How socialism, frogs and the “Mafia” shaped a department In the early 20th Century, word was spreading that a socialist was running the School of Political Science at The University of Texas at Austin. Professor Lindley Keasbey’s controversial political leanings prompted President Sidney Mezes and the Board of Regents to break the school into three […]
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Public Policy to the Fore
Bryan Jones leads a resurgence Public policy has traditionally been a centerpiece of political science at The University of Texas at Austin. Emmette Redford was an early leader in the field. He sharpened his expertise through real public service in the 1940s, most notably his four years at the federal Office of Price Administration during […]
From Batts Hall to the Pink Dome
The Texas Politics Project and Government Department Internship Program The picture postcard view of the Texas Capitol dome from the top of the South Mall is only a few steps from the front doors of Batts Hall, the Government Department’s home since 2002. Having the seat of state government down the street provides students and […]
Student News
Ultimately, everything we do centers around our students. Here is a sampling of their incredible work. Graduate Student News William Blake’s research, “The Brooding Spirit of the Law: Supreme Court Justices Reading Dissents from the Bench,” was featured in The New York Times on March 8, 2010. Daniel Nogueira Budny and Matt Buehler were awarded, […]
Message from the President
Congratulations to the Department of Government on 100 Years of Excellence For the past century, the Department of Government has been at the heart of The University of Texas at Austin’s research, teaching and civic missions. Its students have gone on to become leaders in government, business and philanthropy throughout the state and nation. Its […]
100 Years
Our Centennial This year the Department of Government celebrates 100 years of teaching and research. We are glad to present this special edition of Life & Letters, the magazine of the College of Liberal Arts, in honor of our centennial. Many things have changed over 100 years, including the buildings we’ve called home. We used […]
Media Highlights: Spring 2010
Daina Berry (History) was featured on the season finale of NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” as one of several historians who helped filmmaker Spike Lee trace his ancestry back to the Civil War. Numerous media outlets including Business Week and the Times of India featured new research by Brad Love and Ross Otto […]
Media Highlights: Summer 2010
Elizabeth Richmond-Garza (English) shared insight into the role cities play in TV shows and movies in an Aug. 11 Christian Science Monitor story. Mary Hayhoe’s (Psychology) eye-tracking research in the Children’s Research Lab was featured in The New York Times on Aug. 17. Peter Trubowitz (Government) was quoted in an Aug. 5 Christian Science Monitor […]
A Presidential Visit
Obama Touts Higher Education at Campus Appearance Flashing a “Hook ‘Em” hand sign and touting the importance of higher education, President Barack Obama spoke to hundreds of students, faculty and guests at Gregory Gymnasium on Aug. 9. The receptive — sometimes raucous — crowd included local and state officeholders, both Democrats and Republicans. Obama reminisced […]
Avatars in Education
Liberal Arts professors and students use digital environments to explore the possibilities of thinking As universities increasingly explore the educational value of digital environments such as the blogosphere, Google maps or Second Life, students and faculty are working to understand what it means to learn in new ways. “Before I typed something, I needed to […]
Major Gift Makes Liberal Arts Building a Reality
University of Texas alumnus James Mulva supports ROTC programs More than four decades ago, The University of Texas at Austin and its Naval ROTC program gave James Mulva the education, discipline and support that would help shape his future. Today, he is giving back, helping to shape the future of the university, the College of […]
In Memoriam: Fall 2010
Kate Gartner Frost Kate Gartner Frost, professor emeritus of English, died July 25 at age 71. A scholar of the English and European Renaissance, Gartner Frost came to The University of Texas at Austin in 1974. She is the author of “Holy Delight: Typology, Numerology and the Autobiographical Tradition in John Donne’s Devotions Upon Emergent […]
Government Department Turns 100
In the age of Obama, the Tea Party and global financial uncertainty, the Government Department is helping its students and the rest of the world make sense of the political changes under way. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the department has faculty members whose expertise ranges from Texas politics to political theory, from Latin […]
Plan II Graduates Can Do it All Over for 75th Anniversary
The Plan II experience will begin next March, as it has for 75 years, with a course in world literature. That will be followed by philosophy, then the junior seminar and senior thesis. Professors will include world-renowned historians H.W. Brands and David Oshinsky as well as such University of Texas icons as former Plan II […]
Population Research Center Draws from Many Fields
When it opened its doors in 1960, the Population Research Center (PRC) was the exclusive domain of sociologists. Who else, after all, was qualified to research demographics, migration issues and population trends? The answer, it turns out a half-century later, includes the likes of psychologists, economists, anthropologists, geographers and political scientists, all of whom are […]
Naval ROTC Students Dedicated to Service and Sacrifice
Celebrating 70 Years The Naval ROTC program at The University of Texas at Austin was barely a year old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States was thrust into World War II. The unit’s emphasis onservice and sacrifice was evident immediately. Young men lined up on campus to become part of the first […]
Adventures in Internships
Graduating seniors test the waters in internships around the world The word “internship” often conjures images of frantic coffee runs, mind-numbing busywork and countless hours in front of the copy machines. But for many liberal arts students at The University of Texas at Austin, it evokes memories of globetrotting adventures, new friends and transformative experiences. […]
In Brief: Fall 2010
The Play’s the Thing To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the English Department’s Shakespeare at Winedale program, alumni reunited this summer and performed scenes from several of the Bard’s plays. Among them was Kathryn Blackbird, class of 1984 and 1986. She used a mirror in the century-old hay barn near the idyllic country town of […]
Border Views
New video series taps university’s expertise on illegal immigration, border violence As Americans continue to debate immigration reform, border enforcement and Arizona’s recent legislation, College of Liberal Arts experts are helping to shape the discussion through a unique online video series. “Border Views,” which debuted this summer, showcases faculty members discussing such topics as the […]
Being Somebody
Humanities Alumna Builds a School in Belize Days before Heidi Baker Curry opened the first high school on the island of Caye Caulker, Belize, in 2008 she received a knock at her door from a teenage boy known for selling marijuana on the island. He wanted to attend the school, he said, and started by […]
For the Greater Good?
Citizens with strong national ties willing to die for countrymen Imagine a runaway trolley hurtling down the tracks toward a handful of people. If it continues on its course, it will kill the group of innocent bystanders. You’re given two options to save the day: throw a switch and kill only one person, or sacrifice your […]
Breaking Down the Walls
Interdisciplinary faculty seminar brings University’s resources to the public As one of the worst environmental disasters in history unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico this spring, it was only fitting that the Humanities Institute’s Faculty Fellows Seminar was completing a year of studying “Intellectual Life at Moments of Crisis.” To promote intellectual exchange across disciplines, […]
Awards & Honors: Spring 2010
The Silver Spurs, the student service organization that cares for Bevo, gave out its 21st annual Endowed Teaching Fellowship awards to four liberal arts professors, who each receive a $6,000 prize. The group surprises each recipient with an unannounced presentation. They are: Kirsten Belgum (Germanic Studies) Robert Moser (Government) Elizabeth Engelhardt (American Studies) Lisa Moore […]
Student News: Spring 2010
The 2010 Dean’s Distinguished Graduates are: Ethan Alexander (Ancient History and Classical Civilization) Kaitlin Andryauskas (Sociology) Aaron Barr (Asian Studies) Casey Dorff (Government) Grace Eckhoff (Plan II Honors/Biology) Daniel Friedman (Plan II Honors/English) Angela Giordani (Arabic Language and Literature) James Hammond (Psychology) Joseph Kolker (Plan II Honors/History) Nicole Kreisberg (Latin American Studies) John Meyer (English/Government) […]
Research Briefs: Spring 2010
The Not so Missing Link Scientists have discovered the key to understanding human evolution,” booms a typical movie-trailer voice in a History Channel documentary. “The chain is no longer missing a link.” Unfortunately, the scientists behind this documentary ignored 20 years of research, according to University of Texas anthropologist Chris Kirk. Last year, an article […]