University Press Roundup: Things We’ve Learnt This Year, Online Book Clubs and Swansea Copper

Check out this collection of 8 of the most interesting university press blog posts for this month. We aim to keep you informed, engaged, and part of the ongoing scholarly conversations.

8 things we’ve learned this year #1: Be ready for change and adapt to it

Cambridge University Press have published a blog series considering 8 things we learnt in 2020, and #1 was ‘to be ready for change and adapt to it’. In this piece, Catherine Rayson considers how she has adapted to change this year, and how we have all learnt to be resilient and versatile. Read it here

Jewish History & Culture: Emma Goldman

As part of their blog series about jewish history and culture, Yale University Press have published an extract from Vivian Gornick’s biography of Emma Goldman. The piece tells part of the story about her life as an anarchist and radical, as she sought revolution in the 20th century. Her intensity was her signature trait – find out more here

How might COVID-19 impact the world of education?

Reflecting on the rapid changes which were made in 2020 as teachers had to adapt instantly to online teaching, Oxford University Press considered which changes might be here to stay. Does everything need to return to ‘normal’, or are some elements of virtual teaching a change for the better?

Why you should participate in an (online) book club

An online book club – although daunting – is still a worthwhile endeavour, writes Lindsay Chervinsky. She tells readers about her personal experience discussing her book as part of a virtual book club, and encourages other scholars to seek out similar opportunities. Find out more here.

Yale staff pick: Our favourite books of 2020

As 2020 drew to a close, staff at Yale University Press looked back on some of the best publications of 2020. Recommendations included The Bloomsbury Look, The Madwoman in the Attic and the top choice – Bread Winner. Find out the full list and information about each book here.

Swansea copper: A global history

“What could copper tell us that we didn’t already know about global industrial history? Well, quite a lot as it happens”, write Chris Evans and Louise Miskell, authors of Swansea Copper: A global history. This piece covers a brief history of Swansea copper, and why studying it can give great insight into “the powerful impact that a temporary alignment of place, technology, and demand could exert on global trade”. Read the full piece here.

The war against the BBC part one: Fear and loathing of Saturday Live

In the first of this two-part series, Julian Petley explores how “the BBC is under the most intense political attack of its lifetime”. He considers the war which has erupted between Saturday Live and Morecambe and Wise. Find out more and look out for part two here.

Decolonizing histories of genetics?

This piece from the University of California Press is an interview with M. Susan Lindee and Warwick Anderson, co-editors of HSNS’s new special issue, ‘Pacific Biologies: How humans become genetic’. Find out more about what race has to do with histories of genetics here.