UPENDING EXPECTATIONS: UNIVERSITY PRESSES DELIVER

Beware the people who only want to talk about higher education in technical terms—as a tool, a means to an end, a rigid pathway to work, work, and more work. Pity the lack of imagination, because that’s not all universities are for. At their best, universities are portals to a more expansive understanding of, well, everything. Enter presuming that you’ve got things figured out; leave having realized that it’s a whole lot more complicated than that.

University presses perform the same expectation-upending services— and we love the flair that they exercise in their lessons. Some of the richest literature in translation, some of the most exciting novels you’ll encounter: that’s coming from them. And university presses also tackle subjects that discomfit: the dark side of professional sports; racism in churches; the Israeli-palestinian conflict; the struggles that LGBTQ people face. They are thoughtful, forceful, and knowledgeable in their presentations. They impart new understanding, and they do so in the most compelling ways. Isn’t that what we want education—and reading—to be about?