October 17, 2012

Jean Dennison: Osage Nation Reform: From Colonial Entanglement to Citizen Engagement

Vann Bighorse, the director of the Osage Cultural Center, expressed the opinion that Congress could take a lesson from the Osage In-lon-shka dances. He had explained that during the dances, everything (especially political fighting) was put aside for those three weeks in June and everyone from the drum keeper to the cooks focused on making the whole thing run smoothly. Continue Reading Jean Dennison: Osage Nation Reform: From Colonial Entanglement to Citizen Engagement

Categories Anthropology/Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies
October 11, 2012

Video: Glenn David Brasher talks to The Civil War Monitor

Glenn David Brasher, author of “The Peninsula Campaign & the Necessity of Emancipation,” talks to the Civil War Monitor about the important role of African Americans in the strategy and tactics of the Civil War. Continue Reading Video: Glenn David Brasher talks to The Civil War Monitor

Categories African American History/American History/Civil War/History/Interviews/Video
October 10, 2012

Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey: The Christ-less Revolution

Jesus was part of the Revolution and formation of the United States, but not as much as one might expect. As a physical presence, he was almost completely absent. And in the language of law and legislation for the new republic, he was virtually as nonexistent. In comparison to how prominent Jesus would become in the United States of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Revolution and founding of the new nation were profoundly Christ-less. Continue Reading Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey: The Christ-less Revolution

Categories American History/American Studies/Author blog entry/Christian Studies/Guest Bloggers/History/Religion
October 8, 2012

Interview: Christopher Teuton on Cherokee Storytelling and the Turtle Island Liars’ Club

I was learning from my elders. This book is shaped by the questions I asked and by what the Liars’ Club wanted to teach me. My methodology in recording and writing the book was guided by a Cherokee way of sharing knowledge, which is that the one with something to learn should watch, listen, and ask questions when it’s appropriate. I think for me and the Liars’ Club the book represents a Cherokee way of doing research in the community and sharing knowledge with the wider community. We hope it provides a model that will inspire others. Continue Reading Interview: Christopher Teuton on Cherokee Storytelling and the Turtle Island Liars’ Club

Categories Interviews/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies
October 4, 2012

Congratulations to Dylan C. Penningroth, 2012 MacArthur Fellow

Today we’re excited to announce that historian Dylan C. Penningroth has been awarded a 2012 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Penningroth is the author of The Claims of Kinfolk. Continue Reading Congratulations to Dylan C. Penningroth, 2012 MacArthur Fellow

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Awards/History/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
October 2, 2012

Interview: C. Joseph Genetin-Pilawa on Crooked Paths to Allotment

In Crooked Paths to Allotment, C. Joseph Genetin-Pilawa complicates standard narratives of nineteenth century Native American history by uncovering the stories of individuals who contested federal Indian policy and proposed viable alternatives during a critical moment in its development. Continue Reading Interview: C. Joseph Genetin-Pilawa on Crooked Paths to Allotment

Categories American History/American Studies/History/Interviews/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies
October 1, 2012

Miles Orvell: Main Street in the 21st Century

Travel across the U.S.A., from Maine to California, and sooner or later you’re bound to stop at a new Main Street-inspired mall. Along the way, you may also find yourself driving into a town with an actual historic Main Street that is struggling to assert its relevance in the age of malls and supermalls. After the postwar romance with the mega shopping mall—which drained the vitality out of small towns across the U.S.—Americans are gradually coming back to the idea of the small-scale community embodied in the Main Street model. Continue Reading Miles Orvell: Main Street in the 21st Century

Categories American History/American Studies/Art / Architecture/Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/History
September 27, 2012

Anne M. Butler: Nuns and the Road to Academic Recognition

In nineteenth-century America, Catholic sisters, despite disapproval, increasingly pursued opportunities for higher education. They did so to satisfy their personal intellectual interests and to meet new requirements for certification by government agencies. Continue Reading Anne M. Butler: Nuns and the Road to Academic Recognition

Categories American History/Author blog entry/Christian Studies/Education/Guest Bloggers/History/Religion/Women's Studies
September 25, 2012

Michael H. Hunt: The American Project in the Middle East: The End Is Nigh!

If you think the past week or so has not gone well for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, then what to say about the U.S. position in the Middle East? Washington’s attempt to remake or at least manage the region has suffered a string of blows that suggests the end is nigh. Continue Reading Michael H. Hunt: The American Project in the Middle East: The End Is Nigh!

Categories Author blog entry/Columnists/Guest Bloggers/Michael H. Hunt/Middle Eastern Studies/Political Science
September 24, 2012

Interview: Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey

When Americans made Jesus white, they gave a racial spin to creation, to redemption in the form of Jesus, and to the future Apocalypse. This is crucial because it allows white people to see whiteness and racial categories as everlasting. Continue Reading Interview: Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey

Categories African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Christian Studies/History/Interviews/Religion
September 20, 2012

Beth Tompkins Bates: What is Society’s Obligation to Those in Distress?

Murphy attacked the tight-fisted policy of Ford Motor Company (FMC) and its indifference toward unemployed workers. Henry Ford publicly maintained he would never cut wages or jobs, even as he proceeded to do both. Employment at the largest facility of FMC in Dearborn, just outside Detroit, fell nearly 50 percent between 1929 and 1932. But the overwhelming majority of laid-off Ford workers resided in Detroit, raising the question, who bore responsibility for assisting them? Continue Reading Beth Tompkins Bates: What is Society’s Obligation to Those in Distress?

Categories American History/American Studies/Author blog entry/Economics/Guest Bloggers/History/Politics
September 19, 2012

The UNC Press fall sale is underway! Save up to 50% on select titles

Throughout the fall, we’re offering 50% off selected titles in the disciplines listed below. Enter 01SALE12 at checkout. Spend $75.00 and the shipping is free. Continue Reading The UNC Press fall sale is underway! Save up to 50% on select titles

Categories African American History/American History/American Studies/Art / Architecture/Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/Craft/History/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Literature/Religion/Sale/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
September 17, 2012

Sarah E. Ruble: The Newsroom and American Exceptionalism

American exceptionalism, or the idea that the United States is somehow both different and better from all other nations, has a long history. From the decision to put novus ordo seclorum (a new order for the ages) on the back of the Great Seal of the United States to President Barack Obama’s claim during his 2008 inaugural that “we are ready to lead once more,” many Americans have believed that their country is something different from anything that has come before or that has arisen since. A leader. A new order. Continue Reading Sarah E. Ruble: The Newsroom and American Exceptionalism

Categories American Studies/Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/Media Studies/Political Science/Religion/Video