Supporting communities through society publishing
In this blog post, we hear from OUP’s society publishing collaborators and the ways in which they support diverse communities, including through open access publishing.
Human rights are not a “luxury belief”: why Suella Braverman’s rhetoric is dangerously misguided
David Herd explores the language of human rights and why Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s recent pronouncement of human rights as a “luxury belief” is a shocking step even by the standards of contemporary political rhetoric.
Should animals have the right to vote?
Suppose it were suggested that animals’ interests would be even better protected if we recognized a right of political participation to animals. One way to do that would be to have human representatives cast votes on behalf of animals with respect to different legislative proposals.
Making sense of the Molly Maguires today
Twenty Irish mine workers were hanged in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania in the 1870s, convicted of a series of murders organized under the cover of a secret society called the Molly Maguires. Here Professor Kenny discusses 10 things that helped him answer the questions at the heart of his book, “Making Sense of the Molly Maguires.”
On Shakespeare’s “illiteracy”
This year marks 400 years since the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, but why was he singled out for his lack of knowledge about classics, as well as his “illiteracy”?
Why does government policy ignore scientific evidence? Experts and the public must act together
Together, expert communities and the public need to manage the interfaces between the production of specialized knowledge and its use in wider political discourse.
Found in translation: how the amateur translator brought Asian classics to a 19th century audience
Today, translation is a professionalized activity closely linked to the publishing industry. For most of the nineteenth century, however, this organized chain of production had yet to be established.
Minors in the military: parental rights and the Union war effort
Throughout the entirety of the American Civil War, intense battles over youth enlistment played out in courts, Congress, the military, and individual households.
United kingdoms and European Unions: using global history to better understand the UK
Was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which was inaugurated in January 1801, unique? It has certainly been uniquely recognised as the “United Kingdom,” or (more simply) the “UK.” But how far does this recognition reflect the UK’s exceptional multinational structures?
Virtues and vices in a non-ideal world
Humans are prone to bias, irrationality, and various forms of prejudice. From an evolutionary perspective, this is no accident.
A free market? The French East India Company and modern capitalism
“Paris is the place to make money, & England is the country to enjoy it.” With what we think we know about capitalism in England and France circa 1790, it is hard to fathom how exactly, a banker in London could have come to this conclusion.
Translating Proust again
“There is no ideal, ultimate translation of a given original. Classic texts in particular, from Homer onwards, are susceptible of multiple readings and retranslations over time.” Brian Nelson discusses translations of classic works and the difficulties with translating Proust in particular.
Antonina: a sixth-century military wife
In our modern world, the spouses of major political figures may sometimes themselves spend quite a bit of time in the limelight, and be significant assets to the careers of their politician partners. In the sixth century, the wife of the most famous and successful Roman general of the day became nearly as powerful and famous as he was.
Illuminations and enlightenment throughout the history of the Middle East [reading list]
Explore the vast history of the Middle East in seven books and immerse yourself in the stories of the luminaries, leaders, moments, and the movements that shaped the intellectual and cultural landscape for the centuries that followed.
American English dialects: always changing, yet here to stay
Are Americans in different parts of the country starting to talk more alike? It’s a reasonable question to ask. Americans have always been footloose, and now that working remotely is possible, they’re relocating to other regions more than ever.
Pandemic? What pandemic?
Three months after the official US government “end” of three years of monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic that took over 1.1 million American lives, we are back to “new normal.”