OLLU Humanities & Social Sciences

03/12/2025

We're looking back at alumni accomplishments over the last year!

Dr. Christopher S. Rose '19 recently published "Trial by Virus: Colonial Medicine and the 1883 Cholera in Egypt" in the spring 2023 issue (24:1) of the Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History. He was also featured in a video profile of "A Day in the Life of a Fulbrighter," discussing his six-month research travels in Egypt after being awarded a Fulbright US Scholars Abroad grant. In Cairo, Dr. Rose researched the social and economic impact of World War I on the Egyptian population. Under British occupation, Egyptians were not allowed to fight. As a result, soldiers from Great Britain, South Africa, New Zealand and India arrived in Egypt. “The troops needed to be fed,” Dr. Rose said. "They got the food from Egyptian farms at the expense of the Egyptian people. The Egyptians got sick and became malnourished. They struggled to make ends meet for their families. Some were pushed into desperate situations." Dr. Rose's dissertation, "On the Home Front: Food, Medicine, and Disease in World War I Egypt Supervisor" was supervised by Professor Yoav Di-Capua. Dr. Rose is currently assistant professor of history and History Program Head in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.

03/28/2024

New class this fall!

03/17/2024

Please join us for this exciting presentation: "Music and Bicultural Education in the Borderlands" with Dr. Andrés R. Amado, Associate Professor of Musicology and Ethnomusicology (UTRGV).

March 20th
Library 213
5:00-6:00pm

Or via Teams: https://tinyurl.com/MusicBorderlands

Abstract: In this presentation, Dr. Amado shares theoretical frameworks, strategies, and personal experiences related to teaching musicology and ethnomusicology courses at UTRGV. Dr. Amado has implemented ideas from B3 initiatives and music curriculum reform in graduate and undergraduate courses through a bilingual collaboration with a partner university in Latin America, and a service-learning course with a community partner. Dr. Amado will reflect on current education theories including culturally responsive teaching, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and bilingual flexible pedagogies, to explore the roles that institutions of higher education may play in the future as the Latine population becomes a larger percentage of student bodies across the country.

Bio: Dr. Andrés R. Amado is an associate professor of musicology and ethnomusicology, and faculty affiliate of Mexican American Studies and Gender and Women Studies at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Sueltenfuss Library OLLU Center for Teaching Excellence

03/05/2024

A rare eleventh-century Islamic astrolabe has been discovered in the vaults of a museum in Verona, Italy. One of the oldest examples ever found and one of only a handful known in the world, the astronomical instrument appears to have been used by Muslim, Jewish, and Christian people in Spain, North Africa, and Italy across many centuries.

Astrolabes were the “world’s first smartphone,” according to Cambridge University in a blog post announcing the discovery, a “portable computer which could be put to hundreds of uses.” Showing a two-dimensional model of the universe, astrolabes made it possible to plot the position of the stars, calculate time and distances, and develop horoscopes.

Curious about astrolabes and the society that made them? Learn more in “History of the Islamic World” (HIST 5360), fall 2024!

A rare 11th-century Islamic astrolabe, believed to be from Spain, has been discovered in Verona, Italy.

03/04/2024

Beauty may only be skin deep, but it’s been big business for a long time!

New research suggests the nearly 4,000-year-old cosmetic may be among the oldest discoveries of its kind

02/29/2024

Help get out the vote! Don't forget - our very own is serving as an early voting site through March 1st. You can also vote in the LCR on Election Day March 5th.

02/22/2024

A good read on an episode in Mexican-American history that's not well known: President Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of one million Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the early 1930s.

The raid came at the height of the Great Depression and on the heels of President Herbert Hoover’s announcement of a national program of “American jobs for real Americans” — code words for “‘getting rid of Mexicans,’ who weren’t considered ‘real’ Americans.”

Before Donald Trump contemplated militarized mass deportations, Herbert Hoover oversaw the deportation of a million Mexican Americans for allegedly stealing U.S. jobs.

01/12/2024

A great opportunity to join the vibrant Visual & New Media Arts Program!!! Applicants should apply before the March 21 deadline.

Our Lady of the Lake University Job Posting: Visiting Assistant Professor of Studio Art