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September 28, 2021

Civil War Memory and the Twain Effect

The following is a guest blog post by Stephen Cushman, author of The Generals’ Civil War: What Their Memoirs Can Teach Us Today. In this insightful book, Stephen Cushman considers Civil War generals’ memoirs as both historical and literary works, revealing how they remain vital to understanding the interaction of memory, imagination, and the writing of American history.  Happy Book… Continue Reading Civil War Memory and the Twain Effect

Categories Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/History/Military History
September 22, 2021

Emancipation, Slavery, and Violence in the Wake of Lee’s Surrender

The following is a guest blog post by Caroline E. Janney, author of Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox. In this dramatic new history of the weeks and months after Appomattox, Caroline E. Janney reveals that Lee’s surrender was less an ending than the start of an interregnum marked by military and political uncertainty, legal… Continue Reading Emancipation, Slavery, and Violence in the Wake of Lee’s Surrender

Categories Civil War/History/Military History
September 21, 2021

Recovering a Forgotten Massacre of Black People in Reconstruction

The following is a guest blog post by William A. Blair, author of The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and the Fight over Truth at the Dawn of Reconstruction. Blair uses the accounts of far-flung Freedmen’s Bureau agents to ask questions about the early days of Reconstruction, which are surprisingly resonant with the present day: How do you… Continue Reading Recovering a Forgotten Massacre of Black People in Reconstruction

Categories African American Studies/Civil War/History
September 17, 2021

Three Black Prisoners Who Refused to Be Forgotten

The following is a guest blog post by Lorien Foote, author of Rites of Retaliation: Civilization, Soldiers, and Campaigns in the American Civil War. Blending military and cultural history, Lorien Foote’s rich and insightful book sheds light on how Americans fought over what it meant to be civilized and who should be extended the protections of a civilized world. Today… Continue Reading Three Black Prisoners Who Refused to Be Forgotten

Categories Civil War/History/Military History
September 13, 2021

Roanoke Island Area Historical Inlets: Confusion Created by Historical Hiatus after The Roanoke Voyages & The Lost Colony & before Permanent Settlement

The following is the last segment of a guest blog post series by Roger L. Payne, author of The Outer Banks Gazetteer: The History of Place Names from Carova to Emerald Isle. A book over twenty years in the making, The Outer Banks Gazetteer is a comprehensive reference guide to the region’s place names—over 3,000 entries in all. Click here to view Roger Payne’s entire… Continue Reading Roanoke Island Area Historical Inlets: Confusion Created by Historical Hiatus after The Roanoke Voyages & The Lost Colony & before Permanent Settlement

Categories History/North Carolina
September 8, 2021

New and Recently Released UNC Press Audiobooks

We are pleased to announce the availability of the following UNC Press titles in audiobook format (sample audio excerpts are available via the links below): Closer to Freedom: Enslaved Women and Everyday Resistance in the Plantation South by Stephanie M. H. Camp, published by Tantor Media “Wonderfully evocative. . . . A provocative book full of astonishing, sometimes unforgettable moments.”—Virginia… Continue Reading New and Recently Released UNC Press Audiobooks

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Cooking / Food/Geography/UNC Press News
September 8, 2021

The Haitians: The Persistence of the Vocabulary of the Slavers

The following excerpt is from “The Persistence of the Vocabulary of the Slavers” in Jean Casimir’s book The Haitians: A Decolonial History. In this sweeping history, leading Haitian intellectual Jean Casimir argues that the story of Haiti should not begin with the usual image of Saint-Domingue as the richest colony of the eighteenth century. Rather, it begins with a reconstruction… Continue Reading The Haitians: The Persistence of the Vocabulary of the Slavers

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/History/Latin American/Caribbean Hist.
September 6, 2021

The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), Inlets Open and Inlets Used Affecting the Voyages

The following is the eighth segment of a guest blog post series by Roger L. Payne, author of The Outer Banks Gazetteer: The History of Place Names from Carova to Emerald Isle. A book over twenty years in the making, The Outer Banks Gazetteer is a comprehensive reference guide to the region’s place names—over 3,000 entries in all. Click here to view Roger Payne’s entire… Continue Reading The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), Inlets Open and Inlets Used Affecting the Voyages

Categories History/North Carolina
September 1, 2021

“Fake News” and Racial Violence after the Civil War

The following is a guest blog post by William A. Blair, author of The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and the Fight over Truth at the Dawn of Reconstruction. Blair uses the accounts of far-flung Freedmen’s Bureau agents to ask questions about the early days of Reconstruction, which are surprisingly resonant with the present day: How do you prove… Continue Reading “Fake News” and Racial Violence after the Civil War

Categories African American Studies/Civil War/History
August 31, 2021

New Orleans, A Resilient People: A Reading List

To help the victims of Hurricane Ida, visit these links to learn more about the local organizations who need your financial support in serving those affected: How to Help Hurricane Ida Victims Right Now Want to donate or volunteer to assist those affected by Hurricane Ida? Here’s how to help If you’ve been keeping up with the national news, you… Continue Reading New Orleans, A Resilient People: A Reading List

Categories African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Gender Studies/History/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Law / Legal History/LGBT Studies/Political Science/Women's Studies
August 30, 2021

The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), Fifth of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming

The following is the seventh segment of a guest blog post series by Roger L. Payne, author of The Outer Banks Gazetteer: The History of Place Names from Carova to Emerald Isle. A book over twenty years in the making, The Outer Banks Gazetteer is a comprehensive reference guide to the region’s place names—over 3,000 entries in all. Click here to view Roger Payne’s entire… Continue Reading The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), Fifth of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming

Categories History/North Carolina
August 27, 2021

Author Jean Casimir’s virtual lecture with The Institute of European Studies

Jean Casimir, author of The Haitians: A Decolonial History, gave a virtual lecture back in May at The Institute of European Studies. Casimir, who served as Haitian ambassador to the United States and as a United Nations official, is professor of humanities at the University of Haiti. In this lecture, Jean discusses the Haitian Revolution and the power Haiti used… Continue Reading Author Jean Casimir’s virtual lecture with The Institute of European Studies

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/History/Latin American/Caribbean Hist.
August 26, 2021

A Women’s Equality Day Reading List

Happy Women’s Equality Day 2021! From the 1973 Joint Resolution of the United States Congress: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That August 26, 1973, is designated as ‘Women’s Equality Day’, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation in commemoration of thatday in 1920 on which the… Continue Reading A Women’s Equality Day Reading List

Categories American History/American Studies/Gender Studies/Women's Studies
August 25, 2021

Understanding Afghanistan’s Past: A Reading List

Some of you may be fully aware of what’s going on in Afghanistan right now, but for those who aren’t or would like to learn more information about what lead up to the recent events in Afghanistan, we’ve created a recommended reading list detailing some events that shaped the country into what it is today. Two weeks before the U.S.… Continue Reading Understanding Afghanistan’s Past: A Reading List

Categories American Studies/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/History/Islamic Studies/Literature/Middle Eastern Studies/Military History/Political Science/Religion
August 23, 2021

The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), Fourth of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming

The following is the sixth segment of a guest blog post series by Roger L. Payne, author of The Outer Banks Gazetteer: The History of Place Names from Carova to Emerald Isle. A book over twenty years in the making, The Outer Banks Gazetteer is a comprehensive reference guide to the region’s place names—over 3,000 entries in all. Click here to view Roger Payne’s entire… Continue Reading The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), Fourth of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming

Categories History/North Carolina
August 20, 2021

Understanding Haiti’s Past: A Reading List

First and foremost, I’d like to say that this post isn’t about painting Haiti as a picture of continued extreme turmoil, trouble and disaster. Haiti has such a beautifully rich and inspiring culture, but has been plagued with fits of corruption, natural disaster and political unrest through the country’s entire existence. Recently, Haiti has been featured in the news more… Continue Reading Understanding Haiti’s Past: A Reading List

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/American History/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/European History/History/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Military History
August 19, 2021

Left of Black web series featuring LaKisha Simmons, author of Crescent City Girls: The Lives of Young Black Women in Segregated New Orleans

LaKisha Simmons, author of Crescent City Girls: The Lives of Young Black Women in Segregated New Orleans, was featured on John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute’s Left of Black web series. Left of Black is a web series featuring interviews with Black Studies scholars created and hosted by James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African and African American Studies Mark Anthony Neal.… Continue Reading Left of Black web series featuring LaKisha Simmons, author of Crescent City Girls: The Lives of Young Black Women in Segregated New Orleans

Categories African American Studies/Gender Studies/History/Video/Women's Studies
August 16, 2021

An Unexpected Mechanism of Native Dispossession

The following is a guest blog post by Jonathan Todd Hancock, author of Convulsed States: Earthquakes, Prophecy, and the Remaking of Early America. Through varied peoples’ efforts to come to grips with the New Madrid earthquakes, Hancock reframes early nineteenth-century North America as a site where all of its inhabitants wrestled with fundamental human questions amid prophecies, political reinventions, and… Continue Reading An Unexpected Mechanism of Native Dispossession

Categories American History/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/History/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Native American History
August 13, 2021

Happy National Water Quality Month! A Recommended Reading List

Did you know “Every year, more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war”? With statistics like that, spreading the knowledge behind National Water Quality Month is a necessity. Most communities affected by unsafe water were never cared for from the beginning, so it’s important that those who have the means fight for those who don’t. We’ve… Continue Reading Happy National Water Quality Month! A Recommended Reading List

Categories African American Studies/Environmental Studies/History/Sociology
August 11, 2021

Revisiting the Aitken Bible

The following is a guest blog post by Katherine Carté, author of Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press. Sweeping and explicitly transatlantic, Religion and the American Revolution demonstrates that if religion helped set the terms through which Anglo-Americans encountered the imperial crisis and… Continue Reading Revisiting the Aitken Bible

Categories American History/Religion