Trying to get your scholarly book published? Some tips for maintaining perspective and staying true to your vision July 27, 2021 Developmental editor Laura Portwood-Stacer shares some key reminders you can return to when you find yourself in need of encouragement during the proposal and publication processes. Read More
Treasure troves: Freeing the hidden histories in German ethnological museums July 27, 2021 Germany’s heated repatriation debates reached a milestone in April 2021. As public discussions became particularly intense over the preceding five years, they focused largely on the opening of the Humboldt Forum, a new exhibition venue in the heart of Berlin. Read More
French flowers in an English garden July 23, 2021 A summer walk through the garden of the English language reveals it sporting many a foreign flower. English has borrowed more words from French, in particular, than from any other modern foreign language. Read More
Listen in: The Great Guide July 19, 2021 David Hume (1711–1776) is perhaps best known for his ideas about cause and effect and his criticisms of religion, but he is rarely thought of as a philosopher with practical wisdom to offer. Read More
Émigrés: French Words That Turned English July 16, 2021 Richard Scholar examines the continuing history of untranslated French words in English and asks what these words reveal about the fertile but fraught relationship that England and France have long shared. Read More
Problem solving: The next generation July 15, 2021 The pandemic laid bare how brittle the systems are that we rely on to provide care in the US. Read More
What do the ancients have to teach us? July 15, 2021 Marshall Poe recently had a fascinating conversation with Rob Tempio, the talented editor behind the Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series. The books in this series present the timeless and timely ideas of classical thinkers in lively new translations. Read More
Sarah Fowler on a love of identification guides and sharks July 14, 2021 My first experience of a shark, as a small child, was uncomfortably close up. The shark was rolled up inside a sausage of netting, rather like Tom Kitten in the Tale of Samuel Whiskers. Read More
Teaching your mind to fly: The psychological benefits of birdwatching July 13, 2021 It is now a matter of common knowledge—bolstered by significant and growing scientific documentation—that immersion in the natural world can provide measurable benefits to human physical and mental health. Read More
Jaws, lost sharks, and the legacy of Peter Benchley July 13, 2021 Jaws, the mere mention of the movie conjures up images of a large triangular fin cutting through the water, beneath it a large fearsome-looking toothy shark swimming with a sense of authority, a purpose. Read More
Tonio Andrade on The Last Embassy July 12, 2021 George Macartney’s disastrous 1793 mission to China plays a central role in the prevailing narrative of modern Sino-European relations. Read More
We Are Not Born Submissive: How Patriarchy Shapes Women’s Lives July 09, 2021 What role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken, and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. Read More
Book Club Pick: Uneasy Street July 01, 2021 This month’s Book Club Pick is Uneasy Street by Rachel Sherman. This is an excellent non-fiction summer book club selection for readers who are curious about the lives of the 1%. Read More
On self interest June 30, 2021 Self-interest drives capitalism. Capitalism’s friends and foes agree on this, even if they agree on nothing else. Read More
Who was Euclid? June 29, 2021 Euclid of Alexandria: mathematician, author of the Elements of Geometry. Utterer of apocryphal quips including the famous put-down to Ptolemy I: ‘there is no royal road to geometry’. Who was he? What did he look like? Read More