University Press Roundup

Welcome to our weekly roundup of the best posts from the blogs of academic publishers! As always, if you particularly enjoy something or think that we missed an important post, please let us know in the comments.

Recent revelations about the Prism internet surveillance program of the US government have dominated the new cycle recently. At the University of Minnesota Press Blog, Ulises A. Mejias weighs in on the impact that the leaked information should have on how we use the types of everyday tools that provide the kind of easily monitored data that Prism examined: Facebook, Twitter, and email in particular.

The continuing violence in Syria has prompted President Obama to “escalate the U.S. intervention in the Syrian Civil War.” At the UNC Press Blog, Michael H. Hunt takes an in-depth look at the language that American politicians have used when speaking about Syria and potential U.S. involvement there.

Does the “first sale doctrine,” long an accepted part of copyright law, apply to digital files? Or, as Alex Sayf Cummings puts it in a post at the OUPblog, “Is there such a thing as a ‘used’ MP3?” In his post, Cummings uses the example of the Capitol Records/ReDigi lawsuit as an entry point to examine issues of online copyright more generally.

This past Sunday was Father’s Day, and at From the Square, the blog of NYU Press, Gayle Kaufman has a post proposing a “legal wish list” for fathers in America. Included on the wish list: paid paternity leave, shorter work hours, paid vacation, and a weekly “Daddy Day.”

From the Square also continued their celebration of Pride Month with a number of excellent posts on the issues faced by LGBT Americans today, including a detailed look at the future role of government in the process of marriage by Melanie Heath. Beacon Broadside also has a ongoing series of posts on Pride Month, and this week Melanie Hoffert has a post explaining some of the differences in LGBT experiences in cities and rural areas.

June 16th was also Bloomsday, the celebration of the anniversary of Leopold Bloom’s “metaphysical and gastronomical (and maybe pataphysical) journey through Dublin on June 16th, 1904.” (Bloom, of course, is the protagonist of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.) At the MIT Press blog, Andrew Hugill has a guest post in honor of the occasion.

The history of the interplay between the private and public sectors in Africa is complicated. At This Side of the Pond, the blog of Cambridge University Press, Anne Pitcher attempts to untangle that relationship by contrasting Togo, Niger, and Cameroon with Mozambique, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, and Cape Verde.

At Voices in Education, the blog of Harvard Education Publishing, Kavitha Mediratta attempts to sort through another complicated issue: how to ensure school safety in the wake of recent school shootings without creating or exacerbating problems with academic success. Mediratta points to recent moves by Colorado to balance the roles of educators and police in Denver schools as a step in the right direction.

The role of libraries has been a much-discussed topic recently, as a couple of high-profile articles questioning their worth in a digital work have garnered a great deal of attention. At the AMACOM Books Blog, however, Managing Editor Andy Ambraziejus has a guest post defending the importance of libraries by emphasizing their role in the communities they serve.

New internet-based family history and genealogy sites have given many users a direct connection to past events. At the LSU Press Blog, Alfred C. Young III explains how such connections can foster a new interest in the Civil War, in particular.

At the McGill-Queen’s Press blog, Miranda Campbell has the second half of her post on “privilege, poverty, and youth creative work.” In this half of her post, she looks at various government efforts to showcase and reward youth art.

Finally, we’ll wrap things up with a post by Jeffrey Shandler at the Indiana University Press blog. In his post, Shandler looks at recent headlines arguing over how modern people should treat the memory of Anne Frank.

Thanks again for reading this week’s roundup! Have a great weekend, and leave any thoughts in the comments!

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