Most young women – and men – prefer shared household responsibilities There’s no shortage of advice for women these days about how to balance work and family — everything from becoming a supermom who can “lean in” at the workplace and do it all, to embracing the role of a full-time homemaker. But when given […]
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Give it a Rest
Scientists have already established that resting the mind, as in daydreaming, helps strengthen memories of events and retention of information, but in a new twist, UT Austin researchers have found that the right kind of mental rest and reflection can actually help boost future learning. How our brains capture and store new information is heavily […]
Mission to Map
On El Camino Real with Nathan Garza As a boy growing up in San Antonio, Nathan Garza spent a lot of time hiking on trails. His Boy Scout troop organized and led the Mission Trail Hike for years. Scouts from San Antonio and surrounding areas would gather at Mission Espada and begin their two-day hike […]
Not Lost in Translation
Fifteen-year Project Introduces India’s Earliest Text to Modern Readers Like so many big ideas, it all started over drinks — in this case, glasses of wine in New Orleans. Fifteen years later, a labor of love finally came to fruition for Joel Brereton, associate professor of Asian Studies and Religious Studies, when his joint translation […]
Diagnosing Disease Faster: Q&A with Courtney Koepke
Courtney Koepke is a Plan II Honors and biomedical engineering junior from Austin, Texas. She works as an undergraduate research assistant at UT Austin’s Laboratory of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery and Bionanotechnology. What made you want to be a research assistant? As a freshman entering college, I didn’t know much about research or understand the important […]
Promoting National Security: Q&A With Mark Jbeily
Mark Jbeily is a Plan II Honors and Naval ROTC senior from Austin, Texas. He is a recipient of the 2015 British Marshall scholarship, which will fund his pursuit of a Master of Philosophy in international relations at the University of Oxford. Jbeily is also a Naval ROTC battalion commander, a Bill Archer fellow and […]
Grand Victory
Liberal Arts alumnus Wes Anderson (Philosophy ’90) won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in January and also received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014). The whimsical and complex comedy earned a total of nine Academy Award nominations and took home four […]
Little Words Can Mean A Lot
The smallest, most forgettable words in admissions essays — such as the, a, to, I and they — can tell us in advance how students will perform in college, according to a new study at UT Austin that included computerized text analysis of 50,000 admissions essays written by prospective college students. How a student uses small words, the study revealed, is related […]
Charles White Collection
Charles W. White (1918-1979) is one of America’s most recognized African American and social realist artists of the 20th century. White worked in a figurative style, championing social justice by portraying the heroism of common people. He produced paintings on canvas, but he is best known for his monumental drawings and printmaking. He mentored numerous artists, […]
‘15 Minute History’ Lauded as One of the Best Podcasts of 2014
Since its launch in July 2013, UT Austin’s “15 Minute History” has topped the iTunes U charts more than 20 times, surpassing content produced by organizations such as NASA, Smithsonian Libraries, TED and Harvard University. Selected as one of iTunes U Best Podcasts of 2014, “15 Minute History” features short, accessible discussions from faculty members […]
Crossing Mental Boundaries
The writer Lawrence Durrell once observed that travel is among the most rewarding forms of introspection, and students who study abroad bear this out. When they leave their comfort zones and experience life and learning in another culture, they return home knowing a lot more about themselves. Study abroad gives students context to better understand […]
2015 Awards and Honors
March Twelve graduating seniors have been named Dean’s Distinguished Graduates. Each year, the College of Liberal Arts honors 12 seniors with the Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Award for their leadership, scholarly achievements and service to the community. The honorees are: Reema Ali, History (Special Honors) / Economics Nathan Carmichael, Classical Archaeology (Special Honors) / Anthropology / Classics Jonathan Cortez, […]
Fighting the World’s Fight: Q&A with Sai Gourisankar
Sai Gourisankar is a Plan II Honors and chemical engineering senior from Fort Worth, Texas. He is a recipient of the 2015 Rhodes scholarship, as well as being a Dedman distinguished scholar, a Goldwater scholar and an Astronaut Foundation scholar. What does winning a Rhodes scholarship mean to you? It enables me to study at […]
Historian Provides New Perspective on Islam and Secularism
Religion and politics are at the root of conflict around the world, and historians are looking to the past for solutions to today’s most heated debates. Benjamin Brower, an associate professor in the Department of History and Center for Middle Eastern Studies, examines the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) during the period of French rule […]
Historian Provides Perspective on China’s Economic Rise
Since the ending of the Mao era, China’s economy has grown from small and centralized to a global market giant. But, is China’s success a response to what many consider to be an era of economic failure? Huaiyin Li, a professor in the Departments of History and Asian Studies, examines the micro-foundations of economic growth and […]
Cather Researches Scripted Suicide in Modern Japan
Japanese artists have scripted suicide into their work, sometimes marking destinations for contemplating, committing and mourning suicide, morphing modern Japan into what some consider a “suicide nation.” Kirsten Cather, an associate professor in the Department of Asian Studies, looks to 20th century Japan to answer the question: What happens when people inscribe their suicides in […]
Germanics Professor Reveals How the World Began to Shrink
Today, we receive information from around the world in a blink of an eye; but the forces that have helped the world become so closely connected had their origins in the 19th century. Associate professor in the Department of Germanic Studies Kit Belgum explores an epicenter of our shrinking world in her upcoming book, Geographical […]
Non-gendered history of intellectuals: an unwritten book
Though gender equality has come a long way since the 19th century, modern day literature and culture remains gendered, quieting the voices of worthy intellectuals. Lynn Wilkinson, an associate professor of Germanic studies, comparative literature and women’s and gender studies, tracks the rise of women intellectuals in 19th century Europe for a valuable perspective on […]
Career Services Goes ‘Beyond Liberal Arts’ with Professional Development Series
Students in the College of Liberal Arts can get firsthand instruction about important workplace skills and etiquette through a workshop series put on by Liberal Arts Career Services. The Beyond Liberal Arts: Professional Development Training Series was designed to help liberal arts students hone practical skills that give them an edge over the competition when […]
Two Liberal Arts Advisors Receive 2015 Vick Award
Texas Exes has named College of Liberal Arts advisors Joni Carpenter and Brad Humphries as two of its five 2015 Vick Award recipients. Carpenter, senior academic advisor for Asian Studies, has been working at UT Austin for nearly 13 years. Humphries, a Liberal Arts advisor since 1999, is the academic advising coordinator for American studies, […]
Plan II Student’s Research Could Change How Diseases Are Diagnosed
A UT Austin undergraduate’s research could help change the way doctors diagnose diseases with known protein biomarkers like multiple sclerosis and leukemia. Courtney Koepke, a Plan II and biomedical engineering junior, is an undergraduate research assistant at UT Austin’s Laboratory of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery and Bionanotechnology. “As a freshman entering college, I didn’t know much […]
15 Minute History Named Best Podcast of 2014
iTunes U has selected 15 Minute History, produced by the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of History, as one of the Best Podcasts of 2014. The podcast features short, accessible discussions from UT faculty members and graduate students. The topics are wide-ranging and likely to intrigue any history buff. Subjects are drawn from the […]
Two Cultures, One Conversation
Liberal Arts Studio Hosts UT’s First Afghanistan Crosstalk When Vice Provost for International Programs Janet Ellzey wrapped up an appearance on the U.S. government’s external broadcaster, Voice of America, little did she know it would snowball into a new, never-before- attempted pilot project for The University of Texas at Austin—or that her time working with Voice […]
Defending Artistic Expression
Should artistic expression receive the same degree of legal protection as other types of speech, such as political, religious, commercial, or educational speech? Should it enjoy less freedom, or more? Michael Adams, a Plan II Honors junior majoring in Asian Cultures and Languages and Biology, penned this first-prize winning response during the Spring 2014 Freedom of Speech Essay Contest. In […]
Investing in Global Leadership
UT Welcomes African Entrepreneurs to Campus Austin is no longer simply the Silicon Valley of the Southwest—it’s an international hub of entrepreneurial know-how. At its center: The University of Texas at Austin. And, true to its mission to change the world, the university is playing a key role in sharing that knowledge with Sub-Saharan Africa’s […]