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This past Easter marked the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, an armed uprising by Irish rebels against British rule in 1916. An insurrection that lasted almost a week, the Easter Rising began as a small rebellion on Easter Sunday and turned into a full uprising by Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. Rebels seized prominent buildings in the city of Dublin, took up arms against British troops, and declared Ireland as a republic and independent from the United Kingdom. However, the rebels were quickly overpowered and surrendered. Although the uprising had little Irish support at first, the execution of rebellion leaders transformed public opinion about British rule and as a result, became a turning point during Ireland’s struggle for independence.

In this month’s episode of The Oxford Comment, host Sara Levine chats with William Murphy, author of Political Imprisonment and the Irish, 1912-1921; Fearghal McGarry, author of The Rising (Centenary Edition): Ireland: Easter 1916; and Robert Schmuhl, author of Ireland’s Exiled Children: America and the Easter Rising. Together, they engage in fascinating conversation about the experience of women during the Easter Rising, the cultural and national identity that was forged between the rebels in prison after the uprising, and the role Americans played as support and inspiration for the Irish.

Featured image credit: The shell of the G.P.O. on Sackville Street (later O’Connell Street), Dublin in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising. Date: May? 1916 NLI Ref.: Ke 121. Photo by Keogh Brothers Ltd., photographers. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. 

The post The Easter Rising – Episode 33 – The Oxford Comment appeared first on OUPblog.

The Paris Agreement, held from 30 November to 12 December 2015, has been hailed as a "historic turning point" in the battle against global climate change. Consequently, dialogue surrounding greenhouse gas emissions, particularly around political and economic compliance.

The post Climate change and COP21 – Episode 32 – The Oxford Comment appeared first on OUPblog.

Listen closely and you’ll hear the squeak of sneakers on AstroTurf, the crack of a batter’s first hit, and the shrill sound of whistles signaling Game on!  Yes, it’s that time of year again. As fall deepens, painted faces and packed stadiums abound, with sports aficionados all over the country (and world) preparing for a spectacle that is more than just entertainment. Which leads us to the following questions: What is the place of sports in our modern lives? And how should we understand it as part of our history?

In this month’s episode, Sara Levine, Multimedia Producer for Oxford University Press, sat down to discuss the evolution of our favorite pastimes with Chuck Fountain, author of The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball, Julie Des Jardins, author of Walter Camp: Football and the Modern Man, Dr. Munro Cullum, a Clinical Neuropsychologist who specializes in the assessment of cognitive disorders, and Paul Rouse, author of Sport and Ireland: A History.

Image Credit: “Baseball” by Anne Ruthmann. CC BY NC 2.0 via Flickr.

The post Game on – Episode 28 – The Oxford Comment appeared first on OUPblog.

From baristas preparing pumpkin spiced lattes to grocery store aisles lined with bags of candy, the season has arrived for all things sweet-toothed and scary. Still, centuries after the holiday known as “Halloween” became cultural phenomenon, little is known to popular culture about its religious, artistic, and linguistic dimensions. For instance, who were the first trick or treaters? What are the origins of zombies? What makes creepy music…well, creepy?

In this month’s episode, we sat down with Katherine Connor Martin, Head of US Dictionaries for Oxford University Press, Greg Garrett, author of Entertaining Judgment: The Afterlife in Popular Imagination, Jason Bivins, author of Religion of Fear: The Politics of Horror in Conservative Evangelicalism, and Jim Buhler, co-author of Hearing the Movies: Music and Sound in Film History to broaden our understanding.

Image Credit: “Reaching for Halloween” by Will Montague. CC BY NC 2.0 via Flickr.

The post Trick or treat – Episode 27 – The Oxford Comment appeared first on OUPblog.

From our first tweet in 1587 to Oxford Fortune Cookie by signal flag, social media is part of the long history and tradition of Oxford University Press.

The post An illustrated history of social media at Oxford University Press appeared first on OUPblog.

Another week, another great staff member to get to know. When you think of the world of publishing, the work of videos, podcasts, photography, and animated GIFs doesn’t immediately come to mind. But here at Oxford University Press we have Sara Levine, who joined the Social Media team as a Multimedia Producer just last year.

When did you start working at OUP?

I started working at OUP this past August, three months after completing my Master’s degree at Georgetown University’s Communication, Culture and Technology Program.

How did you get started in multimedia production?

I’ve been drawing comics and making short videos since I was a kid. My first big hit was in high school. I wrote, directed, filmed, and edited a parody of Wuthering Heights called “Withering Estates.” I played Heathcliff. No, it’s not on YouTube.

What is your typical day like at OUP?

My workdays at OUP vary depending on the projects that I’m currently working on. I’m usually filming, animating, drawing, recording audio, editing footage, or multi-tasking any of the above.

What will you be doing once you’ve completed this Q&A?

After I complete this Q&A I’m going to continue making illustrations for an animated short I’m producing for the Oxford Dictionaries YouTube channel.

What gear or software are you obsessed with right now?

I learn something new about Adobe After Effects every time I use it. The unlimited amount of techniques and shortcuts in After Effects seems daunting at first, but I really enjoy exploring everything it can do.

What are you reading right now?

I just started reading Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. I have a bad habit of reading books too quickly (developed over years of tearing through Harry Potter books on their release dates), so I’m trying to pace myself with this one.

What’s your favorite book?

Instead of one favorite book, I’m going to list five of my favorite comics:

• Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III
• The Long Journey by Boulet
• Pancakes by Kat Leyh
• Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Which book-to-movie adaptation did you actually like?

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed teen movies that are modern adaptations of older works. Films like Clueless, She’s the Man, O, Easy A, and 10 Things I Hate About You are very clever and sometimes overlooked because of their target demographic.

What is in your backpack right now?

A Maruman Mnemosyne sketchbook, a Wacom Intuos 2 tablet, Orlando, a manual for the Canon C100, a pencil case, a red umbrella, a disposable rain poncho, a pear, and a small bag of gluten-free pretzels.

Most obscure talent or hobby?

I’m not sure how obscure this is, but I played the French horn for about eight years. The experience gave me very powerful lungs and some great French horn jokes.

What do you do for fun?

I make more multimedia, of course! You can find my doodles, comics, .gifs, and videos under the handle “morphmaker” on Twitter, Tumblr, Vimeo, and Deviantart. I also run a podcast with my sister. It’s called Sara & Allison Talk TV. We discuss television shows and web series that feature central female characters and include elements of fantasy, action, and science fiction.

The post Catching up with Sara Levine, Multimedia Producer appeared first on OUPblog.

        

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