Olivia Weisser— As a historian of medicine, I have spent a significant amount of time combing through first-hand accounts of illness. My work focuses on the 1600s and 1700s, so much of these first-hand accounts are recorded in personal writing like diaries and letters. Over the years, I noticed a
Welcome to our weekly roundup of news from university presses! Once again, there is a lot to share this week from our fellow academic publishing houses and much to learn on What SUP at the social university presses. This week, we found conversations on drones, the Vietnam War, and doughnut
Godfrey Hodgson— Fifty years ago this summer, Lyndon Johnson was gradually committing the United States to what most now see as a disastrous war in Vietnam. Certainly Vietnam was a disaster for President Johnson himself. While in 1964 and 1965 he pushed through Congress a program of domestic reform—in civil
John M. Burkey— “How can I help?” is a common refrain from family and friends of a person with hearing loss. Spouses want to alleviate their partner’s struggles and frustration. Children want to prevent an aging parent’s autonomy from being affected. Acquaintances of all kinds want to improve communication not
Ian Shapiro— Robert Dahl died on February 5, 2014 at the age of ninety-eight. He might well have been the most important political scientist of the last century, and he was certainly one of its preeminent social scientists. In many ways, Dahl created the field of modern political science, understood
Bill Vaughn— In “Hawthorn Blossom,” the Brothers Grimm rewriting of the folk story Sleeping Beauty, a queen is informed by a frog that the royal couple finally will have a child. Among the guests at the celebration of the princess’s birth are twelve “wise women” (the sort of traditional village
Welcome to our weekly roundup of news from university presses! Once again, there is a lot to share this week from our fellow academic publishing houses and much to learn on What SUP at the social university presses. This week, we found conversations on nursing, beekeeping, and women’s rights, as
Joshua Reid— This last March, the National Marine Fisheries Service invited public input on a recently released draft environmental impact statement that evaluates the Makah Nation’s request to resume hunting gray whales off the coast of Washington State. Most of the feedback on the government website that is collecting this
Irwin F. Gellman— The gradual ascent of Dwight Eisenhower’s reputation among historians has now been going on for more than forty years. Younger readers may not remember the time when Eisenhower was considered a passive incompetent, preferring to play golf or bridge than to lead his administration, and letting the
Louis Barthas kept vivid journals of his service as a French corporal in World War I. In honor of his birthday today, July 14th (which is also Bastille Day!), the following is an excerpt from the 1978 introduction to Poilu, his collected notebooks. Rémy Cazals— Louis Barthas was born on