College of Liberal Arts


  • We Have the Best Stories

    Ward Keeler on life as an anthropologist.

    We Have the Best Stories

  • COLA’s Favorite Books of 2023

    We may be a week into 2024, but we’re not quite ready to close the book on 2023 just yet. In case you’re feeling the same — or just looking for a great read to start off the new year — we’ve asked some of our COLA faculty what they most enjoyed reading over the…

    COLA’s Favorite Books of 2023

  • Old Threads, New Threads

    Faegheh Shirazi weaves a career in cultural textiles.

    Old Threads, New Threads

  • COLA’s Favorite Books of 2022

    With 2023 just around the corner, we asked some of our COLA faculty what they most enjoyed reading in 2022. Below are their picks, which cover contemporary fiction and poetry as well as looks at long-haul trucking and Black women’s impact on pop culture. Whatever it is you like to read, we’re sure there’s a…

    COLA’s Favorite Books of 2022

  • ‘Much more than a surgeon’: Remembering David Genecov, MD, 1963-2022

    David Genecov, a COLA alum, longtime Advisory Council member, and dear friend of the College, tragically passed away this November. He possessed a combination of innovative drive, intellectual curiosity, and an unyielding willingness to collaborate with others, and he will be missed by all of us at COLA.


  • A Video Game produced by UT Austin’s JapanLab and Studio Unagi Immerses Players in the Turbulent World of Nineteenth Century Japan

    A fully functional, historical video game, Ghosts over the Water: Changing the Tides of Japan’s Future, features an accessible visual novel framework and 130,000 words of researched text.

    A Video Game produced by UT Austin’s JapanLab and Studio Unagi Immerses Players in the Turbulent World of Nineteenth Century Japan

  • #PRADAMARFA

    For better or for worse, Marfa is a city defined by artists. In his new short documentary, “Prada Marfa? A Film about a West Texas Icon,” American studies professor Randy Lewis takes stock of the town’s transformation through the lens of Prada Marfa, a hyperreal public art installation that has become emblematic of the city.

    #PRADAMARFA

  • Antiquities Road Show Busts Its Way to UT

    In October of 2018, Austin-based antiques dealer Laura Young purchased a marble bust at Goodwill for $34.99. Suspecting that the sculpture might be a much greater find, Young reached out to The University of Texas at Austin professors Rabun Taylor (Classics), Stephennie Mulder (Art & Art History), and Penelope Davies (Art & Art History), to…

    Antiquities Road Show Busts Its Way to UT

  • Teaching Brazilian Portuguese to the World

    It is not a stretch to say that Orlando Kelm, an associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese at The University of Texas at Austin, is one of the most popular teachers of Brazilian Portuguese in the world. This is thanks to Brazilpod, a collection of podcasts, videos, transcripts, and blogs on Brazilian Portuguese that Kelm…

    Teaching Brazilian Portuguese to the World

  • The Value of the Liberal Arts

    Those of us who teach in liberal arts colleges are passionate about the value of a liberal arts education. But for those outside of academia – even for those who might have received a degree in UT’s College of Liberal Arts – the precise meaning of “liberal arts” can be murky.  What, exactly, is meant by…

    The Value of the Liberal Arts

  • Q&A with Celina de Sá

    Celina de Sá, an assistant professor of anthropology and an affiliated faculty member in African and African Diaspora Studies and the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at UT Austin, is one of the College of Liberal Arts’ newer faculty members. Her research focuses on performance and race through grassroots social networks in…

    Q&A with Celina de Sá

  • Talking to Julieta Suárez Calderón, 2022 Randy Diehl Prize Winner

    The $18,000 award, now in its seventh year, was established by donors to support a graduating liberal arts senior who is committing the year after graduation to effect positive change in the world by working for a nonprofit organization, working for a for-profit organization that benefits others, or creating a new nonprofit.

    Talking to Julieta Suárez Calderón, 2022 Randy Diehl Prize Winner

  • Investing in the Future

    Jason Lamin, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, shares what he values in this moment and where he finds inspiration.

    Investing in the Future

  • Shake Up Your Winter Reading

    Winter 2020-21 books from our college community.

    Shake Up Your Winter Reading

  • Stepping into the Wild

    Stuart Stedman, a 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipient, uses his liberal arts education to gain perspective.

    Stepping into the Wild

  • Teaching, Learning and Living

    Randy and Mary Diehl, 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipients, share a dedication for championing education and a joy for lifelong learning.

    Teaching, Learning and Living

  • The Real Diehl: A Dean Reflects on His Mission

    Randy Diehl is a morning person. Rising at 4 a.m., he writes a few emails catches up on his reading and takes a brisk walk before heading to campus to lead a college with 22 academic departments, three branches of the ROTC and more than 500 faculty members. Despite long days and a demanding schedule,…

    The Real Diehl:  A Dean Reflects on His Mission

  • Getting it Right

    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.…

    Getting it Right

  • Meet Ann Huff Stevens: Our Next College of Liberal Arts Dean

    Ann Huff Stevens will begin as dean of the College of Liberal Arts on July 15, 2019. Stevens comes from the University of California, Davis, and is a Texas native with roots in Corpus Christi. She is a professor of economics who has served in a variety of leadership roles, including chair of the Department…

    Meet Ann Huff Stevens: Our Next College of Liberal Arts Dean

  • America’s Ongoing Housing Crisis: Q&A with “Owned” Film Maker Giorgio Angelini

    Fifty years after the passing of the Fair Housing Act, people across the United States continue to face an uphill battle to homeownership. “Owned, a Tale of Two Americas,” directed by University of Texas at Austin history alumnus Giorgio Angelini attempts to get at the root of the U.S. housing crisis, which erupted in an…

    America’s Ongoing Housing Crisis: Q&A with “Owned” Film Maker Giorgio Angelini

  • Beyond the Battlefield: The war rages on, but this time it’s personal

    The Thorazine haze was beginning to fade when Glenn Towery was discharged from Oakland Naval Hospital. For the last however-many days he had felt listless, “like a non-human being,” making him forget why he was even there in the first place. Before that, he occupied a hospital cot in the Philippines, next to an injured…

    Beyond the Battlefield: The war rages on, but this time it’s personal

  • Joan Neuberger: A Pioneer in Digital History

    One of the most fundamental tasks for any university is to foster research that creates an impact beyond its campus. For historians, much of that work takes place in the growing fields of public and digital history. These scholars use innovative digital tools to make historical research relevant and accessible to a broader community. Now,…

    Joan Neuberger: A Pioneer in Digital History

  • The Untold Stories of Modern Warriors

    The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.   – Thucydides  Oftentimes, we are met with spectacular images of war, depicting valiance and vilifying enemies; but these stories, some say, lack an honest narrative. While soldiers…

    The Untold Stories of Modern Warriors

  • 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 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…

    Judy Perkins on Finding Joy in Life and Learning

  • 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 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…

    Creating Your Own Noble Purpose