August 2, 2021

The Shot Heard Round The World

The following is a guest blog post by Robert G. Parkinson, author of Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press. In Thirteen Clocks, Parkinson argues that patriot leaders used racial prejudices to persuade Americans to declare independence. Sixty… Continue Reading The Shot Heard Round The World

Categories African American Studies/American History/History/Political Science
July 30, 2021

Celebrity and Crazy

The following is a guest blog post by Carolyn Eastman, author of The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press. The Strange Genius of Mr. O. is the biography of a remarkable performer—a gaunt Scottish… Continue Reading Celebrity and Crazy

Categories American History/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/History
July 29, 2021

“Half in Shadow: Black Women in Academia”, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Conversation with UNC Press Author Dr. Shanna Greene Benjamin and Dr. Janaka Bowman Lewis

Hosted by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Dr. Shanna Greene Benjamin, author of Half In Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Nellie Y. McKay, and Dr. Janaka Bowman Lewis, discuss topics related to Benjamin’s book Half In Shadow. Watch below as Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Lewis examine academia’s relationship with black women, who Nellie Y. McKay is and what she represented. Shanna… Continue Reading “Half in Shadow: Black Women in Academia”, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Conversation with UNC Press Author Dr. Shanna Greene Benjamin and Dr. Janaka Bowman Lewis

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Women's Studies
July 28, 2021

Announcing Three New Acquisitions from Regina Bradley, Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, and Tony Perry for the Ferris and Ferris Books Imprint

The University of North Carolina Press (UNC Press) is pleased to announce three new acquisitions for its Ferris and Ferris imprint: Sitting on Zora’s Porch: Notes from a Black Girl in the Hip Hop South by Regina Bradley, The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, and These Flowers, Those Waters, That Garden:… Continue Reading Announcing Three New Acquisitions from Regina Bradley, Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, and Tony Perry for the Ferris and Ferris Books Imprint

Categories UNC Press News
July 27, 2021

The Last News Story of Colonial America

Guest blog post by Robert G. Parkinson, author of Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence What was the tipping point that pushed Americans into taking the step of declaring their independence? After all, the colonies had been at war with Britain for more than a year by the end of the spring of 1776.… Continue Reading The Last News Story of Colonial America

Categories African American Studies/American History/History/Political Science
July 26, 2021

“Colored Conventions Show Us Where Democracy Really Happens”, Democracy Works Podcast featuring P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey

In April, P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, contributors to The Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century, were featured on Penn State’s Democracy Works podcast. If you’re not already familiar with these two, they’ve been doing some incredible work to detail the history of The Colored Conventions movement, the nineteenth century’s longest campaign for Black civil rights. The Colored Conventions… Continue Reading “Colored Conventions Show Us Where Democracy Really Happens”, Democracy Works Podcast featuring P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey

Categories African American Studies/Political Science
July 23, 2021

Unruly Bodies: tyranny of the visual

This week we’re sharing an excerpt from Susannah B. Mintz’s Unruly Bodies: Life Writing by Women with Disabilities to celebrate Disability Pride Month. The excerpt is titled tyranny of the visual, written by Lucy Grealy and Georgina Kleege. Earlier this month we published a recommended reading list featuring Mintz’s Unruly Bodies and other titles highlighting and sharing the experiences of… Continue Reading Unruly Bodies: tyranny of the visual

Categories Biography / Autobiography/Literature/Women's Studies
July 21, 2021

The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), First of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming – Part 2

The third 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. Click here to view Roger Payne’s entire guest blog series. A continuation of the incidents and information regarding the first Roanoke Voyage. It cannot be confirmed that Amadas and Barlowe did or did… Continue Reading The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), First of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming – Part 2

Categories History/North Carolina
July 20, 2021

OTD: Why we should remember July 20, 1775

Guest blog post by Katherine Carté, author of Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History John Adams described the American Revolution as a time when “thirteen clocks were made to strike together” when he reflected on the era in 1818. Though he did not say it, if that description could be applied to a single moment, the best candidate… Continue Reading OTD: Why we should remember July 20, 1775

Categories American History/History/Religion
July 19, 2021

The Right to Live in Health: A Blessed Formula for Progress

Recently, we published a recommended reading list in support of Cuba’s most recent demand for liberation. Today we chose to publish an excerpt from one of the titles from that reading list, Daniel A. Rodríguez’s The Right to Live in Health: Medical Politics in Postindependence Havana. Out of the many reasons people in Cuba have chosen to protest, medical resources… Continue Reading The Right to Live in Health: A Blessed Formula for Progress

Categories Cuba/Health / Medicine/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Latino Studies/Sociology
July 16, 2021

Mount Vernon’s Virtual Book Talk with Author Tamika Nunley

Tamika Nunley, author of At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C., was featured on Mount Vernon’s virtual book talk series earlier this year. During the talk, Tamika discusses her book, the portrait of Elizabeth Keckley used as the books cover, the tradition of education amongst enslaved people and even answers some questions asked by… Continue Reading Mount Vernon’s Virtual Book Talk with Author Tamika Nunley

Categories African American Studies/Gender Studies/Sociology/Women's Studies
July 15, 2021

Performing Politics from Sin permiso to Patria y vida

Guest blog post by Elizabeth Schwall, author of Dancing with the Revolution: Power, Politics, and Privilege in Cuba . Elizabeth’s book was also featured on our recent recommended reading list entitled “Cuba’s Fight For Freedom”. On Sunday July 11, 2021, unprecedented protests erupted across Cuba. People have taken to the streets due to an escalating COVID-19 crisis, food scarcity, limited… Continue Reading Performing Politics from Sin permiso to Patria y vida

Categories American Studies/Cuba/Cultural Studies/History/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Theatre & Performing Arts
July 15, 2021

The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), First of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming – Part 1

The second 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 . Click here to view Roger Payne’s entire guest blog series. The first Roanoke Voyage is divided into two parts to convey necessary information regarding this historically controversial topic. Voyages two through… Continue Reading The Roanoke Voyages (1584-1590), First of Five Roanoke Voyages with Emphasis on Geographic Naming – Part 1

Categories History/North Carolina
July 14, 2021

Announcing the UNC Press Presents Podcast Network

We are excited to announce the newly launched UNC Press Presents Podcast website, a partnership with New Books Network. Featuring UNC Press authors that have been interviewed since the launch of the New Books Network podcast, and from across all the disciplines that UNC Press publishes, UNC Press Presents Podcast allows one to search for and listen to approximately 250… Continue Reading Announcing the UNC Press Presents Podcast Network

Categories UNC Press News
July 13, 2021

Harriet, the Moses of Her People: Preface

In celebration of Disability Pride Month, I decided to post an excerpt from one of the titles from our recommended reading list published last week. This excerpt is the preface from Sarah Hopkins Bradford’s Harriet, the Moses of Her People. The title I have given my black heroine, in this second edition of her story, viz.: THE MOSES OF HER… Continue Reading Harriet, the Moses of Her People: Preface

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography
July 12, 2021

Cuba’s Fight for Freedom: A Recommended Reading List

Due to the protests happening in Cuba currently, we’ve decided to publish a recommended reading list pertaining to Cuba’s fight for freedom. This isn’t the first time revolts have taken place in Cuba, but what’s going on now has been referred to as the biggest protests Cuba has seen in decades. When I began researching what was going on in… Continue Reading Cuba’s Fight for Freedom: A Recommended Reading List

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/American Studies/Cuba/Cultural Studies/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/Health / Medicine/Latino Studies/Political Science/Sociology/Theatre & Performing Arts
July 8, 2021

UNC Libraries’ Off The Shelf Author Talk with Finis Dunaway

In May, Finis Dunaway, author of Defending the Arctic Refuge: A Photographer, an Indigenous Nation, and a Fight for Environmental Justice, was featured on UNC Libraries’ Off the Shelf series. In the Author Talk below, Finis discusses how his book wasn’t exactly the book he planned to write, how one image sparked the concept for his book and other topics.… Continue Reading UNC Libraries’ Off The Shelf Author Talk with Finis Dunaway

Categories American Studies/Environmental Studies/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Public Policy
July 8, 2021

UNC Press Open Access Vision and Policy

“In an effort to clarify and explain the reasons behind our Open Access (OA) positions, we are publishing our Open Access Vision and Policy Statement. OA has multiple dimensions and means different things to many people, so we expect and encourage feedback and dialog. You can write to our director John Sherer (john.sherer@uncpress.org) or tweet to us @unc_press.” Open-access (OA)… Continue Reading UNC Press Open Access Vision and Policy

Categories UNC Press News
July 7, 2021

Happy Disability Pride Month! A Recommended Reading List

If you didn’t know already, July is Disability Pride month. The celebration of Disability Pride began in 1990 and has held on strong ever since. “This annual observance is used to promote visibility and mainstream awareness of the positive pride felt by people with disabilities.” Below are a few titles that align with that point of view; shedding light on… Continue Reading Happy Disability Pride Month! A Recommended Reading List

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/History/Labor Studies/Sociology/Women's Studies
July 6, 2021

Time to Reset Your Syllabi, Vast Early America

Guest blog post by Catherine E. Kelly of the Omohundro Institute I came to the project that would become Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence the hard way – through the college classroom. Before joining the Omohundro Institute, I taught American history first at Case Western Reserve University and then at the University of Oklahoma.… Continue Reading Time to Reset Your Syllabi, Vast Early America

Categories African American Studies/American History/History/Political Science/Politics