History: Studies and Our Department of History
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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS ——— D EPARTMENT OF H ISTORY ALUMNI NEWSLETTER VOLUME 2 Dear Friends both the newly endowed Schusterman Center for Jewish of History: Studies and our Department of History. It’s been a busy—some of We have hired in other important areas as well. We us would say hectic—year! JONES TAYLOR strengthened our already prestigious Latin American Moving between terms is faculty contingent by luring Associate Professor never easy, but it was with Matthew Butler away from Queen’s University, both excitement and relief Belfast. Dr. Butler is a very creative historian of Modern that we returned to our Mexico with interests in religion, nationalism and newly renovated Garrison revolution. Along with Professor Butler, we hired three Hall home in December. Assistant Professors. Professor Ruramisai Charumbira, Our good spirits carried whose Ph.D. is from Yale, works in the colonial and over into our celebratory ALAN TULLY, CHAIR post-colonial history of Zimbabwe and will significantly INSIDE “Come Back to Garrison” gathering, which Professor augment our expertise in African history. Professor Al Joan Neuberger organized so well. Martinez, whose Ph.D. is from Minnesota, studies the A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT page 2 There were several event highlights this year, two conventions of mathematics and physics during the age of which were the launching of our new Institute for of Einstein and will add to our growing presence in the THREE UT DEPARTMENT OF Historical Studies and our History Department Visiting History of Science. Finally, Professor James Vaughn, HISTORY PROFESSORS SELECTED AS Committee. Under the direction of Professor Julie Hard- whose Ph.D. is from Chicago, works in facets of modern GUGGENHEIM FELLOWS wick, the Institute will play a very important role in British History that will not only strengthen our cover- page 3 enhancing the activities, visibility, and reputation age of Great Britain but also intersect with a number of of the Department. Professor Hardwick has done research clusters in our Department. We look forward to PHI ALPHA THETA, BETA ALPHA CHAPTER AT UT-AUSTIN a wonderful job of developing the Institute from the vitality that our new colleagues bring with them. page 3 a Department-generated idea into a functioning center over the past few months. (See pages 4–5) We BETA ALPHA CHAPTER INDUCTS look forward to its inaugural year! Our Visiting Com- We look forward to 40 NEW MEMBERS mittee is composed of interested alumni and community page 5 members who will meet each fall in Austin, beginning the vitality that our this November 6 and 7, with members of the Department. THEY CAME BACK TO GARRISON new colleagues bring page 6-9 The purpose of the committee and the regular meetings is to help inform our various communities about the with them. GRADUATION 2008: Department, to consult with committee members about HISTORY GRADUATES ENCOURAGED the place of History, our Department and historical In addition to the fellows our Institute for Historical to “WRITE Taller” education at UT and in the community-at-large, and Studies will host next year, we have two other year-long page 10 to facilitate engagement with potential donors to visitors. Each year the Harrington Faculty Fellows History. We expect our activities with Visiting Com- Program supports approximately five outstanding NORMANDY SCHOLAR PROGRAM page 11 mittee members to develop into a dynamic and fruitful faculty, largely from other universities, who are near relationship. the beginning of their professional careers for a year of HISTORY UNDERGRADUATES RECEIVE In the midst of all this planning and the fulfilling of our research at UT. This year, in an unprecedented success, “SPECIAL HONORS IN HISTORy” ongoing responsibilities, the Department has continued two of the five are History Department nominees. They page 11 to strengthen itself with important faculty additions. are Associate Professor Eiichiro Azuma, from the We appointed two new full professors this year. One is University of Pennsylvania whose work on Japanese HISTORY FACULTY RECOGNIZED Professor Jacqueline Jones, formerly of Brandeis Americans has earned him several prestigious book FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE page 12 University, who will be joining us in September as the prizes, and Professor Matt Childs of Florida State, holder of The Walter Prescott Webb Chair of History whose research and writing on Cuba has won scholarly BOOKNOTES:FACULTY BOOKS and Ideas and The Mason Gentry White Professorship acclaim. PUBlished, 2004–2008 in Southern History. Professor Jones, a MacArthur Fel- We will also be hosting numerous conferences and page 13 low, a winner of the Bancroft Prize and a Pulitzer Prize seminars. One, scheduled for November is entitled finalist, works in Southern U.S. History. Her newest “Making Race, Making Health: Historical Approaches STAFF book, Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War, to Race, Medicine, and Public Health.” April will bring 1854-1872 (Alfred A. Knopf) will be out this fall. The our Institute-sponsored conference on “The Nation EDITOR: MEGAN SEAHOLM second is Professor Miriam Bodian, who will arrive State and the Transnational Environment.” Two annual CONSULTANTS: in January 2009 from the Graduate School of Jewish conferences we have supported for some years will GAIL DAVIS, MARILYN LEHMAN, Studies at Touro College, New York. Her prize winning continue. The first is our Latin American Speaker MARTHA GAIL MOORE work focuses on the history of early-modern, Western Series that will offer events in both Spring and Fall DESIGN: MARYBETH DAIGLE European Jewry and she will be making contributions to terms, and the other is Professor Toyin (cont. p. 2) WWW.UTEXAS.EDU/COLA/DEPTS/HISTORY 1 UNIVERSITY STATION B7000 AUSTIN, TX 78712-0220 PHONE:512.471.3261 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT • JUNE 2008 Dear Friends: As I travel around the state, I frequently meet Texans and UT Alumni who want high-quality public education and higher education for their children and grandchildren. They often ask, what will it take for our state to improve? We need to increase higher education We cannot escape the fact that Texas spends less of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education than capacity, and we need other states. In 2006, Texas’s spending on higher education and public schools amounted to 3.35% of our GDP. to fund excellence at the Michigan spent 4.49%, California spent 4.24%, and North Carolina spent 4.05%.* These differences may seem state’s existing national slight, but as an illustration, if we added 1% of our state GDP to education spending, it would generate $8.5 research universities. billion. Adding 1/10 of 1% would provide $850 million annually. It is also worth noting that California spends almost twice as much on higher education than Texas, and it has done so consistently for many years, even though its population is only a third larger. That investment has surely played a role in California’s GDP, which is 75% greater than ours. Simply put, our competitors are investing more in education, and they have systematically done so for years. We are far behind. I understand that our elected officials are working hard to control state spending, but Texas is ranked 35th out of 50 states in the percentage of citizens with a college education. Only 24.5% of Texans age 25 or older are college graduates, and the current projection by the Texas State Data Center is for that figure to decline by 2040. Texans deserve better. We need to increase higher education capacity, and we need to fund excellence at the state’s existing national research universities. In the months ahead I’ll be repeating this message around the state. Many people have asked how they can make their voices heard. The Texas Exes, our alumni association, can tell you how you can make a difference ([email protected]). I want to express my gratitude to the hundreds of you who have already joined UT Advocates for higher Education, which is sponsored by the Exes. Another way to help is to participate in the email survey the Exes will be sending in the weeks ahead. Thank you for all you do for the University of Texas at Austin. Bill Powers President The University of Texas at Austin *Figures are based upon reports of the National Association of State budget Officers and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Education spending data may not be entirely parallel for every state. (cont. from p. 1) Falola’s March 2009 Africa conference focusing talks and seminars. It is going to be a lively year! Join us when you this year on “Science, Technology and the Environment in Africa.” can! Support us if you will! Continue to read history! And do come by Interspersed with these will be our regular symposiums and semi- when you are in Austin and renew your acquaintance with our (your) nars offered by our working groups in Women, Gender, and Sexuality, refurbished Garrison Hall. Atlantic Studies, the History of Science, and various special occasion 2 Three UT Department of History Professors Selected as Guggenheim Fellows IF THE JOHN SIMON GUGGENHEIM lished in History in the Comic Mode (2007), Memorial Foundation Fellowship to Assist Dr. Frazier drew on psychoanalytic trauma ILLER M Research and Artistic Creation were a studies to propose some close ties between ARSHA precious stone, it would be the Hope Dia- Della Robbia’s “Story” and Machiavelli’s M mond. If the Guggenheim Fellowship were a “Prince.” mountain to be climbed it would be the north Upon return to Austin in fall 2008, Dr. face of Mt. Everest. If the Guggenheim were Frazier resumed her teaching duties.