Issues: Fall 2014
-
Two Cultures, One Conversation
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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,…