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 […]
Department of History
In Memoriam: Fall 2011
Jonas B. Kelsall, Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Prior to arriving at The University of Texas at Austin, Jonas B. Kelsall (French, Naval ROTC ’01) enlisted in the Navy and completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. In 1997, he received a NROTC scholarship to attend UT where he later met his future wife, Victoria, who was also a student […]
Awards & Honors: Spring 2011
Staff Six staff members in the College received a 2011 President’s Outstanding Staff or Supervisor Award in recognition of extraordinary contributions to the continuing success of the university including: Sally Dickson (European Studies) Jared Diener (Religious Studies) Nancy Moses (Government) Annelise Notzon (English) Maria Pineda (Germanic Studies) Gail Sanders (Teresa Lozano Long Institute for Latin American […]
Retired Faculty: Spring 2011
More than 30 College of Liberal Arts professors from more than a dozen departments have retired over the past year, after spending decades serving their students and the university community. Retirees include Linguistics Professor Robert King, who was the founding dean of the College of Liberal Arts and served in that post from 1979–1989 and […]
In Memoriam: Spring 2011
Norval Glenn, professor emeritus of sociology, who taught for 47 years at the university, died Feb. 15. He was 77 years old. A prominent scholar of family sociology, Glenn wrote extensively on marriage and divorce, aging and the life course, and methods and survey data analysis. In 2008, he co-directed the first nationally representative sample […]
Research Briefs: Spring 2011
Being Poor Can Suppress Children’s Genetic Potentials Growing up poor can suppress a child’s genetic potential to excel cognitively even before the age of 2. A study of 750 sets of twins by Assistant Professor Elliot Tucker-Drob does not suggest that children from wealthier families are genetically superior or smarter. They simply have more opportuni- […]
Books: Spring 2011
Spring 2011 titles from our college community.
History Department Launches Site Aimed at the Masses
“The past is never dead, it’s not even past,” wrote William Faulkner in his 1951 novel, “Requiem for a Nun.” The University of Texas’ History Department is counting on many people sharing his sentiment that history lives on and affects the present. It has launched a new Web site, Not Even Past, to bring short, […]
Q&A: Beauty Shop Politics
Historian Sees Beauty Shops as Birthplace of Activism “While there is a very vibrant scholarship in African American history and African American women’s history, the issue of entrepreneurship is something that has sometimes been ignored,” says Tiffany Gill, while sitting down with us to discuss her book, “Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women’s Activism in […]
Book News: Fall 2010
Pioneering With A Pen For creating the most vivid and vital portrayal of the American experience in microcosm, Creative Writing graduate Nora Boxer has won the $50,000 Keene Prize for Literature. Her story “It’s the song of the nomads, baby; or Pioneer,” was selected from 61 submissions in drama, poetry and fiction. Laconic in style, […]
My Dearest
Scholars reveal the stories behind some of the world’s most inspired love letters A little over a year ago, Janine Barchas witnessed a marriage proposal in a crowded hotel ballroom. The young man left nothing to chance, relying on the words of a Jane Austen love letter—almost crafting his entire proposal from it. “The young […]
Contemplating Justice
Pulitzer Prize-winning History Professor David Oshinsky looks at the Supreme Court case that reshaped the death penalty in America In 1972, the United States Supreme Court delivered the longest and one of the most bitterly divided rulings in history. In a 5-4 decision in Furman v. Georgia, the justices ruled that the death penalty violated […]
Tear Down the Wall
Students re-enact Berlin Wall destruction 20 years later Students from The University of Texas and other local schools came to the South Mall one evening last November carrying cardboard boxes that evoked the wall that once divided East and West Berlin. Like the eastern side of the wall, one side of each box was bare. […]
Books: Spring 2010
Oscar Casares’ “Amigoland” Is 2010 Mayor’s Book Club Selection The book “Amigoland” (2009, Little, Brown) is set in a small Mexican border town. It tells the story of two estranged and aging brothers, Don Fidencio Rosales and Don Celestino, who are brought back together by a young cleaning woman and a mystery. The improbable trio takes […]