Life & Letters Magazine

Q&As

May my child become like Toyin!

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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.

Huge in Nigeria: Q&A with Abimbola Adelakun

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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.

Talking to Julieta Suárez Calderón, 2022 Randy Diehl Prize Winner

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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 Sequencing of our Success: Q & A with Kathryn Paige Harden

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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

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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 […]

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

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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 […]

A Semester in New York

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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.

Giving a Sip

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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.

Engaging with Opportunities

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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.

Helping Others Learn

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Estefania Rodriguez is a Mellon Engaged Scholar Initiative Fellow from Houston, Texas, who is triple-majoring in journalism, Latin American studies, and international relations and global studies. In this Q&A, read more about her research into environmental justice and prison abolition, as well as her deep passion for teaching.

Speaking to the World

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Celeste Oon is an Asian studies and linguistics senior from San Antonio, Texas. In this Q&A, read more about her thesis on Asian transnational fandoms, her advice to other first-generation students and what it was like co-founding her nonprofit organization.

Investing in the Future

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Jason Lamin, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, shares what he values in this moment and where he finds inspiration.

Stepping into the Wild

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Stuart Stedman, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, uses his liberal arts education to gain perspective.

Understanding Your Past

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Michael Stoff, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, teaches his students to approach history with respect, empathy and context.

Giving Voice to History

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Jacqueline Jones, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, discusses why it’s essential to learn the history behind today’s headlines.

No Stopping Her

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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.