2023-09-26 09:30
Animal pharm is closing its doors
Until the middle of the twentieth century, human beings had no defense against deadly microbial diseases. Bubonic plague, cholera, tuberculosis, and syphil… Read More
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Oupblog | Oxford University Press’s Academic Ins Blog
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The talented authors, staff, and friends of Oxford University Press provide daily commentary on a variety of subjects on its official blog since 2005
2023-09-25 09:30
Minors in the military: parental rights and the Union war effort
About 15 years ago, my husband and I received some unsettling news. A young relative had just celebrated his eighteenth birt… Read More
2023-09-21 09:30
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… Read More
2023-09-20 14:59
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. Biases can be viewed a… Read More
2023-09-20 09:30
In praise of sloth
Exotic words like bamboozle and wayzgoose are the bread of popular books on etymology, but as regards origins, the toughest words are usually not so conspicuous and not s… Read More
2023-09-19 09:30
Supporting the future of peer review [podcast]
Every year, Peer Review Week honors the contributions of scientists, academics, and researchers in all fields for the hours of work they put i… Read More
2023-09-18 09:30
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 kno… Read More
2023-09-17 09:30
Advancing open access in the UK
Oxford University Press and Jisc, the education and research not-for-profit, have held a successful and productive Read & Publish (R&P) agreement sin… Read More
2023-09-15 13:53
How to succeed as a newly qualified doctor
Becoming a doctor requires years of study and clinical placements, so what happens when a newly qualified doctor finally starts their first job? H… Read More
2023-09-14 09:30
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 retranslation… Read More
2023-09-13 09:30
guess" rel="nofollow">Etymology as guesswork, being also a study in the history of the word guess
It might be a good idea to produce a series of blog posts, demonstrating some non-trivia… Read More
2023-09-12 09:30
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 a… Read More
2023-09-11 09:30
Making psychology a reflexive human science
As the thousand flowers of psychological research bloom in the fields of popular understanding, we ought to reflect upon the nature of the explan… Read More
2023-09-09 09:30
The turn to domestic accountability in the shadow of international criminal tribunals
On 21 July, the Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic concluded its first tr… Read More
2023-09-08 09:30
Illuminations and enlightenment throughout the history of the Middle East [reading list]
Explore the vast history of the Middle East and immerse yourself in the stories of the luminaries, l… Read More
2023-09-07 09:30
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… Read More
2023-09-06 09:30
An etymological stinkpo(s)t
Most of what I am going to say in this blog post can be found elsewhere, that is, in any good dictionary and partly online, but the conclusion will be, or so I h… Read More
2023-09-05 09:30
Building copyright: an absurdist work in progress
Would you say that a(n actual) banana duct-taped to a wall may be protected by copyright? And would you consider a claim that the author of… Read More
2023-09-04 09:30
Rising seas, eroding beaches, and fewer fish in Africa
Climate change has brought dangerous new threats to food production in West Africa. Crop farmers face disrupted rainfall and protracte… Read More
2023-09-03 09:30
Is it a noun or an adjective?
The distinction between nouns and adjectives seems like it should be straightforward, but it’s not. Grammar is not as simple as your grade-school teacher… Read More
2023-09-02 09:30
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… Read More
2023-09-01 09:30
Five children’s classics that stand the test of time [reading list]
The books people remember most are often the ones from their childhoods, and it’s no surprise; many children… Read More
2023-08-31 09:30
A listener’s guide to The Subversive Seventies [playlist]
Repeatedly during the process of writing The Subversive Seventies, I was moved by how activists in each country learned… Read More
2023-08-30 09:30
peeve" rel="nofollow">Language peeves and the word peeve
I assume that since for quite some time there have been no new comments, the discussion about good and bad English in the pages o… Read More
2023-08-29 09:30
The revelation of the Book of Mormon at 200 [podcast]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormonism, is one of the fastest growing global religions—as of th… Read More
2023-08-28 09:30
Alzheimer’s: do we focus too much on new treatments?
Virtually every new discovery in Alzheimer’s disease treatment is greeted with excitement. In July 2023, the drug donan… Read More
2023-08-26 09:30
The British Army: how is the Army meeting changing societal priorities?
It was commonplace among the pioneers of the study of civil-military relations in the 1950s to stress that armies ref… Read More
2023-08-25 09:30
The contested nature of religious liberty in today’s America
Several decisions recently made by the United States Supreme Court, along with an escalation in Christian Nationalist rhet… Read More
2023-08-23 09:30
No release from an etymological entanglement
Last week (16 August 2023), I wrote that I had received two questions: one about the verb glance and the other about the noun entanglement. The… Read More
2023-08-21 09:30
Environmental remediation of sea-dumped chemical weapons: courageously fixing the mistakes of our past
For many generations to come, there is only one place where we can live, and that one… Read More
2023-08-18 09:30
Communicative luck reduction: machine-like or social (or both)?
As a rule, a linguistic success is a non-lucky success. In other words, grammaticality, communication, interpretati… Read More
2023-08-16 09:30
glance" rel="nofollow">A few things at a glance
The comments on the most recent post (9 August 2023) have been many and interesting. I’ll return to them later, but in the meantime… Read More
2023-08-15 12:30
Putting positive planning into telemedicine projects
A new implementation tool helps practitioners design and build better bespoke remote healthcare programmes.
While the face-to-face co… Read More
2023-08-14 09:30
International law in quest for justice
One of the stated purposes of the United Nations, according to the UN Charter, is to settle international disputes or adjust situations that threaten… Read More
2023-08-12 09:30
The rise of dairy consumption [infographic]
Domestication of livestock in different regions of the world occurred as a gradual process starting 9,000 to 10,000 years ago. As trade routes we… Read More
2023-08-10 09:30
Is all fair in war? Innocent blood, armed conflict, and King David
While the terrible events in Ukraine have reminded Europeans that bloodshed is an inevitable consequence of war, it is wid… Read More
2023-08-09 09:59
Irregular gleanings and a last shot at Modern English usage
By definition, “The Oxford Etymologist” deals with the origin of words. Therefore, usage is discussed in it rarely an… Read More
2023-08-06 09:30
In praise of phrases
Writers need to love words—the good, the bad, and the irregular. And they need to respect syntax, the patterns that give words their form. But when writers unders… Read More
2023-08-03 09:30
End birth alerts that separate at-risk Indigenous mothers from their children
Born Innocent uncovers the ongoing legacy of state-mandated family separation on Indigenous and other mino… Read More
2023-08-02 09:30
An etymological cul-de-sac: the verbs “flaunt” and “flout”
If anyone is interested, this post is number 900. I very much hope to reach Post 1001 and (perhaps) stop… Read More
2023-08-01 09:30
The Buddha’s never-ending story
Those of us who teach in the field of Religious Studies invariably find ourselves introducing students to the Buddha’s life story. It is a predic… Read More
2023-07-28 09:30
Melville’s wisdom: making the past speak to the present
Using and applying wisdom seems both a necessary and an outdated proposition in today’s information and media landscape… Read More
2023-07-26 09:30
Language history and we, part two (actually, a conclusion)
I am continuing with my running comments on Valerie Fridland’s recent book Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Ba… Read More
2023-07-25 13:31
Revisiting toxic masculinity and #MeToo [podcast]
Globally, an estimated one third of all women have been subjected to physical or sexual violence; however, out of fear and socio… Read More
2023-07-25 12:30
Exploring language and masculinities in the media landscape
We all engage with different media formats on a daily basis. From watching television shows and movies, to catching up with the n… Read More
2023-07-21 09:30
How to write a journal article
Academics normally learn how to write while on the job, suggests Michael Hochberg. This usually starts with “the dissertation and interactions… Read More
2023-07-19 09:30
Language history and we: the case of “like”
In 1894, the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen brought out a book titled Progress in Language. Whether anything in language can legitima… Read More
2023-07-17 09:30
Looking through the ice: cold-adapted vision in Antarctic icefish
A recent study reveals the genetic mechanisms by which the visual systems of Antarctic icefishes have adapted to both the e… Read More
2023-07-13 09:30
The joy of playing duets
At a recent string teachers’ conference, coffee break in full swing, a delegate got out his violin and began to play a lively tune. Within minutes he was join… Read More
2023-07-12 09:30
Etymology gleanings for June 2023
Not that there is a lot to glean, but perhaps it is worthwhile to answer a few questions now, rather than waiting for another harvest. As usual, I’ll… Read More
2023-07-10 09:30
Reputations at Stake: 10 cautionary recommendations for leaders" rel="nofollow">Reputations at Stake: 10 cautionary recommendations for leaders
There are multiple rewards and risks that… Read More
2023-07-07 12:30
Much ado about nothing? The US Supreme Court’s Warhol opinion
Despite the title of this post, I am not a Shakespeare fan; far from it. My only interest in him is in the wonderful deri… Read More
2023-07-07 09:30
The heavy burden of the past: the history of the conquest of México and the politics of today
The history of the conquest of Mexico by Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century… Read More
2023-07-06 09:30
From Dr Google to ChatGPT: are the tides turning in how cancer patients access information?
The discussions surrounding ChatGPT, a state-of-the-art natural language processing AI, are hard… Read More
2023-07-05 09:30
Dangerous neighbors: “sore” and “sorrow”
Last week, I discussed the history of the word day and half-heartedly promised to go on with an essay on night. But what lit… Read More
2023-07-02 09:30
Helping verbs are curious, AND fascinating
English has a big bagful of auxiliary verbs. You may have learned these as “helping verbs” in elementary and middle school, since they… Read More
2023-06-29 09:30
“Lying” in computer-generated texts: hallucinations and omissions
There is huge excitement about ChatGPT and other large generative language models that produce fluent and human… Read More
2023-06-28 09:30
Plain as day?
Etymologists interacting with the public on a day-to-day basis usually receive questions about words like copacetic and shenanigans, but so many nouns, verbs, adjectives, adve… Read More
2023-06-27 12:30
The great gun conundrum [podcast]
With estimates of nearly 400 million privately-owned firearms in the United States and more than 40,000 deaths due to gun violence each year, guns and gun… Read More
2023-06-26 09:30
Is a 15-week limit on abortion an acceptable compromise?
A recent opinion piece by George F. Will, “Ambivalent about abortion, the American middle begins to find its voice” in t… Read More
2023-06-22 09:30
Real patterns and the structure of language
There’s been a lot of hype recently about the emergence of technologies like ChatGPT and the effects they will have on science and society… Read More
2023-06-21 09:30
bud and buddy" rel="nofollow">Confronting bud and buddy
In the previous installment (14 June 2023), I mentioned several attempts to explain the origin of bud(dy). See also the comment at… Read More
2023-06-20 09:30
Rethinking the future of work: an interview with Phil McCash
Meet co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Career Development Phil McCash. Phil is a qualified career development practi… Read More
2023-06-19 09:30
Public health challenge: taking on the commercial determinants of health
Next year the World Health Organization is expected to release its first Global Report on the Commercial Determinant… Read More
2023-06-16 09:30
“There is no writer can touch sir Walter Scott”: Joyce and the Wizard of the North
While Walter Scott was one of the greatest novelists of nineteenth-century literature, at leas… Read More
2023-06-14 09:30
bud(dy)" rel="nofollow">The company we keep, part two: bud(dy)
I am picking up where I left off two weeks ago. Since there have been no comments or letters connected with part one, I wil… Read More
2023-06-13 09:30
What can Large Language Models offer to linguists?
It is fair to say that the field of linguistics is hardly ever in the news. That is not the case for language itself and all things to do… Read More
2023-06-12 09:30
Elon Musk, Mars, and bioethics: is sending astronauts into space ethical?
The recent crash of the largest-ever space rocket, Starship, developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, ha… Read More
2023-06-09 09:30
Rethinking the future of work: an interview with Eduardo Salas and Scott Tannenbaum
Introducing the authors of Teams That Work: Eduardo Salas and Scott Tannenbaum. Their work draws on a str… Read More
2023-06-08 09:30
Inside the shark nursery: the evolution of live birth in cartilaginous fish
A new study in Genome Biology and Evolution reveals that egg yolk proteins may have been co-opted to pr… Read More
2023-06-06 09:30
Societal roles for meat: what does science tell us?
“Today’s food systems face an unprecedented double challenge. There is a call to increase the availability of livestock-deri… Read More
2023-06-05 09:30
Finding purpose for the corporate office
Over two decades ago, a new type of fictional TV series debuted on the BBC that established a foothold between reality TV and sit-com. The Office br… Read More
2023-06-04 09:30
What’s coming down the pike?
During the news coverage of the COVID pandemic, I enjoyed seeing Dr Anthony Fauci on television and hearing his old-school Brooklyn accent, still shining… Read More
2023-06-02 09:30
Rethinking the future of work: an interview with Veronica Schmidt Harvey and Kenneth P. De Meuse
Veronica Schmidt Harvey and Kenneth P. De Meuse, editors of The Age of Agility, offer v… Read More
2023-06-01 09:30
From deadness to life: how today’s conservative Protestants recovered and adapted the Protestant ethic
In 1982, William E. Diehl, a devout Lutheran and former sales manager at Bethleh… Read More
2023-05-31 09:30
The company we keep
Observing how various words for “friend” originate and develop is a rather curious enterprise. Some etymologies are trivial, that is, they have been known fo… Read More
2023-05-30 12:30
Privacy and the LGBT+ experience: the Victorian past and digital future [podcast]
Scholars continue to explore the role of sexuality in private lives—from the retrospective discovery… Read More
2023-05-27 09:30
Multicultural evangelicalism: what is it and why should anyone care?
One of the many tragedies of the religious currents swirling around the capitol insurrection and the amplification of wh… Read More
2023-05-25 12:30
On specters and spectacle: tales of two Eurovisions, Liverpool-Ukraine 2023
Phantoms from the past, ghosts of the present, specters of the future, all gathered on 13 May to haunt the Eurovi… Read More
2023-05-25 09:30
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami" rel="nofollow">The asexual awakening: Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
What is a woman? This is the central question that Kawakami’s novel, Br… Read More
2023-05-24 09:30
More short words, or negation of the negation
In late spring and summer, when the days are long, I am often overwhelmed by the desire to write something about the shortest words in Modern E… Read More
2023-05-22 09:30
Black Methodists, white church
The Black Church has served a variety of functions in Black communities. The church offers a separate space where Blacks have asserted a distinct and affirmin… Read More
2023-05-20 09:30
Advancing the open access movement in Japan
Read and Publish (R&P) agreements have become an important mechanism for providing institutions with a simple, flexible, and inclusive way of… Read More
2023-05-18 09:30
Bringing museum collections to life
“Would you have a dried specimen of a world, or a pickled one?”
On 24 September 1843, the writer and naturalist Henry David Thoreau reco… Read More
2023-05-17 09:30
On cowards and custard from a strictly linguistic point of view
It is curious what a multitude of synonyms for “brave” Modern English has (bold, courageous, valiant, fearless, a… Read More
2023-05-16 09:30
Rethinking the future of work: an interview with Adrienne J. Colella and Eden B. King
Introducing the editors of The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination: Adrienne J. Colella is… Read More
2023-05-15 09:30
American evangelism and complementarianism: authority and abuse
In early February 2023, evangelical Twitter was abuzz with a bombshell news story in Christianity Today. In the art… Read More
2023-05-12 09:30
An inflation-proof methodology to measuring policy effects on poverty
Europe’s soaring inflation and energy prices highlight the need to measure poverty and policy responses in non-mo… Read More
2023-05-10 09:30
Etymology gleanings for April 2023
Since my previous attempt to glean on a half-frozen field, I have received quite a few letters and suggestions. All of them deserve a response. But first… Read More
2023-05-09 09:30
How well do you know your twentieth-century literature? [Quiz]
From James Joyce to Virginia Woolf, the first half of the twentieth century was a fascinating time for poetry, prose, and dram… Read More
2023-05-07 08:30
What does a technical writer do?
When people think about careers in writing, they may focus on writing novels or films, imagining themselves as the next Stephen King or Sofia Coppola. They… Read More
2023-05-03 09:30
A riddling tale
This is not a mystery tale, but a few twists in the history of the word riddle are worthy of note. Riddles, it should be noted, played and play an outstanding role in world… Read More
2023-05-02 12:30
Rhythm Man [playlist]" rel="nofollow">A listener’s guide to Rhythm Man [playlist]
Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat that Changed America is the first full biography of the i… Read More
2023-04-30 09:30
Rethinking the future of work: an interview with Joe Ungemah
Dr Joe Ungemah, author of Punching the Clock, examines whether the future of work is compatible with maintaining the social… Read More
2023-04-28 09:30
Studying ancient tsunamis is all about glasses
If you go back a mere 40 years or so, not a long time really, then you pretty much arrive at the time when the modern study of ancient tsunami… Read More
2023-04-27 09:30
Eight fun facts about Bibles at OUP
Bibles have had a long history at our Press; in fact, Oxford’s Bible business made OUP a cornerstone of the British book trade, and, ultimately, th… Read More
2023-04-26 09:30
Hooker, as promised" rel="nofollow">Hooker, as promised
The promise, referred to in the title, was made last week (19 April 2023) in connection with the etymology of the verb filch. I al… Read More
2023-04-25 09:30
Digital dilemmas: feminism, ethics, and the cultural implications of AI [podcast]
Skynet. HAL 9000. Ultron. The Matrix. Fictional depictions of artificial intelligences have played a major… Read More
2023-04-24 09:30
Open secrets? Where to look for the history of colonial violence
It has now been more than a decade since the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was forced to reveal the existence of a secret… Read More
2023-04-22 09:30
“Think like a forest”: how forest literature can help us fight climate change
Literary texts are clearly not the most potent weapons in the fight against climate change. Manufac… Read More
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