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Category: Women’s Studies

March 5, 2012

Nadine Cohodas: Nina Simone and Israeli Folk Music

Nina Simone—the High Priestess of Soul to some, a fierce advocate of racial justice to others—would seem to be an unlikely interpreter of Israeli folk songs. Yet in 1962, as her career was taking off, Simone incorporated “Eretz Zavat Chalev” (“The Land of Milk and Honey”) into her repertoire. It proved to be an early example of her eclectic musical taste and one of her initial steps in moving beyond the traditional jazz combo–piano, bass, and drums–an evolution that would cement her place among world-renowned artists.
Continue Reading Nadine Cohodas: Nina Simone and Israeli Folk Music

Categories African American Studies/Author blog entry/Biography / Autobiography/Guest Bloggers/Jewish Studies/Music/Video/Women's Studies
February 28, 2012

Cynthia A. Kierner: The Third First Family

Thomas Jefferson—arguably the most outspokenly anti-monarchical of all—pioneered the use of family and domesticity as political theater. His daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, was the star of these shows. Continue Reading Cynthia A. Kierner: The Third First Family

Categories American History/Author blog entry/Biography / Autobiography/Guest Bloggers/History/Women's Studies
February 21, 2012

Happy Birthday, Nina Simone

“My work completely takes all my energy,” Nina said later, “but when there are kids who come backstage afterward who want to talk, or who are moved to the point sometimes, they’re moved to tears and want to know more about it, they shake my hand and kiss me and want to talk about their problems, I find the time to do so.” Continue Reading Happy Birthday, Nina Simone

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Excerpts/Music/Video/Women's Studies
February 13, 2012

Excerpt: Freedom’s Teacher, by Katherine Mellen Charron

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 3, 1898, Septima Earthaline Poinsette entered a world that had been shaped as African Americans gained and lost political power after the Civil War. Freedom for most black Carolinians, including her slave-born father, had arrived only three decades earlier, and the Low Country, with its majority black population, had served as the epicenter of black militancy and political activism. Continue Reading Excerpt: Freedom’s Teacher, by Katherine Mellen Charron

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Biography / Autobiography/Civil Rights/Excerpts/History/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
December 8, 2011

Amrita Chakrabarti Myers: Forging Freedom – An Excerpt

In this excerpt from ‘Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston,’ by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, we meet a family of free black women who possessed an unusual amount of wealth and autonomy. Continue Reading Amrita Chakrabarti Myers: Forging Freedom – An Excerpt

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Excerpts/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
November 8, 2011

North Carolina’s eugenics history: Testimonies from victims (video)

Rock Center with Brian Williams airs a story about North Carolina’s history of state-ordered sterilizations, featuring audio recordings of social workers involved in the program that were uncovered in Johanna Schoen’s research on the subject in the 1990s. Continue Reading North Carolina’s eugenics history: Testimonies from victims (video)

Categories African American Studies/American History/Biology/Ethics/Health / Medicine/North Carolina/Public Policy/Science/Sociology/UNC Press Authors/Women's Studies
August 24, 2011

Historians on ‘The Help’: Vanessa May and Rebecca Sharpless Respond

Historians Vanessa May and Rebecca Sharpless discuss what’s wrong and what’s right with ‘The Help.’ Continue Reading Historians on ‘The Help’: Vanessa May and Rebecca Sharpless Respond

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Film/Guest Bloggers/History/Labor Studies/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
March 28, 2011

Vanessa May: When the Workplace Is Someone Else’s Home

Today we welcome a guest post from Vanessa May, author of Unprotected Labor: Household Workers, Politics, and Middle-Class Reform in New York, 1870-1940 (June 2011). Here she reflects on how some of the recent policies that now protect domestic workers in New York mirror the struggle for rights and reform during the era highlighted in her book.  The passing of… Continue Reading Vanessa May: When the Workplace Is Someone Else’s Home

Categories Author blog entry/Current Events/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Labor Studies/Public Policy/Women's Studies
March 21, 2011

When You’re Lookin’ at Her, You’re Lookin’ at History

As we mark Loretta Lynn’s 50th anniversary in country music, I think it’s important to recognize her not only for her contributions to country music, but also for her role in women’s history as a troubadour for working-class women everywhere. Continue Reading When You’re Lookin’ at Her, You’re Lookin’ at History

Categories American Studies/Author blog entry/Columnists/Guest Bloggers/Karen L. Cox/Music/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
March 18, 2011

EPIC SALE TIME!!

It’s EPIC SALE TIME! Over 700 UNC Press books are on sale! Read more about the huge deals here. Continue Reading EPIC SALE TIME!!

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Asian Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Birds & Birding/Civil War/Cooking / Food/Cultural Studies/Environmental Studies/European History/Gardening/Gender Studies/Health / Medicine/Hiking/History/Labor Studies/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Latino Studies/Law / Legal History/Media Studies/Middle Eastern Studies/Military History/Military Studies/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Nature/North Carolina/Politics/Religion/Southern Studies/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
March 15, 2011

Peter Held: Remembering Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011)

One of the goals of the Toshiko Takaezu Book Foundation, who contracted with me to act as editor for the book, was that Toshiko would be able to hold it in her hands. It pleases me to no end this was accomplished a week prior to her passing. Continue Reading Peter Held: Remembering Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011)

Categories Art / Architecture/Asian Studies/Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
March 8, 2011

International Women’s Day Megapost Spectacular!

Happy International Women’s Day!  People are recognizing and celebrating the importance of women all over the world–check out the #InternationalWomensDay hashtag on Twitter to see the many ways people are expressing their appreciation for women today.  Here in the U.S., the month of March is National Women’s History Month, where we celebrate the many great achievements by women over the… Continue Reading International Women’s Day Megapost Spectacular!

Categories Civil Rights/Gender Studies/History/Labor Studies/Women's Studies
February 2, 2011

Susan Ware: Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day!

In celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, we welcome a guest post from Susan Ware, author of Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports.  Ware explains King’s importance in gender equality both within and beyond the world of sports, even before Title IX.  Here, she recalls her interview with the icon at… Continue Reading Susan Ware: Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day!

Categories Author blog entry/Biography / Autobiography/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Public Policy/Sports/UNC Press Authors/Women's Studies
January 12, 2011

Karen L. Cox: For Whom the Belle Tolls

No sooner had I written the last blog post about representations of the South on reality television than another show made it to the air—TLC’s Bama Belles.  It seems unlikely that “belle” is an appellation anyone would apply to women who don camouflage to hunt or are ready to start a bar fight. Still, the conscious decision by the show’s… Continue Reading Karen L. Cox: For Whom the Belle Tolls

Categories American History/American Studies/Guest Bloggers/Karen L. Cox/Media Studies/Southern Studies/Women's Studies