September 30, 2021

The Evolution of an Ideal: Servicewomen and Equality in the U.S. Military

The following is a guest blog post by Tanya L. Roth, author of Her Cold War: Women in the U.S. Military, 1945–1980. The 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act created permanent military positions for women with the promise of equal pay. Her Cold War follows the experiences of women in the military from the passage of the Act to the early 1980s. Her… Continue Reading The Evolution of an Ideal: Servicewomen and Equality in the U.S. Military

Categories Gender Studies/Military History/Women's Studies
September 29, 2021

U.S. Counterterrorism was Counterproductive before 9/11

The following is a guest blog post by Daniel S. Chard, author of Nixon’s War at Home: The FBI, Leftist Guerrillas, and the Origins of Counterterrorism.  Drawing on thousands of pages of declassified FBI documents, Daniel S. Chard shows how America’s war with domestic guerillas prompted a host of new policing measures as the FBI revived illegal spy techniques previously… Continue Reading U.S. Counterterrorism was Counterproductive before 9/11

Categories American Studies
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 27, 2021

Happy National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: A Reading List

September 15th—October 15th marks National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, celebrating the achievements and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Last Friday we shared a virtual conversation hosted by the Center for Political Education featuring UNC Press author Johanna Fernández in acknowledgement of this month, and now also share a recommended reading list that… Continue Reading Happy National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: A Reading List

Categories Cooking / Food/Cuba/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/Labor Studies/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Latino Studies/Political Science/Public Policy/Religion/Sociology
September 24, 2021

Center for Political Education’s “Writing the Third World” series with UNC Press Author Johanna Fernández and Nadya Tannous

In celebration of National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, we’ve decided to share a virtual conversation hosted by the Center for Political Education featuring UNC Press author Johanna Fernández and Nadya Tannous from the Palestinian Youth Movement. Johanna Fernández is the author of The Young Lords: A Radical History. Utilizing oral histories, archival records, and an enormous cache of police surveillance files… Continue Reading Center for Political Education’s “Writing the Third World” series with UNC Press Author Johanna Fernández and Nadya Tannous

Categories Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Latino Studies/Political Science/Sociology
September 23, 2021

Wayfaring Strangers: Spotify Playlist

Celebrating the second edition of Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia, our Spotify playlist offers a soundtrack for the migration saga chronicled in the book. Some of the artists included here are mentioned or quoted within the pages, and they combine to create an accompaniment well worthy of the epic story.  The running order follows… Continue Reading Wayfaring Strangers: Spotify Playlist

Categories Appalachian Studies/British History/Travel
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 20, 2021

Wayfaring Strangers: Afterword for a New Second Edition

UNC Press is incredibly pleased to announce the publication of the second edition of Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia by Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr, foreword by Dolly Parton, and with a new afterword by the authors that is excerpted below in its entirety. The New York Times called Wayfaring Strangers upon its publication… Continue Reading Wayfaring Strangers: Afterword for a New Second Edition

Categories Appalachian Studies/UNC Press News
September 17, 2021

2021 National Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting

It’s the first weekend of the National Women’s Studies Association virtual annual meeting. We hope you’ll visit our NWSA 2021 virtual booth to browse our new and recent titles, to connect with editor Mark Simpson-Vos, and to learn more about our Gender and American Culture series. New Titles in Women and Gender History from UNC Press Afropolitan Projects: Redefining Blackness, Sexualities, and Culture from Houston… Continue Reading 2021 National Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting

Categories Gender Studies/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
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 16, 2021

2021 Association for the Study of African American Life and History Annual Meeting

Throughout the rest of September, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is hosting their annual meeting virtually. We hope you’ll visit our ASALH 2021 virtual booth to browse our new and recent titles in African American history.  Acquisitions editors Brandon Proia and Andrew Winters would love to connect with you if you have a project that you are working on. Congratulations William… Continue Reading 2021 Association for the Study of African American Life and History Annual Meeting

Categories African American Studies/UNC Press News
September 16, 2021

Sex, Lies, and Repentance

The following is a guest blog post by Rebecca L. Davis, author of Public Confessions: The Religious Conversions That Changed American Politics. Personal reinvention is a core part of the human condition. Yet in the mid-twentieth century, certain private religious choices became lightning rods for public outrage and debate. Public Confessions reveals the controversial religious conversions that shaped modern America. Rebecca L. Davis explains why… Continue Reading Sex, Lies, and Repentance

Categories American Studies/Political Science/Religion
September 15, 2021

UNC Press author Michael Twitty speaks with Jessica B. Harris and JJ Johnson on New York Botanical Garden’s “The Food Dialogues” series

In June, Michael Twitty, author of Rice: a Savor the South cookbook, had a virtual conversation with award-winning scholar Jessica B. Harris and James Beard Award-winning chef JJ Johnson. The conversation was for New York Botanical Garden’s “The Food Dialogues”, a series of rich conversations with prominent authors, chefs, and food historians that re-examines and redefines our notions of heritage… Continue Reading UNC Press author Michael Twitty speaks with Jessica B. Harris and JJ Johnson on New York Botanical Garden’s “The Food Dialogues” series

Categories Cooking / Food
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 12, 2021

In memoriam: Julian Pleasants

We are saddened to learn that Julian Pleasants, a key historian of 20th century North Carolina and two-time UNC Press author, has died. Pleasants was the acclaimed author of Frank Porter Graham and the 1950 Senate Race in North Carolina (1990; “One of the great tales of postwar American politics, now told for the first time at book length”—Washington Post), and Buncombe Bob: The Life and… Continue Reading In memoriam: Julian Pleasants

Categories UNC Press News
September 10, 2021

Executive Editor Debbie Gershenowitz’s interview with John Bodnar, author of Divided By Terror: American Patriotism after 9/11

In light of the 20th anniversary of the dramatic, world changing events that took place on September 11th, 2001, Executive Editor Debbie Gershenowitz interviewed John Bodnar, the author of Divided By Terror: American Patriotism after 9/11. Americans responded to the deadly terrorist attacks on 9/11 with an outpouring of patriotism, though all were not united in their expression. Bodnar’s compelling… Continue Reading Executive Editor Debbie Gershenowitz’s interview with John Bodnar, author of Divided By Terror: American Patriotism after 9/11

Categories American Studies/Interviews/Political Science
September 9, 2021

“New Approaches to the Revolutionary Era”, The Library of Virginia’s Virtual Virginia Forum series featuring Author Carolyn Eastman

In late July, Carolyn Eastman, author of Omohundro Institute and UNC Press-published The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity, was featured in The Library of Virginia’s Virtual Virginia Forum series alongside historians Kyle Rogers and David Hayter. In this discussion, Eastman and her fellow historians examine the ways in which their own… Continue Reading “New Approaches to the Revolutionary Era”, The Library of Virginia’s Virtual Virginia Forum series featuring Author Carolyn Eastman

Categories American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Colonial, Revolutionary Era & Early American History
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.