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 […]
Fall 2014
Judy Perkins on Finding Joy in Life and Learning
The Pro Bene Meritis Award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. First granted in 1984, it is given each spring to alumni, faculty and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic […]
Creating Your Own Noble Purpose
The Pro Bene Meritis Award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. First granted in 1984, it is given each spring to alumni, faculty and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic […]
Pulitizer Finalist Tells Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary People
The Pulitzer Prize nominating jury has named Jacqueline Jones, chair of the Department of History at The University of Texas at Austin, a 2014 Pulitzer Prize finalist in history for her book, A Dreadful Deceit: The Myth of Race From the Colonial Era to Obama’s America. The nomination surprised Jones, who didn’t know her publisher […]
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 […]
Inspiring Lifetime Readers
The Pro Bene Meritis Award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. First granted in 1984, it is given each spring to alumni, faculty and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic […]
Inside the Baroque
“Façade of the Seven Princes,” entryway to the chapel of the Virgin in the Church of the Carmen, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The “seven princes” refer to the seven archangels, who are represented as protectors of the Virgin Mary. Created in 1788, this splendid altarpiece-façade, decorated with intricately carved stucco, is a stunning example of […]
It’s Plainer to an Explainer
Asking children to come up with explanations — even to themselves — enhances their cause-and-effect learning abilities, according to new research by Cristine Legare, associate professor of psychology. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, shows that young children who come up with explanations while learning are able to connect new ideas […]
Regents Honor Outstanding Teaching
Four liberal arts professors received the 2014 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards. They were among the 27 faculty award winners of the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching honor, which recognizes extraordinary educators from system institutions. The awards program is one of the nation’s largest monetary teaching recognition programs in higher education, honoring outstanding performance in the […]
Early Poverty Linked to Obesity in Women
Adolescent girls who grow up in poor households are more likely than their male counterparts to become overweight or obese, according to a new study by Tetyana Pudrovska, assistant professor of sociology. The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, shows long-lasting consequences of economic hardship in childhood for the risk of […]
Normandy Scholars Celebrate 25th Anniversary
Each year, 20 UT Austin students of different backgrounds and majors are selected to study the causes, conduct, consequences and contemporary representations of World War II. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Frank Denius Normandy Scholar Program (NSP), which was established in 1989. To date, more than 500 undergraduates have benefited from this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Normandy Scholars receive […]
What I Did Last Summer
Famed Polish Economist Invites UT Student to Think Tank In November 2013, famed Polish economist Leszek Balcerowicz spoke on the UT Austin campus as part of International Education Week, which celebrates the enriching benefits of international education and exchange. Those “enriching benefits” were not lost on one audience member, economics senior Hector Cantu from Monterrey, […]
Gordon Receives Presidential Citation
Edmund T. Gordon, chair of the African and African Diaspora Studies Department (AADS) in the College of Liberal Arts, was recognized on April 17 with a Presidential Citation from UT Austin President Bill Powers. As one of the university’s highest honors, this prestigious award was established to recognize the extraordinary contributions of individuals who personify […]
Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an
It was a chance discovery of a 1782 broadside—advertising a play performed in Baltimore about the Prophet Muhammad—that piqued the curiosity of Denise Spellberg, professor of history and Middle Eastern Studies. She wondered, why did Americans perform this play during the Revolutionary War? More importantly, the historian of Islamic civilization asked, what did early Americans know […]
NYT Magazine Covers Yeager Research
A May 2014 New York Times Magazine cover story, “Who Gets to Graduate?” examined UT Austin’s efforts to increase student success and graduation and prominently featured the work of David Yeager, a UT assistant professor of psychology who is emerging as one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of education. Yeager’s research and […]
Pakistan Exchange Benefits Global Scholarship
With our knowledge of Pakistani society at the South Asia Institute (SAI) we understand that Pakistan faces vital social needs in education, health, rural and urban infrastructure and job creation. We are also acutely aware of the internal conflicts within Pakistani society based on ethnic, religious, gender-based and sectarian tensions. Yet we perceive such moments […]
New Department Focuses on Latino, Mexican American Experience
Building Upon a 44-Year History of Mexican American Studies at UT A new academic department that takes a comprehensive look at the lives, cultures and histories of Mexican American and Latino populations has been established at The University of Texas at Austin. The Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies (MALS) will ultimately offer undergraduate […]
Ancient Girl Shares Genetic Lineage of Modern Native Americans
The ancient remains of a teenage girl found in an underwater Mexican cave establish a definitive link between the earliest Americans and modern Native Americans, according to a new study released in the journal Science. The study was conducted by an international team of researchers from 13 institutions, including Deborah Bolnick, assistant professor of anthropology […]
Sociology Celebrates 100 Years
This year, the Department of Sociology celebrated its 100-year anniversary. Looking back at the department’s many achievements within the past century, this is a milestone worthy of a big celebration. In addition to its top national rankings, the department is home to an impressive number of eminent social scientists—from C. Wright Mills, whose seminal works […]
Nothing Backward About Walking on All Fours
Anthropologist Liza Shapiro may finally have an answer for why members of a Turkish family walk exclusively on their hands and feet. Contradicting earlier claims of “backward evolution,” Shapiro and her team of researchers found the group of siblings made famous by a 2006 BBC documentary, “The Family That Walks on All Fours,” have simply […]
Rebhorn Translation Wins Prestigious PEN Award
Wayne A. Rebhorn, Celanese Centennial Professor of English, has won the PEN Literary Award for his translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s masterpiece The Decameron. The PEN Literary Awards have honored and introduced some of the most outstanding voices in literature for more than 50 years. The awards will be presented at the 24th Annual Literary Awards […]
Keeping A Pulse On Population Health
A few years ago, a Plan II Honors student in Marc Musick’s sociology lecture came to him with a question. Musick had been talking about the shortage of doctors in rural and inner city areas. The student had grown up in the Rio Grande Valley and hoped to go on to medical school. Why, he […]
The Road to Gender Equity: Still Under Construction
Christine Williams has heard her share of conflicting arguments about gender equality in the sociology course she’s taught for more than two decades at The University of Texas at Austin. But there is always one question that gives her pause: “Women have achieved equality, so why is feminism relevant?” “I’m always taken aback when students […]
Food for Thought
Government Professor Bartholomew “Bat” Sparrow first got the idea to teach a class about food from his wife, who had worked at Whole Foods for eight years. The result was an undergraduate course—“The Politics of Food in America”—that uses food as a lens through which to view the entire U.S. political system. “The idea was […]
From Bryan to Sicily: Public Scholars Join Academy to Community
In her most recent study, anthropologist Circe Sturm returned to her own backyard in East Texas. Sturm’s family hails from Sicilian roots, specifically a cluster of more than 1,000 Sicilians who settled in Bryan, Texas, around the turn of the 20th century. This enclave has managed to preserve many Sicilian traditions, including an annual ritual in which a single Sicilian-Texan family hosts 800 guests […]