Current Affairs

The Broken Conversation on Guns

Firmin DeBrabander— With the horrific mass shooting at a historic African American church in Charleston last month, gun control was again atop the news cycle—briefly. We soon learned the attack was racially motivated, and gun control was quickly eclipsed by calls to remove the Confederate flag from statehouses throughout the

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Summer Reading List, 2015

For everyone heading to the beach this Fourth of July, here’s a list of books for your seaside reading. Some will inspire you, some will ask you to reflect, and some will take you on their own summer vacations. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for here, we

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What SUP From Your Favorite University Presses, July 3rd, 2015

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 the Supreme Court’s marriage decision, medieval

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Bitcoin as Platform

Edward Castronova— Three years ago, the digerati were abuzz about the idea of a “real” virtual currency. That turned out not to be the killer app. We still face the full disintermediation of the finance industry, but it’s being driven not by digital currencies but by digital wallets. What’s the

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A Reality Check on the State of the Environment

As a reflection of the state of environmental debates in the United States, the Senate recently could not pass an amendment to the Keystone XL pipeline bill affirming that “human activity significantly contributes to climate change” (although an earlier amendment to the bill declaring the “climate change is real and

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What SUP From Your Favorite University Presses, June 26th, 2015

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 Canada Day, the Papal encyclical, and

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What SUP From Your Favorite University Presses, June 19th, 2015

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 UP brand ambassadors, Ramadan, and museum

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What SUP From Your Favorite University Presses, June 12th, 2015

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 rollerbasketball, aphasia treatments, and social media

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Books for Father’s Day

There’s a long tradition of fathers and their children exchanging books: Winnie the Pooh was written by A. A. Milne for his son Christopher Robin, Nanette Vonnegut published a collection of her father’s drawings, and Anthony West wrote one of the most famous biographies of his father, H.G. Wells. But

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Books et Veritas: India and the Caste System — a Literary Conceptualization

Simran Chahal— After the recent and controversial release of India’s Daughter, a documentary regarding the brutal gang rape of 23 year-old physiotherapy student Jyoti Singh in 2012, many questions are being raised about the status of women in Indian society. However, though I support the unearthing of such stark realities

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