Our weekly roundup of news from other university presses takes a special significance in anticipation of University Press Week 2012, which runs from November 11 to 17 this year. The first University Press Week was declared in the summer of 1978 by Jimmy Carter, “in recognition of the impact, both here and abroad, of American university presses on culture and scholarship.” The aim is to highlight the many contributions that university presses have made to both readers and society at large through their publications and advancement of knowledge. In celebration of the occasion, there will be special readings organized across the country, as well as online galleries featuring select titles. UP Week is organized by the Association of American University Presses, a network of 133 university presses and of which YUP was one of the 22 founding members.

Another occasion for celebration is to be found at the UNC Press as it turns 90 this week. The occasion is commemorated with an interview with the director, John Sherer, who discusses the unique position of the press in the publishing world today as well as its recent shift toward the digital culture.

The NYU Press blog discusses the significance of Obama’s victory in the election, while looking ahead to how his decisions on important issues of the day will play out.

Looking back to history to understand the ideological stakes involved in Election Day, the University of Chicago Press presents the thoughts of Jane Addams—sociologist, author, philosopher, suffragette, Nobel Peace Prize–winner, and founder of Hull House—who was deeply concerned about the dangers that moral absolutism posed to democratic citizenship.

And in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the many Republicans who have threatened to “move to Australia if Obama wins,” Princeton University Press introduces a new book that explores the country’s meteoric rise to high living standards over just a few decades.

Did you know that teaching children to dance and make movements with their bodies can be a good way to build their self-esteem, not to mention learn academic concepts? Temple University Press explains why.

The pitched battles of the past were gorier and seemingly more barbaric than the kind of warfare that takes place today, but they were also more contained, concentrating violence on the battlefield while preventing it from reaching the rest of society. Harvard University Press explores how the face of warfare has evolved over the years and identifies lessons that we can learn from the past.

Finally, on a lighter note, here’s an introduction by the Oxford University Press to the process of making what is arguably one of the most important products around today: beer.