Founded in 1956, Penn State University Press publishes rigorously reviewed, high-quality works of scholarship and books of regional and contemporary interest, with a focus on the humanities and social sciences. The publishing arm of the Pennsylvania State University and a division of the Penn State University Libraries, the Press promotes the advance of scholarship by disseminating knowledge—new information, interpretations, methods of analysis—widely in books, journals, and digital publications.
Scholarly publishing has faced monumental challenges over the past few decades. The Press takes its place among those institutions moving the enterprise forward. Its innovative projects continue to identify and embrace the technological advances and business models that ensure scholarly publishing will remain feasible, and widely accessible, well into the future.
The Worst Presidential Campaigns from Jefferson to Trump
Explores the use of anti-democratic language in US presidential elections, using examples detailing the political, economic, and cultural elements that make such appeals more likely.
The Tumultuous Life and Tragic Death of William Lamport
An Irish Rebel in New Spain recounts the story of the so-called Irish Zorro, who, in 1659, was burned at the stake for conspiring against the empire to make himself king of Mexico, restore the privileges of the indigenous people, end the persecution of the Jews, and free the African slaves. William Lamport was an Irish rebel, a soldier, a poet, ......
The first English translation of Jndianische Historia, an account by the German mercenary Nikolaus Federmann of the incursion he led to the interior of Venezuela in 1530-31. Includes a critical introduction that contextualizes Federmann's firsthand account within the broader Spanish colonial system.
Fear, Loathing, and Public Piety in a Colonial Mining Metropolis
In 1719, a deadly and highly contagious disease took hold of the Imperial Villa of Potosi, a silver mining metropolis in what is now Bolivia. Within a year, the pathogen had killed some 22,000 people, just over a third of the city's residents. Victims collapsed with fever, body aches, and effusions of blood from the nose and mouth. Most died ......
A novel treatment of a group of early Christian authors, demonstrating that their behavior and self-presentation were shaped by the norms of Roman intellectual culture, and not simply by factors internal to Christianity.
Toys, Texts, and the Transatlantic German Childhood
Examines German theories and practices of play, parenting, and pedagogy from 1631 to 1912. Explores the role of the domestic sphere and home economies in establishing transatlantic networks that influenced the emergence of gender, class, race, and religious identities for Germans beyond Europe.
Looking at Trauma: A Tool Kit for Clinicians is an easy-to-use, engaging resource designed to address the challenges health care professionals face in providing much-needed trauma psychoeducation to clients with histories of childhood trauma. Developed by trauma therapists Abby Hershler and Lesley Hughes in collaboration with artist Patricia ......
A narrative, in graphic novel format, following Cristina Duran and Miguel Angel Giner Bou as they rebuild and reinvent themselves after their daughter Laia is born with cerebral palsy. Their story continues through the arduous process of adopting their second daughter, Selam, from Ethiopia.
