Daily Archives: September 8, 2020

Battle of Flowers 96th Annual Oratorical Contest

Dear Texas History and Speech Enthusiasts:

Apply for the 96th Annual Oratorical Contest of the Battle Flowers® Association!

FIRST PRIZE $5000: WINNER’S ADVISOR’S DEPARTMENT $2500
2021 ENTRY FORM AND INFORMATION NOW AVAILABLE

Please click on the following link to view the electronic packet:
ORATORICAL CONTEST ENTRY FORM AND PACKET MATERIALS

The packet includes:

  • A Letter from our Chairman
  • Description of Topic
  • Entry Form
  • Contest Rules
  • Guidelines to a Succesful Speech

You may also view the Packet documents along with the winners of last year’s contest and the winning speech on our website at this link: https://www.battleofflowers.org/events/oratorical-contest/

Feel free to contact me at oratoricalcontest.bof@gmail.com with any questions.

Humanities Fall 2020 Student Engagement

Below is a list of upcoming Humanities Institute activities that COLA students might be interested in. For more details, updates, and RSVP information, please follow the links to the Humanities Institute web page.

Undergraduate Research Fellowship – Fall 2020

Students can now submit proposals for the fall 2020 Undergraduate Research Fellowships, which provide up to $1,000 to support expenses for independent research or creative activity in any major.

Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the academic colleges, URF awards cover costs for scholarly projects proposed by student applicants that are undertaken with the supervision of a faculty member. Awards are made in the fall and spring through the Office of Undergraduate Research.

The fall 2020 URF deadline is 11:59 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28. Students conducting independent projects are invited to learn more about the award (including the application process, eligibility, and writing tips) and access the online application. More info about other sources for student research funding can be found on the OUR scholarships page.

Students can learn more about the application process at our online funding workshop Thursday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. on Zoom. Students can register for the workshop on the OUR web site.

Apply to the Normandy Scholar Program

The Normandy Scholar Program is open to all majors on campus and does not require a foreign language. It offers one-semester (Spring 2021) of intensive study of the causes, course, and impact of World War Two, followed by a nearly month-long faculty-led trip to the most important World War Two sites and museums in London, Normandy, Paris, Berlin, Cracow, and Warsaw.

Students who meet the program requirements and are looking for an extraordinary educational opportunity are invited to apply!

Information Session on the Normandy Scholar Program: Monday, September 14 at 5:00:
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/98103841110

Please go to the NSP web site: for information about the program.

NSP Application Deadline: Monday, October 5. The application is available at
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/history/normandy-scholars/application.php.

For further information, please contact the Director of the Normandy Scholar Program,
Dr. Charters Wynn at wynn@utexas.edu.

 

LAH Upper-Division Scholarship Opportunity

The deadline for Upper-division scholarship applications is September 25, 2020 at 5pm.

Please apply online through the College of Liberal Arts scholarship portal.

The full essay prompt is:

Laughter has a deep philosophical meaning, it is one of the essential forms of the truth concerning the world as a whole, concerning history and man; it is a peculiar point of view relative to the world; the world is seen anew, no less (and perhaps more) profoundly than when seen from the serious standpoint.  Therefore, laughter is just as admissible in great literature, posing serious problems, as seriousness.  Certain essential aspects of the world are accessible only to laughter. – Mikhail Bakhtin

There are two kinds of humor. One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity—like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public contempt and ridicule—that’s what I do. Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel—it’s vulgar. – Molly Ivins

When humor works, it works because it’s clarifying what people already feel.  It has to come from someplace real.  – Tina Fey

Now, I’m the kind of guy who, if somebody says, “There’s no way to make this funny,” I want to prove that wrong. I believe that with the right nuance, with the right touch, you can emphasize the funniness in anything. That’s just my comedy ideal. … – Jordan Peele

What makes something funny? What is the role or purpose of humor?  Are there certain topics or situations when humor is inappropriate? In considering these questions, you may explore humor from either a personal or a social perspective.

Questions? Email LAHScholarships@austin.utexas.edu