Texas Liberal Arts
Life & Letters

Lauren Macknight


  • It Don’t Mean a Thing (If You’re Not in Manhattan)

    Jason Borge chases down the memory of jazz virtuoso Booker T. Pittman

    It Don’t Mean a Thing (If You’re Not in Manhattan)

  • Hustling Today to Rest Tomorrow

    Kathleen Griesbach explores the myths and narratives of unstable work

    Hustling Today to Rest Tomorrow

  • Blooming Where You’re Planted

    A U.S. Marine’s Journey from São Paulo to UT Austin

    Blooming Where You’re Planted

  • Economics of the Unconscious

    Economic sociologist Daniel Fridman on what Americans can learn from Argentine therapists

    Economics of the Unconscious

  • New Code for the Same Old Dreams

    Iván Chaar López decodes border technology’s past and future

    New Code for the Same Old Dreams

  • In COLA, A New Student Research Landscape Takes Shape

    In the past few years, the College of Liberal Arts has developed a rich ecosystem of research opportunities that are rapidly reshaping how undergraduates engage with scholarly work

    In COLA, A New Student Research Landscape Takes Shape

  • The Re-Enfranchised, in Theory and Practice

    Political scientist Hannah Walker explores how to bring the formerly incarcerated back into political participation.

    The Re-Enfranchised, in Theory and Practice

  • The End of the Line: “Endlings” and what their stories tell us about the planet, its inhabitants, and ourselves

    Here is the basic anatomy of a story: there’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. But what can stories tell us about “endlings,” the last known individuals of their kinds?

    The End of the Line: “Endlings” and what their stories tell us about the planet, its inhabitants, and ourselves

  • Signs of Community

    Deborah White and Michael Wynne see themselves and the ASL program they are building at UT Austin as about more than just language. They are a bridge between the Deaf and hearing communities. Their identity as part of the Deaf community is integral to the way that they teach American Sign Language, which is just…

    Signs of Community

  • 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