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Department of History

Animated illustration of a book and cityscape within a snow globe with letters falling like snow.

Shake Up Your Winter Reading

December 11, 2020 by Michelle Bryant

Winter 2020-21 books from our college community.

Simone de Beauvoir in foreground with a stack of letters tied with string in background.

Writing to Beauvoir

November 12, 2020 by Amy Vidor

In her new book, Sex, Love, and Letters, Judith Coffin reveals the private lives and intimate bond found in Simone de Beauvoir’s letters with her fans.

Political themed collage with Statue of Liberty, U.S. Capitol Building, mail-in ballots, unemployment chart, coronavirus, and protest viewed through magnifying glass with American flag background.

2020 Vision: Examining Some of the Country’s Big Issues

October 30, 2020 by Rachel White

Experts from UT Austin’s College of Liberal Arts weigh in on some of the major issues facing our country and the president-elect over the next four years.

Michael Stoff sits at desk with an open book.

Understanding Your Past

October 29, 2020 by Alex Reshanov

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

Jacqueline Jones with Garrison Hall in background.

Giving Voice to History

October 23, 2020 by Alex Reshanov

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

Young woman pulling suitcase in the shape of a book with pink background.

Ticket to Read

October 20, 2020 by Michelle Bryant

Fall 2020 books from our college community.

Books by Black Studies at UT faculty

Want to Learn More About Race in America? Read this.

September 2, 2020 by Rachel White

Authors from UT Austin’s College of Liberal Arts describe their books and what they hope readers will learn.

Juneteenth illustration with yellow flowers, first, broken chains.

What is Juneteenth?

June 19, 2020 by Rachel E. Winston, Daina Ramey Berry and Kevin Cokley

Although Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, the date the holiday observes, June 19, 1865, came more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, when Texas finally received word that slavery had ended. It may come as a surprise, but President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation did not effectively free […]

Portrait of Jeremi Suri.

Telling History

April 4, 2019 by Caroline Murray

The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. Since 1984, the annual award has been given to alumni, faculty members and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits or have participated in service related to the college. […]

Jorge Canizares-Esguerra

The Best Teachers are the Best Researchers: A Q&A with Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra

October 30, 2018 by Tori Miller

For the recognition of his work in mentoring graduate students, University of Texas at Austin history professor Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra has been presented with The Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award. This award commemorates educators that train, teach, and inspire students in a deeply meaningful and impactful way. Cañizares-Esguerra is the first to receive this award at […]

Illustration of a women yelling with a raised fist against a bright red background. In her shirt, there is a pattern of various women with their fists raised.

Fight Like a Girl:  How Women’s Activism Shapes History

July 3, 2018 by Rachel White

Alice Embree doesn’t know what came over her the first time she stood up against injustice. She just knew it was the right thing to do. Along with her friends Karen and Glodine and the rest of the Austin High School drill squad, Embree had just sat down to order at a restaurant in Corpus […]

Illustration of Cuban, Russian, and American leaders from the Cold War.

Tropical Storm: How Cuba Sent Revolutionary Waves Around the World

January 18, 2018 by David Ochsner

When it comes to staging a revolution, timing is everything. In 1959 an island nation of 7 million revolted against its U.S.-backed dictator, and with its subsequent export of revolution to Latin America became a major driver of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War. In a story as compelling as it is complex, Professor […]

Portrait of Keith Sharman.

Telling a Good Story

January 11, 2018 by Rachel White

The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. Since 1984, the annual award has been given to alumni, faculty members and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits or have participated in service related to the college. […]

Black and white photograph of the Jefferson Davis statue in sculptor Pompeo Coppini's studio.

A Monumental Decision: What to do About Jefferson Davis and the Challenges of Commemoration?

May 2, 2017 by Victoria Davis

Let’s talk about statues, or one statue in particular, and all of the trouble a cold, hard, unfeeling thing can cause. Imagine you are the president of a very large, prestigious institution, representative of the spirit and aspirations of a region. Your greatest benefactor, a former regent and a veteran, stipulates in his will the […]

Photograph from the remake of the miniseries, "Roots." Anika Noni Rose (Kizzy) and Laurence Fishburne (Alex Haley).

Remaking ‘Roots’

May 13, 2016 by Michelle Bryant

“This is a historian’s dream,” says Daina Ramey Berry, an associate professor of history at The University of Texas at Austin, who served as a technical adviser for the remaking of the television miniseries “Roots.” It will premiere on Memorial Day, airing over four consecutive nights. The A&E Networks’ HISTORY, A&E and Lifetime channels will […]

A tongue-in-cheek photo of a smiling woman holding a brightly branded "Vote" box against a red background. The box reads, "The Campaign for Your Vote: Just Add Brand Power!" (America's Choice).

The Campaign for Your Vote: Just Add Brand Power

May 9, 2016 by Rachel White

After months of being bombarded by pollsters, campaign ads and the most outlandish sound bites on repeat, the moment will come for you to finally cast your ballot. Whom will you choose? “The presidency is the one office that represents the American people: all their wishes, dreams, desires, hopes, fears and everything else,” says history […]

Stylized illustration of a young man in the pose of "The Thinker," looking deep in thought as onlookers point and mock him.

What’s So Funny About the Liberal Arts?

May 9, 2016 by David Ochsner

We’ve all heard the jokes about liberal arts majors, inspired by stereotypes that students in the humanities, social sciences and languages are destined to lives of underemployment: The science major asks, “Why does it work?” The engineering major asks, “How does it work?” The business major asks, “How much will it cost?” The liberal arts […]

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall from the 1946 film The Big Sleep.

All Grown Up

November 2, 2015 by Michelle Bryant

What it Means to be an Adult Chances are at some point in your life, you have been told to “grow up” or “start acting your age.” Faced with the pressures of paying bills, holding down a steady job and frequenting home improvement stores, it’s easy to see why adulthood may have lost some of […]

Black and white photo of the Brooklyn Bridge shrouded in a white fog.

Bridge to Somewhere

April 30, 2015 by David Ochsner

Connecting STEM and the Humanities to Fix America’s Failing Infrastructure The next time you get behind the wheel, consider this: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave our major urban highways a big, fat “D” on their infrastructure report card. A “D” on a report card usually means you’re getting grounded, and in a […]

Illustration of a sun dial. The shadow hangs over the roman numeral for fifteen.

‘15 Minute History’ Lauded as One of the Best Podcasts of 2014

April 30, 2015 by Emily Nielsen

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 […]

Fellows group photo

Op-Ed Project Fellows Address Challenges African Americans Still Face Today

February 24, 2015 by Jessica Sinn

Turn to the op-ed pages of any major newspaper, and you’ll see how writers are wielding the power of the written word to keep people honest, to speak out about injustices, to shake readers out of apathy. You’re also likely to see the article was most likely written by a man. Only 10 to 20 […]

Garfield

History Professor Wins Prestigious Book Award

January 26, 2015 by Susanna Sharpe

History Professor Seth Garfield received the Bolton-Johnson Prize Honorable Mention Award for his book In Search of the Amazon: Brazil, the United States, and the Nature of a Region (Duke University Press, Dec. 2013). The award was announced earlier this month at the annual conference of the American Historical Association in New York City. According to the […]

15 minute history poster

15 Minute History Named Best Podcast of 2014

December 10, 2014 by Emily Nielsen

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 […]

Portrait of Judy Perkins.

Judy Perkins on Finding Joy in Life and Learning

December 9, 2014 by Alicia Dietrich

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 […]

Jacqueline Jones.

Pulitizer Finalist Tells Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary People

December 9, 2014 by Emily Nielsen

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 […]

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