By: KatherineS,
on 7/22/2016
Katie Stileman works as the UK Publicist for Oxford University Press's Very Short Introductions series (VSIs). She tells us a bit about what working for OUP looks like. If she wasn't working on publicity at OUP, she would be doing publicity for Taylor Swift.
The post A Q&A with Katie Stileman, Publicist for the VSI series appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Bridget Stokes,
on 4/29/2016
American basketball star, Darsh Singh, a turbaned, bearded Sikh, featured this April in a Guardian Weekend piece on cyberbullying. He recalled how his online picture had been circulated with Islamophobic captions. Long before that he’d had to get used to people yelling things like "towelhead”. Since 9/11, Sikhs haven’t just been verbally insulted but have suffered ‘reprisal attacks’.
The post Sikhs and mistaken identity appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Bridget Stokes,
on 4/22/2016
This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the Easter Rising, a violent attempt by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland. Though a momentous event in itself, the Rising should be understood in the context of a decade of revolutionary activity during which Irish political culture was profoundly radicalised and partition came to look inevitable. It must also be understood in the context of the First World War.
The post 100 years after the Easter Rising appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 4/8/2016
Many playwrights have explored race relations, particularly in America. The growth of the Civil Rights Movement gave rise to a range of plays protesting racism and exploring the African American experience. Lorraine Hansberry made history as the first black woman to have a play on Broadway: A Raisin in the Sun, also the first play on Broadway to be directed by a black director.
The post Theatre and race in Lorraine Hansberry’s Les Blancs appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 3/29/2016
It was only after I finished writing The Founding Fathers: A Very Short Introduction that I got to see the off-Broadway version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton: An American Musical" at New York City's Public Theater. I was lucky enough to see the Broadway version (revised and expanded) last month.
The post Hamilton the musical: America then told by America now appeared first on OUPblog.
By: John Priest,
on 3/28/2016
The Oxford Philosophy team is excited to see you in San Francisco for the upcoming 2016 American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting. We have some suggestions on sights to see during your time in California as well as our favorite sessions for the conference. We recommend visiting the following sights and attractions while in San Francisco.
The post The American Philosophical Association Pacific 2016: a conference guide appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Amy Jelf,
on 3/25/2016
Proving to be both varied and fascinating, moons are far more common than planets in our Solar System. Our own Moon has had a profound influence on Earth, not only through tidal effects, but even on the behaviour of some marine animals. But how much do we really know about moons?
The post 10 facts you should know about moons appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 3/18/2016
Pre-eminent among writers of mystery stories is, in my opinion, Dorothy L. Sayers. She is ingenious, witty, original - and scientific too, including themes like the fourth dimension, electroplating, and the acoustics of bells in some of her best stories. She is also the inventor of the voice-activated lock, which her hero Lord Wimsey deploys in the 1928 short story 'The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba'.
The post The trick of the lock: Dorothy L. Sayers and the invention of the voice print appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 2/26/2016
Those who argue that lame-duck presidents should not nominate justices to the Supreme Court have forgotten or ignored the most consequential appointment in the Court's -- and the nation's -- history: President John Adams's 1801 appointment of John Marshall as the nation's fourth Chief Justice.
The post John Marshall, the lame-duck appointment to Chief Justice appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 1/29/2016
Towards the end of his lecture on ‘techniques of the body’, delivered to a meeting of the Société Française de Psychologie in 1934, the sociologist and anthropologist Marcel Mauss discussed the methods of breathing practiced by Daoist priests and Yogic mystics. Far from being instinctive, these techniques require a lengthy apprenticeship.
The post Bodies of breath, bodies of knowledge, and bodies of culture appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 1/22/2016
Though caused by microscopic agents, infectious diseases have played an outsized role in human history. They have shaped societies, lent us words and metaphors, and turned the tide of wars. Humans have eliminated some diseases, but others continue to plague us. In this quiz, find out if confusion is contagious or if you’re immune to the challenge.
The post Name that plague! [quiz] appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 1/15/2016
Atheism is the absence of belief that God, and other deities, exist. How much do you know about this belief system? Julian Baggini, author of Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, tells us the ten things we never knew about atheism.
The post 10 surprising facts about atheism appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 1/8/2016
In a British Council report Martin Rose argues that the way STEM subjects are taught reinforces the development of a mind-set receptive to violent extremism. Well taught social sciences, on the other hand, are a potentially powerful intellectual defence against it. Whilst his primary focus was MENA (Middle East and North Africa) he draws implications for education in the West.
The post Is an engineering mind-set linked to violent terrorism? appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 1/1/2016
Why make New Year's Resolutions you don't want to keep? This year the Very Short Introductions team have decided to fill the gaps in their knowledge by picking a VSI to read in 2016. Which VSIs will you be reading in 2016? Let us know in the comment section below or via the Very Short Introductions Facebook page.
The post Very Short Resolutions: filling the gaps in our knowledge in 2016 appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 12/11/2015
Do mountains matter? Today, 11 December, is International Mountain Day, celebrated worldwide since 2003. The fact that the UN General Assembly has designated such a day would suggest a simple answer. Yes – and particularly for the 915 million people who live in the mountain areas that cover 22 percent of the land area of our planet.
The post Do mountains matter? appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Joy Mizan,
on 12/5/2015
The Oxford Philosophy Team will be starting off the New Year in Washington D.C.! We’re excited to see you at the upcoming 2016 American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting. We have some suggestions on sights to see during your time in Washington as well as our favorite sessions for the conference.
The post APA Eastern 2016: a conference guide appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Amy Jelf,
on 12/4/2015
In the last two hundred years, the concept of human rights has gained prevalence in society. We can define our rights in terms of freedom of speech, privacy, and to be treated humanely, but where did these ideas come from? Do you think you know your human rights?
The post Do you know your human rights? [Quiz] appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 11/27/2015
As representatives from 146 countries gather in Paris for the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, we’ve turned to our Very Short Introduction series for insight into the process, politics and topics of discussion of the conference. Is the UNFCCC process flawed?
The post Climate change and the Paris Conference: is the UNFCCC process flawed? appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 11/20/2015
Albert Einstein’s greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, was announced by him exactly a century ago, in a series of four papers read to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in November 1915, during the turmoil of the First World War. For many years, hardly any physicist—let alone any other type of scientist—could understand it.
The post Einstein’s mysterious genius appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 11/13/2015
What is all around us, terrifies a lot of people, but adds enormously to the quality of life? Answer: chemistry. Almost everything that happens in the world, in transport, throughout agriculture and industry, to the flexing of a muscle and the framing of a thought involves chemical reactions in which one substance changes into another.
The post The case for chemistry appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 11/6/2015
The October Revolution was probably the determining event of the twentieth century in Europe, and indeed in much of the world. The Communist ideology and the Communist paradigm of governance aroused messianic hopes and apocalyptic fears almost everywhere.
The post The day that changed the 20th century: Russia’s October Revolution appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 10/16/2015
I approach myth from the standpoint of theories of myth, or generalizations about the origin, the function, and the subject matter of myth. There are hundreds of theories. They hail from anthropology, sociology, psychology, politics, literature, philosophy, and religious studies.
The post In defense of myth appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 10/9/2015
The discovery of water on Mars has been claimed so often that I’d forgive anyone for being skeptical about the latest announcement. Frozen water, ice, has been proven on Mars in many places, there are lots of ancient canyons hundreds of kilometres long that must have been carved by rivers, and much smaller gullies that are evidently much younger.
The post NASA discovers water on Mars again: take it with a pinch of salt appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 9/25/2015
Damien Keown, author of Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, tells us ten things we need to know about buddhism. From the Sangha to reincarnation, discover fascinating facts about Buddhism below.
The post Top ten facts about Buddhism appeared first on OUPblog.
By: KatherineS,
on 9/11/2015
This year marks the 800th anniversary of one of the most famous documents in history, the Magna Carta. Nicholas Vincent, author of Magna Carta: A Very Short Introduction , tells us 10 things everyone should know about the Magna Carta.
The post 10 things you need to know about the Magna Carta appeared first on OUPblog.
