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Department of Philosophy

Spring Books Unfold

May 25, 2022 by Alex Reshanov

Disentangling: The Geographies of Digital DisconnectionOxford University Press, July 2021Edited by Paul C. Adams, Professor, Department of Geography and the Environment, and André Jansson, Karlstad University After the rapid rise of digital networking in the 2000s and 2010s, we are now seeing a rise of interest in how people can disentangle their lives from the […]

Leaf Through a Good Book

December 6, 2021 by Alex Reshanov

Keep your to-read list up-to-date with our fall book list, featuring a selection of titles from College of Liberal Arts faculty members and alumni.

Ultrasound of fetus

When human life begins is a question of politics – not biology

September 7, 2021 by Sahotra Sarkar

A Texas law that aims to eliminate almost all abortions in the state is part of a long-standing nationwide movement to restrict the right to abortion.

Animated illustration of woman with sunglasses; book outline is mirrored in sunglasses as her reddish brown hair blows in breeze.

A Look at Our Latest Books

June 30, 2021 by Michelle Bryant

2021 Spring and Summer titles from our college community.

under a microscope

Lab–grown embryos and human–monkey hybrids: Medical marvels or ethical missteps?

April 22, 2021 by Sahotra Sarkar

In Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel “Brave New World,” people aren’t born from a mother’s womb.

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.

Surreal illustration of a lone man in a suit, walking up stairs over a night-lit ocean to a door inside of the moon.

Living in a Material World: Philosopher Galen Strawson tackles a few of life’s nagging questions

July 2, 2018 by Michelle Bryant

Writer and actor Stephen Fry says Galen Strawson “opens windows and finds light-switches like no other philosopher writing today,” and novelist Ian McEwan simply dubs Strawson “one of the cleverest men alive.” High praise for this UT professor of philosophy, who discusses his latest book, Things That Bother Me: Death, Freedom, The Self, Etc. with Life […]

Cierra Grubbs sits on the stairs of Dell Medical School with her arm around her dog. She's wearing a lab coat and stethoscope.

First Class: Rethinking Health Care Through the Liberal Arts

November 18, 2016 by Emily Nielsen

The doors of the Dell Medical School have opened for its first class of future doctors, and they are on a mission to get the training they need to make a difference in the lives of future patients, their communities and even medicine itself. Of the 50 members in the school’s inaugural class, three graduated […]

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 […]

Wes Anderson (Philosophy ’90) arrives for the 2015 FOX Golden Globes party at FOX Pavilion on Jan. 11 in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Grand Victory

April 30, 2015 by Michelle Bryant

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 […]

Illustration of face with mouth pixelated out.

Defending Artistic Expression

December 8, 2014 by Michael Adams

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 […]

Zachary Heinzerling films Ushio Shinohara for the film "Cutie and the Boxer."

Plan II, Philosophy Alumnus nominated for Academy Award

April 6, 2014 by Michelle Bryant

Zachary Heinzerling, Plan II and Philosophy ’06, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary for his film Cutie and the Boxer. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, where he earned the Best Director Award (U.S. Documentary). The film follows the complicated relationship of husband and wife artists Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. Heinzerling […]

Fall foliage.

Books: Fall 2012

October 26, 2012 by Molly Wahlberg Leave a Comment

Fall 2012 titles from our college community.

In Memoriam with black background

In Memoriam: Fall 2012

October 20, 2012 by Jessica Sinn Leave a Comment

James “Jim” R. Soukup, former professor of government, died May 26 at age 83. Soukup began his teaching career at the university in 1956, where he was a threetime Fulbright scholar to Japan for the study of labor politics and later served on the Fulbright National Selection Committee. He was instrumental in the development of […]

"Whoever would overthrow..."

Cost of Free Speech

June 3, 2011 by Michelle Bryant Leave a Comment

The Cost of Political Speech With a record $2.4 bill ion spent by candidates in the last U.S. presidential election, the “Free Speech Dialogue” held Feb. 10 delved into the controversial topics of how money complicates political speech and who is entitled to First Amendment rights. “I would like students to walk away with a […]

"retirement"

Retired Faculty: Spring 2011

May 27, 2011 by Jessica Sinn Leave a Comment

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 […]

Research Briefs: Spring 2011

May 27, 2011 by Molly Wahlberg Leave a Comment

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- […]

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