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Features

[Monday 12:57 PM] Oppenheimer, Daniel J Pencil drawing by Adeoye Hassan, from a reference photo by Michael Efionayi. Courtesy of Toyin Falola. 

May my child become like Toyin!

January 27, 2023 by Vik Bahl

College of Liberal Arts alumnus Vik Bahl talks to his mentor, African and African Diaspora Studies professor Toyin Falola, about Falola’s globe-spanning career as a scholar of African and a building of the discipline of African Studies.

Students talking in American Sign Language in the foreground with instructor in the background during an ASL class

Signs of Community

January 25, 2023 by Lauren Macknight

Deborah White and Michael Wynne see themselves and the ASL program they are building at UT Austin as about more than just language. They are a bridge between the Deaf and hearing communities. Their identity as part of the Deaf community is integral to the way that they teach American Sign Language, which is just as much about understanding Deaf culture as it is about vocabulary, syntax, and grammar.

K-Drama, K-Pop, K-Places: The Research of Youjeong Oh

October 21, 2022 by Kaulie Watson

Oh investigates how Korean cities and regions use popular culture, particularly television dramas and K-pop, to promote themselves to an expanding audience of ardent fans. But pop culture is always a bit of a gamble, and it’s not always clear who — or where — benefits from sudden stardom.

Abimbola Adelakun

Huge in Nigeria: Q&A with Abimbola Adelakun

October 21, 2022 by Daniel Oppenheimer

In the U.S., Abimbola Adelakun is a respected junior academic, first a graduate student and now an assistant professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. In her native Nigeria, Adelakun is “a bit famous.” She is the author of a weekly political column for Punch, one of the most widely read newspapers in the country.

Julieta Suárez Calderón

Talking to Julieta Suárez Calderón, 2022 Randy Diehl Prize Winner

July 1, 2022 by Johnny Holden

The $18,000 award, now in its seventh year, was established by donors to support a graduating liberal arts senior who is committing the year after graduation to effect positive change in the world by working for a nonprofit organization, working for a for-profit organization that benefits others, or creating a new nonprofit.

The Danger Imperative: Reckoning With the Perception of Violent Threat in American Police Culture

May 26, 2022 by Alex Reshanov

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

May 26, 2022 by Alex Reshanov

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 […]

A Love Letter to Black Austin

May 4, 2022 by Kacie Vanecek

Interview with Lisa B. Thompson and Richard Reddick on Their New Black Austin Matters Podcast Black Austin Matters, a new podcast from KUT and KUTX Studios, aims to give voice to the daily experiences of Black Austinites, while deepening mutual understanding throughout the broader Austin community. We spoke to its hosts and co-producers, College of […]

UT in Ukraine

A Community of Scholars and Students Responds to the War in Ukraine

April 4, 2022 by Mary Neuburger

As Director of the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREEES) and a historian of Eastern Europe, I am writing to share with you how the faculty and students of our center are responding to this horrific moment.

Q&A on the War in Ukraine with Professor Joan Neuberger, Department of History

March 31, 2022 by Leora Visotzky

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 […]

The Linguistics Research Center Celebrates 60 years of Innovation and Scholarship

March 29, 2022 by Alex Reshanov

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 […]

Misha with statue

Q&A with Mykhaylo (Misha) Simanovskyy, Graduate Student and Donetsk Native

March 29, 2022 by Leora Visotzky

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.

Seegel tweets

Assembling the February 24 Archive

March 28, 2022 by Daniel Oppenheimer

Since the war began, Professor Steven Seegel has tweeted about 12,000 times. He plans to keep going, with the help of international colleagues in the digital humanities, for as long as necessary, in order to build what he’s calling “The February 24th Archive.”

The Value of Community Engaged Scholarship

January 27, 2022 by Emily Nielsen

An educational anthropologist by training, Kevin Foster’s career path has taken him many places outside of the halls of the academy.

Ja'nell Ajani in white, wearing large geometric earrings and a white dress.

Reaching Into the Mind of Jordan Peele

January 27, 2022 by Emily Nielsen

Ja’nell Ajani, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of American Studies, teaches an innovative course that focuses on popular filmmaker and actor Jordan Peele.

Eric Tang is sitting in a chair and dressed in a blue suit with an open collar. Behind him is a stone staircase on the UT campus.

A People’s History of New York City

January 26, 2022 by Emily Nielsen

Eric Tang’s new course, The Global City, will be offered exclusively during the fall 2022 session of the UTNY program, where UT students spend a semester living in New York City while continuing their studies and gaining work experience with a local internship.

Balancing Art and Academia

November 24, 2021 by Alex Reshanov

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.

A wild lemur in Madagascar hold onto the branch of a tree and looks directly at the photographer. She is wearing a red tracking collar and the tiny head of her baby is peeking out near her stomach.

How Social Dynamics Influence the Gut Microbes of Wild Lemurs

November 5, 2021 by Emily Nielsen

New research from The University of Texas at Austin shows that Verreaux’s sifaka, a species of wild lemur native to Madagascar, have gut microbes that are affected by those they socialize with.

Co-author of the study Timothy Beach stands in next to old stone ruins on site at a dig.

Maya and Angkor Adapted for Climate Change

September 30, 2021 by Alex Reshanov

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.

Monica Muñoz Martinez stands on campus in front of two wooden doors. She is smiling widely and wearing a blue velvet blazer.

Borderlands Historian Awarded ‘Genius Grant’

September 28, 2021 by Rachel White

Monica Muñoz Martinez has been awarded a MacArthur fellowship, often referred to as the “genius grant.” The award recognizes her work to recover untold histories of racial violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hannah Hayes stands at a railing as the sun sets over the New York City skyline.

A Semester in New York

September 27, 2021 by Emily Nielsen

The UTNY program enables students to live, work and learn in New York City. Read a Q&A with UTNY participant and government senior Hannah Hayes.

The Misinformation Age

September 17, 2021 by Alex Reshanov

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.

Ashanté Reese sits in front of a full book shelf. She is smiling widely and wearing a red blazer and light orange blouse.

None of Us Make it Without Community

August 30, 2021 by Dominique Garrett-Scott

Ashanté Reese discusses her research on food and food access, as well as how she helped mobilize resources for people in need during the winter storm in February.

A portrait of Akash Thakkar standing outside and smiling widely with greenery in the background.

Giving a Sip

May 20, 2021 by Emily Nielsen

Akash Thakkar is an economics and Plan II honors senior from Austin, Texas. In this Q&A, read more about how his passion for economics research came to be and how he’s implementing it in the real world through a charitable giving app.

Donatus Nnani with a huge smile, looking off to the left of the camera.

Engaging with Opportunities

May 20, 2021 by Emily Nielsen

Donatus Nnani is a religious studies and psychology senior from Detroit, Michigan. In this Q&A, read more about his time in the military and his undergraduate research experience.

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