental […]
Program in British Studies is now the Program in British, Irish and Empire Studies: Broadening the Range of Voices and Histories in the Field and Beyond
The program formerly known as British Studies is now the Program in British, Irish and Empire Studies (BIES). The change comes as Professor Philippa Levine, former Guggenheim Fellow and 2020–21 Eastman Professor at Oxford University, assumes sole directorial duties after serving as co-Director for several years. The four-decade-old program has been remodeled to better encompass […]
Department of Psychology is Planning a New Major and Minor in Behavioral Data Science: Program Rethinks Pedagogical Model Toward Real-World Work Experiences
In the fall of 2024, the Department of Psychology hopes to launch a new, innovative undergraduate major and minor in Behavioral Data Science. It would be one of the first such programs in the nation. “It’s really a reenvisioning of what an education in psychology can be and how we assess it,” says Professor David […]
Q&A on the War in Ukraine with Professor Joan Neuberger, Department of History
Joan Neuberger, a professor of history at The University of Texas at Austin, studies modern Russian culture in social and political context, with a focus on the politics of the arts. Her most recent book, This Thing of Darkness: Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible in Stalin’s Russia (Cornell: 2019), won the American Historical Association’s George L. Mosse Book […]
Q&A with Mykhaylo (Misha) Simanovskyy, Graduate Student and Donetsk Native
Misha Simanovskyy is a native of Donetsk, Ukraine and a first-year graduate student pursuing a dual master’s degree in Global Policy Studies and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.