Strategies for Improving Education in America Few dispute the value of education, but discussions about how our nation should improve it are becoming more intense and polarized. Of all the competing arguments—more technology, smaller classrooms, improved teacher training, universal pre-kindergarten—most people would agree that America’s education system needs to improve, and soon. According to recent […]
Department of History
UT Faculty Chronicle Texas Cultural History
Texas Bookshelf is a 16-book series that will be published by University of Texas Press chronicling the state’s rich culture and history. The five-year project is set to launch in 2017 and will cover a diverse range of topics—from the Tejano experience to Texas food culture to performing arts. This is the first project undertaken […]
¡Numero Uno!
U.S. News & World Report ranked the Department of History’s graduate program in Latin American History as No. 1 in the nation. “Such professional accolades not only pay tribute to the fine work of the Latin Americanist faculty, but are a badge of distinction for the entire History Department,” says Seth W. Garfield, associate professor […]
History Podcast Helps Students Prepare for STAAR Exams
15 Minute History is a podcast about world and U.S. history created for teachers, students and anyone who wants to know more about history. Both Joan Neuberger, history professor and Not Even Past editor, and Christopher Rose, history doctoral student and outreach director for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, wanted to find a way […]
Literary Gold British Studies
Wm. Roger Louis, director of the Program in British Studies, has won the Benson Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Literature, the highest award in literature and history in England. The award was given in recognition of his enormous contribution to English literature—both through his own writing, and through his support of other writers […]
Regents Honor Outstanding Teaching
Five faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts received the 2013 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching honor. The awards program is one of the nation’s largest monetary teaching recognition programs in higher education, honoring outstanding performance in the classroom and dedication to innovation in undergraduate instruction. The […]
The Appendix: Experimental Journal Showcases History of the Arcane
While sifting through the musty collections of ancient pages at the Smithsonian, Christopher Heaney stumbled upon some fascinating materials on an apocalyptic prophecy by “Benjamin, the Anti Christ,” a San Francisco prophet who foresaw earthquakes, international war and brain paralysis. Unfortunately it didn’t fit into his research topic on Peruvian mummies, so he had to […]
Clements Center Will Promote Diplomatic History and National Security
Clements Center Will Promote Diplomatic History and National Security The William P. Clements Jr. Center on History, Strategy and Statecraft is being established at The University of Texas at Austin to train leaders in the history of national security and diplomacy and to honor the legacy of one of the most influential statesmen in Texas […]
Gardner Marston’s $6.6 Million Gift to Support History Graduate Students
A $6.6 million gift from the estate of Gardner Marston will boost graduate student recruitment and support in the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin. A native of La Jolla, Calif., Marston was a 1953 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. He died in 2011. “This is a tremendous […]
UT Historian Leads Major Tejano Curriculum Project
UT History Professor Emilio Zamora is playing a key role in an innovative new public-private partnership to bring Tejano history into Texas public schools and public spaces. Zamora is collaborating with Professors Cynthia Salinas and María Fránquiz from the College of Education. The Tejano History Curriculum Project — sponsored by the Tejano Monument, Inc., a […]
From History to Haiku
Pro Bene Meritis 2012 The Pro Bene Meritis Award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. It is given each spring to alumni, faculty and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, who have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits, or who have participated in service […]
And the 2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards Go To…
Eight faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts received the 2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching honor, which recognizes extraordinary educators from system institutions. The University of Texas at Austin instructors, who represent a diverse set of disciplines and expertise, each received monetary awards of $25,000. The […]
Books: Fall 2012
Fall 2012 titles from our college community.
Whatever Happened to the American Dream?
International historian Jeremi Suri looks back at America’s greatest visionaries to show how our nation can achieve greatness again Some of America’s greatest triumphs were built on dreams. Without dreamers, Neil Armstrong wouldn’t have walked on the moon, proving the sky isn’t the limit. Steve Jobs wouldn’t have transformed the way we work, play and communicate through […]
History Alumnus Awarded Pulitzer Prize
In Brief: History When graduate students in the History Department met with John Lewis Gaddis on March 6, they thought they were going to participate in a discussion with an eminent Cold War historian. They did not realize they were meeting with a soon-to-be Pulitzer Prize-winner. Gaddis, the Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and […]
Moving Forward in the Face of Challenge
Higher education has seen its share of challenges over the past half-decade. The global financial crisis that began in 2007 sent tremors across every campus in the country, causing us not only to tighten our belts but to rethink fundamental models of teaching, research and service that have guided our mission for more than a […]
The Future of Not Even Past
History Comes Alive Through New Partnerships The Department of History has been reaching out to even more readers through two new collaborative projects. A new website, Milestones, produced together with historians at The Ohio State University, is a partnership between Not Even Past and Ohio State’s Origins. Each month historians at the two universities will […]
History Cracked Open
Unearthed Time Capsule Fills Gaps in ROTC History After World War II A glimpse of life at The University of Texas at Austin’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) during the 1940s and ’50s was sealed within the building blocks of the former ROTC building for more than half a century. Last fall, a crew of […]
Research Briefs: Spring 2012
College of Liberal Arts: Not Even Past Brings History to the Public The Web has many sites devoted to history, but only one brings together such a diverse group of historians with expertise in every major field and time period. For the past year, Not Even Past has drawn on the expertise of faculty and […]
Retiring Faculty 2012
Harry Cleaver Economics Cleaver, associate professor of economics, taught at the university for 35 years. A specialist in Marxist theory, he taught a popular introductory course on Marxist economics for more than 20 years. Cleaver’s recent work has focused on social struggles, particularly in rural Mexico. He has published several articles on the Zapatista uprising […]
A Formidable Team
Carolyn and Peyton Townsend raise their horns to a world-class education Carolyn Townsend will always remember her tearful parting from The University of Texas at Austin after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in history and English in 1966. “I was the last one out of the Pi Phi sorority house,” Carolyn says. “I put […]
Dig This
Undergrads who conduct research in the field are more likely to thrive in the classroom For three College of Liberal Arts undergraduates, conducting research with professors provided the skills they needed to succeed and helped them discover just what they wanted to do next. “Undergraduate research gives you an experience that you’d almost never get […]
Books: Fall 2011
Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It By H.W. Brands, professor, Department of History Historian H.W. Brands charts the dollar’s astonishing rise to become the world’s principal currency recounting key episodes in U.S. monetary history, from the Civil War debate over fiat money (greenbacks) to the recent […]
Separating Fact From Fiction
Legend has it Benjamin Franklin ventured out on a stormy day to fly a kite with a lightning rod and a key dangling on the end of the string. When the lightning struck the kite, the powerful bolt charged the metal key. Franklin then touched the key and got zapped, thus proving the electrical nature […]
Research Briefs: Fall 2011
The Right to Raise To increase volunteerism and donations, organizations should phrase requests differently to motivate people who already care about the cause, according to research from psychologist Marlone Henderson. For example, if the person already cares about the cause, the request should emphasize how much money is still needed (“We still need $50,000 to […]