March 7, 2022

What is the future of DNA ancestry testing in Brazil?

The following is a guest blog post by Sarah Abel, author of Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body after the Genome. Over the past twenty years, DNA ancestry testing has morphed from a niche market into a booming international industry that encourages members of the public to answer difficult questions about their identity by looking to the genome. At a… Continue Reading What is the future of DNA ancestry testing in Brazil?

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers/History of Science/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Political Science
March 4, 2022

University of Chicago Divinity School Presents An Evening with Rebecca Davis

Last month Rebecca Davis, professor and author of Public Confessions: The Religious Conversions That Changed American Politics, sat with assistant professor William Schultz for a conversation about her book; hosted by the University of Chicago Divinity School. Personal reinvention is a core part of the human condition. Yet in the mid-twentieth century, certain private religious choices became lightning rods for… Continue Reading University of Chicago Divinity School Presents An Evening with Rebecca Davis

Categories American Studies/Political Science/Religion/Video
March 3, 2022

Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Andreina Fernandez)

Happy Women’s History Month! Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In… Continue Reading Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Andreina Fernandez)

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Gender Studies/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/LGBT Studies/Literature/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Political Science/Reading Lists/Sociology/Women's Studies
March 2, 2022

Come Celebrate Our Centennial in Chapel Hill, NC on 3/25/22!

If you happen to be in the greater Research Triangle area of North Carolina on Friday, March 25, all are invited to attend an event celebrating our centennial year and the start of our second century! Please join us at the Chapel Hill Public Library, rain or shine in the outdoor area to the right of the main entrance, from… Continue Reading Come Celebrate Our Centennial in Chapel Hill, NC on 3/25/22!

Categories UNC Press News
March 2, 2022

Russia and the former Soviet Union: A Recommended Reading List

If you’ve been following recent events, you may have seen that Russia has invaded Ukraine. Last week, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, one of its neighbors to the southwest. It marked a major escalation between the countries, which had been in a state of conflict since 2014. Russia and Ukraine were also two of the largest republics responsible… Continue Reading Russia and the former Soviet Union: A Recommended Reading List

Categories Business/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/European History/Jewish Studies/Political Science/Reading Lists
March 1, 2022

Class Interruptions: The Wrong Side of The Tracks

Happy Women’s History Month! Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.”… Continue Reading Class Interruptions: The Wrong Side of The Tracks

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/Excerpts/Literature/Women's Studies
March 1, 2022

UNC Press is pleased to announce the promotion of Cate Hodorowicz to the position of editor

UNC Press is pleased to announce the promotion of Cate Hodorowicz to the position of editor, effective March 1, 2022.   As editor, Hodorowicz will co-lead development of the Press’s new Great Circle Books series of literary nonfiction works, collaborating with acquisitions colleague Lucas Church and series editors Kiese Laymon (best-selling author of works including Long Division; How to Slowly Kill… Continue Reading UNC Press is pleased to announce the promotion of Cate Hodorowicz to the position of editor

Categories UNC Press News
February 28, 2022

Black History Month 2022 Reading List: The Black International Experience

In celebration of Black History Month, we’ve chosen to publish a new reading list every week featuring only Black authors. The first reading list covered Black resistance, the second covered the Black American experience, the third covered biographies and this week’s reading list centers the Black international experience. While we may not all live in the same area of the world, many… Continue Reading Black History Month 2022 Reading List: The Black International Experience

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/Cuba/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Literature/Reading Lists/Sociology/Women's Studies
February 25, 2022

Author of Living Queer History Samantha Rosenthal featured on Politics and Prose’ P&P Live! Series

Last month, Samantha Rosenthal, author of Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City, spoke with Dr. Aleia M. Brown for Politics and Prose’ P&P Live! series. Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.’s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and… Continue Reading Author of Living Queer History Samantha Rosenthal featured on Politics and Prose’ P&P Live! Series

Categories Gender Studies/LGBT Studies/Political Science/Sociology/Video
February 24, 2022

Birth of the New Afrikan Independence Movement: A Historical Overview

The following is an excerpt from Edward Onaci’s Free the Land: The Republic of New Afrika and the Pursuit of a Black Nation-State. On March 31, 1968, over 500 Black nationalists convened in Detroit to begin the process of securing independence from the United States. Many concluded that Black Americans’ best remaining hope for liberation was the creation of a… Continue Reading Birth of the New Afrikan Independence Movement: A Historical Overview

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Political Science
February 23, 2022

Race and Class Identities in Early American Department Stores

The following is an excerpt form Traci Parker’s Department Stores and the Black Freedom Movement: Workers, Consumers, and Civil Rights from the 1930s to the 1980s. In this book, Traci Parker examines the movement to racially integrate white-collar work and consumption in American department stores, and broadens our understanding of historical transformations in African American class and labor formation. Built… Continue Reading Race and Class Identities in Early American Department Stores

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Labor Studies
February 22, 2022

Black History Month 2022 Reading List: Biographies

In celebration of Black History Month, we’ve chosen to publish a new reading list every week featuring only Black authors. The first reading list covered Black Resistance, the second covered the Black American experience and this week’s reading list centers biographies; telling the stories of a few vastly different lives lived under the Black identity umbrella. As mentioned in the… Continue Reading Black History Month 2022 Reading List: Biographies

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Appalachian Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Creative Nonfiction/Gender Studies/LGBT Studies/Literature/Music/North Carolina/Political Science/Reading Lists/Sociology/Women's Studies
February 21, 2022

Marked by the Past

The following is a guest blog post by Sarah Abel, author of Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body after the Genome. Over the past twenty years, DNA ancestry testing has morphed from a niche market into a booming international industry that encourages members of the public to answer difficult questions about their identity by looking to the genome. At a… Continue Reading Marked by the Past

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers/History of Science/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Political Science
February 18, 2022

Authors William Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen featured on Reset Race

Recently, William Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen, authors of From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century, were featured on Reset Race’s podcast. Racism and discrimination have choked economic opportunity for African Americans at nearly every turn. At several historic moments, the trajectory of racial inequality could have been altered dramatically. Perhaps no moment was… Continue Reading Authors William Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen featured on Reset Race

Categories African American Studies/Business/Sociology/Video
February 17, 2022

Reimagining Africa: How Black Women Invented the Language of Soul in the 1950s

The following is an excerpt from Tanisha C. Ford’s Liberated Threads: Black Women, Style, and the Global Politics of Soul. From the civil rights and Black Power era of the 1960s through antiapartheid activism in the 1980s and beyond, black women have used their clothing, hair, and style not simply as a fashion statement but as a powerful tool of… Continue Reading Reimagining Africa: How Black Women Invented the Language of Soul in the 1950s

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/American Studies/Excerpts/Gender Studies/Women's Studies
February 16, 2022

The Song Remains (Mostly) the Same: Relicts of a Beautiful Sea, Eight Years Later

The following is a guest blog post by Christopher Norment, author of Relicts of a Beautiful Sea: Survival, Extinction, and Conservation in a Desert World. Along a tiny spring in a narrow canyon near Death Valley, seemingly against all odds, an Inyo Mountain slender salamander makes its home. “The desert,” writes conservation biologist Christopher Norment, “is defined by the absence… Continue Reading The Song Remains (Mostly) the Same: Relicts of a Beautiful Sea, Eight Years Later

Categories Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Natural History
February 15, 2022

Hot Off The Press: February 2022

We’re publishing some great books this month! Read below to learn more about these exceptional titles. Don’t forget to enter code 01DAH40 at checkout for some savings! You can save 40% on ALL UNC Press print books and if your order totals $75 or more, the shipping is FREE! Published: CLASS INTERRUPTIONS: INEQUALITY AND DIVISION IN AFRICAN DIASPORIC WOMEN’S FICTION… Continue Reading Hot Off The Press: February 2022

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/Gardening/Literature/North Carolina/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
February 14, 2022

Black History Month 2022 Reading List: The Black American Experience

Earlier this month, we published the first of our weekly Black History Month reading lists, focused on Black Resistance. This week’s reading list centers the Black American experience and it consists of books written by black authors who touch on a few of the various and infinite lived occurrences we share as Black people in America. We are not a… Continue Reading Black History Month 2022 Reading List: The Black American Experience

Categories African American Studies/Business/Cooking / Food/Labor Studies/Reading Lists/Religion/Sociology/Women's Studies
February 11, 2022

Left of Black web series featuring award-winning author and historian Tanisha C. Ford

In 2016, Tanisha C. Ford, author of Liberated Threads: Black Women, Style, and the Global Politics of Soul 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. In this… Continue Reading Left of Black web series featuring award-winning author and historian Tanisha C. Ford

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/American Studies/Gender Studies/Video/Women's Studies
February 10, 2022

How Searching for Chex Mix during the Pandemic Heightened my Appreciation for Food Studies

The following is a guest blog post from Jennifer Jensen Wallach, author of Every Nation Has Its Dish: Black Bodies and Black Food in Twentieth-Century America. Jennifer Jensen Wallach’s nuanced history of black foodways across the twentieth century challenges traditional narratives of “soul food” as a singular style of historical African American cuisine. Wallach investigates the experiences and diverse convictions… Continue Reading How Searching for Chex Mix during the Pandemic Heightened my Appreciation for Food Studies

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers