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Gregg Creating_Human_Nature

Creating Human Nature: Government professor Benjamin Gregg delves into the fraught politics of genetic engineering

October 21, 2022 by Imani Evans

For Benjamin Gregg, professor of government at The University of Texas at Austin and author of the new book Creating Human Nature: The Political Challenges of Genetic Engineering, the potential of gene editing technologies is too great to leave it to ad hoc reactions, either from a skittish public, a sensationalistic media, or a heavy-handed state. 

Prada Marfa installation depicting realistic boutique in the middle of West Texas described within Randy Lewis short documentary of the same name

#PRADAMARFA

October 19, 2022 by Lauren Macknight

For better or for worse, Marfa is a city defined by artists. In his new short documentary, “Prada Marfa? A Film about a West Texas Icon,” American studies professor Randy Lewis takes stock of the town’s transformation through the lens of Prada Marfa, a hyperreal public art installation that has become emblematic of the city.

Keeping it in the (Liberal Arts) Family

October 17, 2022 by Leora Visotzky

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.

In Memoriam: Nora C. England, Visionary Linguist and Mentor

May 26, 2022 by Susanna Sharpe

Nora England’s passion for linguistics was sparked during her undergraduate years at Bryn Mawr College. Almost on a whim, she enrolled in a linguistics field methods course. “That really got me going—actually hearing data from another language and paying attention to it,” she recalled in an interview. “It was the first course that I ever […]

¿Cómo te sientes hoy? Department of Spanish and Portuguese Launches Course on Spanish Language in Mental Health Contexts  

May 26, 2022 by Leora Visotzky

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

May 26, 2022 by Leora Visotzky

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 […]

Teaching & Learning: #studentsofislamicart is Improving Wikipedia One Article at a Time

May 26, 2022 by Julie Poole

In fall 2018, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Art & Art History Stephennie Mulder announced to her Arts of Islam students that she was switching things up and scrapping their final research paper. Instead, she said, they would all participate in a Wikipedia edit-a-thon, with the goal of better capturing and presenting the […]

Department of Psychology is Planning a New Major and Minor in Behavioral Data Science: Program Rethinks Pedagogical Model Toward Real-World Work Experiences 

May 26, 2022 by Leora Visotzky

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 […]

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 […]

A man sits on a bench outside, listening to earbuds plugged into his phone and looking off to his left.

Podcast Roundup: Fall 2021

November 16, 2021 by Alex Reshanov

This is a collection of some of our favorite podcasts from liberal arts faculty members. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe.

At a large window, a woman reads a newspaper and a man reads on his phone. They are on chairs across a table from each other, and the photo shows their profiles.

Commentary Roundup: Fall 2021

November 16, 2021 by Daniel Oppenheimer

A collection of commentary pieces from faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts that were published this semester. Topics include work, science, politics and more.

A woman with a blonde bob sits on a bench wearing a warm coat and reading a book she has held out in front of her, hiding the bottom half of her face.

Book Excerpt Roundup: Fall 2021

November 15, 2021 by Emily Nielsen

The following are a selection of book excerpts from recently published faculty in the College of Liberal Arts. Read about food and politics in Chile, women in the oil and gas industry, and more.

A photo of Alan Friedman smiling next to a simple blue book cover for Shakespeare's Returning Warriors - and Ours.

Book Excerpt: Shakespeare’s Returning Warriors – and Ours by Alan Warren Friedman

November 12, 2021 by Alan Warren Friedman

Most Shakespearean tragedies begin with their titular protagonists returning, immediately or imminently, from highly successful martial combat.

protesters holding up phones as flashlights

Continued Resistance: A Q&A with Professor Madeline Hsu about Hong Kong

January 14, 2020 by Tori Miller

When the Chinese government took back Hong Kong after more than 150 years of British rule in 1997, it was a significant point of pride. For China, it marked the ending of an era of imperialism and foreign aggression; but for the people of Hong Kong, it was just the beginning of their fight to […]

blue sky filled with stars and one bright northern star with nativity scene silhouette beneath

Only When it is Dark Enough, Can You See the Stars

December 23, 2019 by Thomas G. Palaima

In Christian thought and practice, Christmas is about an innocent baby born into poverty in a livestock manger. He is also identified as the prince of peace and is revered as the son of God by wise men from fabled eastern cultures that had created and practiced their forms of high civilization for several thousands […]

Christine Williams with bookshelves in background.

Solving Problems with Sociology: Q&A with ASA President Christine Williams

November 27, 2019 by Tori Miller

Sociology is an academic discipline devoted to documenting and analyzing social oppression.  This primary focus, Christine Williams says, is what drew her to the field.  Williams, a professor of sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, is an extremely prolific sociologist, especially in regard to her work on gender discrimination and sexual harassment in […]

Mark Atwood Lawrence teaching in class, photo by Jay Godwin

New LBJ Library Director to Show LBJ History Through Modern Lens

November 21, 2019 by Tori Miller

History professor Mark Lawrence’s favorite story about former President Lynden B. Johnson took place right here on The University of Texas at Austin campus and changed the university’s social climate just as his presidency shifted the entire nation’s. One evening, LBJ decided on a whim that he wanted to attend a party held at the […]

A lidar-derived model of the Birds of Paradise ancient Maya wetland field system and parts of the nearby Maya sites of Gran Cacao (bottom-left) and Akab Muclil (top-left) in Northwestern Belize.

Ancient Alteration

November 19, 2019 by Rachel White

Evidence showed that the Maya faced environmental pressures and responded to by converting forests to wetland field complexes and digging canals to manage water quality and quantity.

Illustration of two women, one with a lock symbol near her brain, and the other with an unlock symbol

Attitude Adjustment

November 19, 2019 by Rachel White

Boosting academic success does not have to derive from new teachers or curriculum; it can also come from changing students’ attitudes about their abilities, according to the latest findings from the National Study of Learning Mindsets published in Nature. The experimental study involved more than 12,000 ninth graders from 65 public high schools across the […]

A man sitting with his hands folded.

A Matter of Life and Death

November 19, 2019 by Rachel White

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in August, sociologists Mark Hayward of UT Austin and Isaac Sasson of Tel Aviv University examined the intersection of education, cause of death and life expectancy across gender and race. Overall, life expectancy declined by an average of two months from 2010 to […]

Portrait of Brian P. Levack.

History Not on Repeat

November 18, 2019 by Alex Reshanov

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 […]

Itzik Gottesman sitting at desk.

Yiddish on the Rise

November 18, 2019 by Tori Miller

The Yiddish language is deeply rooted in Jewish culture, typically passed down from generation to generation. Though not currently one of the most studied languages, scholars say that Yiddish is breathing new life and may even be on the rise. “The number of Yiddish speakers is already increasing. Everyone thinks of it as a dying […]

Illustration of a primate in a tree with different animals and objects in its roots

The Protection of Being Known

November 15, 2019 by Rachel White

Anthropology Ph.D. candidate Allison McNamara studies lesser known primate species that face risks of extinction.

Colorado Town

Dreams of El Dorado

October 21, 2019 by Tori Miller

The rapid growth of America came as a shock to some, as it was the only country whose expansion occurred with such little government supervision.  In Dreams of El Dorado, author H.W. Brands recounts the rich history of the American West. Beginning with the purchase of the Louisiana territory, which propelled future Western expansion of […]

Book cover of Mansfield Park.

Affording Jane Austen

October 7, 2019 by Tori Miller

In The Lost Books of Jane Austen, Janine Barchas explores the burgeoning popularity of Jane Austen’s novels beginning in the nineteenth-century. Through photographs and unique historical perspectives, Barchas shares some of the earliest and cheapest reprints of Austen’s work that brought the author recognition in the working-class, leading to the reputation she has today. Learn […]

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