02/09/2012
The Society for Historians of the Early American Republic and the University of Pennsylvania Press invite submissions for the SHEAR Manuscript Prize for 2012. The Prize will be awarded to… READ MORE
02/01/2012
In the February podcast Shawn Leigh Alexander, Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies and interim director of the Langston Hughes Center at the University of Kansas, talks about… READ MORE
01/25/2012
On Sunday, the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann made her first public appearance since pulling out of the presidential race on January 4. At a protest against abortion at the Minnesota State Capitol, the conservative congresswoman was in her element as she rallied the faithful.
Bachmann’s last-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and subsequent withdrawal from the presidential running had undoubtedly disappointed that audience.
Outside of those circles, many observers viewed Bachmann’s candidacy as a manifestation of our collective political dysfunction. Yet any relief at her poor showing needs to be tempered by caution.
A New Nation of Goods: The Material Culture of Early America David Jaffee 424 pages | 7 x 10 | 10 color, 107 b/w illus. Paper 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2200-5… READ MORE
01/16/2012
"There is no separate black path to power and fulfillment that does not intersect white paths, and there is no separate white path to power and fulfillment, short of social… READ MORE
01/05/2012
It may seem, then, that the Recourse Rule offers us no lessons. It failed only because of unavoidable human ignorance. The regulators did not anticipate a nationwide housing bubble. Prescience about the bubble was rare, and nobody can be blamed for lack of omniscience. Testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair expressed regret for the Recourse Rule and admitted that regulators had not understood the risks. Neither had most investors.
However, the danger of a fallible regulator is much greater than the danger of a fallible investor.
A prudent response to our fallibility is to spread our bets. The Recourse Rule contradicted this principle by encouraging all banks to invest in one category of “safe” assets. Herd behavior is always a danger in markets, but this particular herd was corralled by the regulators.
12/23/2011
The Penn Campus is relatively quiet now that classes are over, but winter break doesn't mean that things cool down at Penn Press. Some of the biggest humanities and social… READ MORE
12/22/2011
My Storm: Managing the Recovery of New Orleans in the Wake of Katrina Edward J. Blakely. Foreword by Henry Cisneros 208 pages | 6 x 9 | 8 illus. Cloth… READ MORE
12/21/2011
An Infinity of Nations: How the Native New World Shaped Early North America Michael Witgen 456 pages | 6 x 9 | 10 illus. Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4365-9 |… READ MORE
12/19/2011
Battling Miss Bolsheviki: The Origins of Female Conservatism in the United States Kirsten Marie Delegard 320 pages | 6 x 9 | 9 illus. Cloth Jan 2012 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4366-6… READ MORE
