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Top OUPblog posts of 2015: Editor’s Picks

The publishing volume of the OUPblog has finally led to the inevitable — I can no longer read every article we publish. Fortunately, I have an amazing team of deputy editors who review articles, catch (most) errors, and discover the best of our publishing over the course of the year. And it’s been a big year for us; we celebrated our tenth anniversary and columnist Anatoly Liberman wrote his 500th blog article. Our editors’ choices reflect important news and events of the last year, including climate change, water on Mars, the release of Go Set a Watchman, new soda legislation, and the growing anticipation for Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary.

“So many articles, so little time — every day, our scholars continue to give me the opportunity to remain a lifelong student as I sift through what has become a formidable but gratifying backlog of think pieces. ‘The Urgenda decision: balanced constitutionalism in the face of climate change?‘ is one such piece, a painstakingly nuanced analysis of court activism in a ‘time unthinkable.’ Grappling with notions of ‘hazardous state negligence’ in environmental politics, Ceri Warnock highlights political systems not as static entities, but as living things, ones undergoing seismic shifts to remain abreast of difficult times. Forget diplomatic remarks, non-binding agreements, and the elusive pursuit of ‘global consensus’ — environmental history is being made in quieter ways, with reverberating consequences.”
—Sonia Tsuruoka, Deputy Editor

“Joseph Romm, in ‘Seven important facts to know about climate change,’ does a great job of concisely explaining what climate change will mean for us and how we as individuals can make smart choices in our daily lives to mitigate its effects. If you still need another reason to put ‘decreasing my carbon footprint’ on your New Year’s resolution, perhaps the threat of a real-life Hunger Games will be convincing enough.”
—Priscilla Yu, Deputy Editor

“2015 was a big year for Space. From the discovery of water on Mars to the blood Moon eclipse in September, and many more discoveries. Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams shed some light on the new discoveries on Mars and Pluto in ‘Mars, Pluto…and beyond’ and if these findings could mean proof of alien life.”
—Yasmin Coonjah, Deputy Editor

“While the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird is beautiful, and Gregory Peck’s performance legendary, it’s a shame that the movie has so greatly overshadowed the book. It seems the general public maybe read the book once, when they were 14, and mostly think of the movie when recalling the story. I don’t want to go on a rant about the patriarchy right now, but let’s just say it’s no coincidence that Atticus Finch dominates the collective conversation about the books. Gregory Jay gives voice to Jean Louise in his blog post—pointing out the flaws in how the media was covering Atticus Finch’s newly discovered racism.”
—Elizabeth Furey, Deputy Editor

“I frequently get told that I drink too many fizzy drinks. By my parents, by my friends, and, worryingly, by my dentist. However, it was actually an article on the OUPblog – ‘The soda industry exposed’ – that had the biggest impact on my life choices. This infographic powerfully conveys the dangers of drinking too much soda and also the negative impact the soda industry is having on the environment.”
—Daniel Parker, Deputy Editor

“I may be choosing this article simply because it is the freshest in my mind, but after over a year and a half of talking about and researching Shakespeare, Matthew Dimmock’s ‘Shakespeare and Islam’ taught me something completely new about both the playwright’s craft — his commentary and analysis of contemporary theatre trends — and Elizabethan England — the impact of Elizabeth’s diplomatic activities on popular culture.”
—Alice Northover, Editor

Featured image: Vietnam. Photo by Bino Storyteller. CC0 via Unsplash.

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