Marvin McAllister: Margaret Bowland and Janasia Smith: Subject and Artist at Play

Like the estranging whiteface minstrels and stage Europeans throughout African American performance history, Bowland’s portraits invite us to view whiteness with fresh and open eyes. Continue Reading Marvin McAllister: Margaret Bowland and Janasia Smith: Subject and Artist at Play

“Why they sang about John Brown”–R. Blakeslee Gilpin for the Boston Globe

Yesterday’s Boston Globe features an article by R. Blakeslee Gilpin, author of the forthcoming John Brown Still Lives!: America’s Long Reckoning with Violence, Equality, and Change.  Gilpin explains how what we now know as the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” originated as “John Brown’s Body” among soldiers in Boston.  John Brown, the subject of Gilpin’s book, was a radical abolitionist–he… Continue Reading “Why they sang about John Brown”–R. Blakeslee Gilpin for the Boston Globe

Michael H. Hunt: Polanyi’s ‘Great Transformation’: A classic for our hard times

Polanyi’s classic suggests we should ignore the profoundly false choice between markets and the state. Continue Reading Michael H. Hunt: Polanyi’s ‘Great Transformation’: A classic for our hard times

A Book to Please Every Palate

For the month of July, we’re shining the spotlight on all of our great foodways and cookbook titles here at UNC Press. We’re very excited about our forthcoming fall lineup that’s peppered with delightful foodie treats. Here’s a little amuse-bouche: Editor Stephen A. McLeod, with the help of staff members at Mount Vernon, brings us Dining with the Washingtons: Historic… Continue Reading A Book to Please Every Palate

Michael H. Hunt: How to think about the end of the “American Century”

Revisiting Henry Luce’s essay on American ascendancy, Michael H. Hunt considers the current era of American decline. Continue Reading Michael H. Hunt: How to think about the end of the “American Century”

Interview: Stanley R. Riggs on the Importance of Protecting North Carolina’s Coast

Stanley Riggs, co-author of The Battle for North Carolina’s Coast, answers questions about protecting NC’s changing coastline–as well as its coastal economy. Continue Reading Interview: Stanley R. Riggs on the Importance of Protecting North Carolina’s Coast