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Posts published in “News”

Brighten Your Winter Day with Images from “Botanical Icons”

In his new book, Botanical Icons: Critical Practices of Illustration in the Premodern Mediterranean, Andrew Griebeler traces the history of botanical illustration in the Mediterranean from antiquity to the early modern period. By examining Greek, Latin, and Arabic botanical inquiry in this early era, Griebeler shows how diverse and sophisticated

Read an Excerpt from “The God Behind the Marble” by Alice Goff

In her new book, The God Behind the Marble, Alice Goff relates a history of Germans’ attempts to transform society through art in an age of revolution. Considering art as an instrument of ideology that could act as a beacon of freedom, she follows a variety of art objects through

A Theological Trolley Problem, A Guest Post from Ryan Darr

In The Best Effect, Ryan Darr describes the theological origins of consequentialism—the notion that we can morally judge an action by its effects alone. In this adaption from the book’s introduction, Ryan explores why we are so fascinated by (and may need to reconsider!) consequentialist ethics today. The moral puzzles

What to Read for Winter

Winter is the perfect time to curl up beneath a blanket with a good book, and this December, we’ve gathered not one, not two, but thirty-one wintry reads for you—one for each day of the month! From the newly released Journeys with Emperors, a fascinating look at decades of research

Five Questions with Lindsay Schakenbach Regele, author of “Flowers, Guns, and Money: Joel Roberts Poinsett and the Paradoxes of American Patriotism”

“The Christmas flower,” the poinsettia, has become a ubiquitous symbol of the holidays, but its origins in this country do not evoke the joy and goodwill of the season. Joel Roberts Poinsett, a South Carolina investor, enslaver, ambitious congressman, and the US ambassador to Mexico in the 1820s, appropriated the

Sample Some Poems from Rachel DeWoskin’s “Absolute Animal”

With the rush of the holiday season coming up, we invite you to take a moment to pause and spend time with poetry. Rachel DeWoskin’s second poetry collection, absolute animal, navigates chaos and uncertainty, searching for the boundaries between human and animal behavior. Through these poems, DeWoskin considers questions about

Five Questions with E. Summerson Carr, author of “Working the Difference: Science, Spirit, and the Spread of Motivational Interviewing”

In the abstract, trust in both “expertise” and “the science” has been touted as panaceas to our ongoing crisis of misinformation and outright lies, but how exactly does a particular social scientific practice or form of thought gain widespread recognition as “expertise” to begin with?  In Working the Difference, E.

Five Questions with Laura Mamo, Author of “Sexualizing Cancer”

In honor of University Press Week, November 13 through 17, 2023, university presses around the globe are celebrating and sharing the incredible impact that the work of this global community of university presses has on every one of us. This year’s theme is #SpeakUP, which provides an opportunity for presses

Holiday Gift Guide 2023

To celebrate the coming holiday, we’ve assembled a reading list where everyone can find the perfect gift. Our curated holiday gift guide is here to help you inform, inspire, educate, and amaze your loved ones this season. You can find here some of our best books, from history to culinary,

Read an Excerpt from “Deep Water” by Riley Black

What lies beneath the surface of the ocean has mystified humankind for millennia. Today, we have explored more of the surface of the Moon than we have the deep sea. What thrives in these mysterious depths, how did these life-forms evolve from ancient life, and how has this environment changed

Five Questions with Heidi Morefield, Author of “Developing to Scale”

In 1973, economist E. F. Schumacher published Small Is Beautiful, which introduced a mainstream audience to his theory of “appropriate technology”: the belief that international development projects in the Global South were most sustainable when they were small-scale, decentralized, and balanced between the traditional and the modern. The first critical book

Read an Excerpt from “American Imperialist” by Arwen P. Mohun

In her revealing new book, American Imperialist, historian Arwen P. Mohun offers a nuanced portrait of how her great-grandfather’s pursuit of career success and financial security for his family came at a tragic cost to countless Africans. In anticipation of its upcoming release in November, we’re sharing the beginning of

What to Read for the Spookiest Season

The days draw in and the nights are long. The warmth and light of summer have vanished. It is the spooky season. This is the time of Trick or Treat, but also the time of older horrors and fears. And what better way to spend it than to read a

What to Read for Indigenous Peoples’ Day

To celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we’ve assembled a reading list highlighting the lives of Indigenous individuals and the history of their communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years. With these books, you can honor the story of a Canadian Indian residential school survivor, face our nation’s

Read an Interview with Poet Lindsay Turner, author of “The Upstate”

As we enter the relaunch of the Phoenix Poets series, we’re introducing the new editors and poets through a series of short interviews. Here, we spoke with Lindsay Turner, whose new book, The Upstate, is publishing this fall. Lindsay discusses her Appalachian roots, the events that shaped her new collection,

What to Read for Banned Books Week

This year, Banned Books Week arrives amidst a flood of attempts to remove books from schools and public libraries. Last week, reports from both the American Library Association and PEN America outlined the scale of these efforts. Comparing data from the first eight months of 2023 to the same period

Read an Excerpt from “Mountains of Fire” by Clive Oppenheimer

In Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes, Clive Oppenheimer invites readers to stand with him in the shadow of an active volcano. Whether he is scaling majestic summits, listening to hissing lava at the crater’s edge, or hunting for the far-flung ashes from Earth’s greatest eruptions,