by Lisa M. Ruch

Has the University managed to address a central problem of modern times? And has the University not only addressed it, but arrived at a “good enough” conclusion or recommendation among its teachers and with its students? I am not so sure. In other words, while a lot of Universities and Colleges, and especially those who teach the Humanities, have recently – and rightfully so - engaged more intentionally with issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, frequently we are still not addressing a fundamental question: what are our values and beliefs, why do we have the values and beliefs we have, and what’s so unique about the Humanities in their attempts to clarify values for us?

Rebecca Mead’s book My Life in Middlemarch weaves a well-researched narrative that involves land, people, women, love, and story-telling, among other things. Mead incorporates her own journey to underscore the way that Middlemarch changes with every decade of life. My Life in Middlemarch explains how one can continually learn lessons from a single book.

On Earth Day this month, Penguin Random House UK announced that it has achieved carbon neutrality partly by making its offices and warehouses more energy efficient and shifting to 100% renewable energy, helping to reduce its direct carbon emissions by 65% since 2018. PHK has also created a sustainability hub on its website, with information about their environmental publishing.

A new Center for Environmental Arts and Humanities at the University of New Mexico, established in 2020 but delayed by the pandemic, is getting underway. The Center has launched a website and started programming events. The creation of the Center for Environmental Arts and Humanities was made possible with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and financial support from the Lannan Foundation.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the foremost green building performance and project management system, with certification based on a points system. Opened in 2019, the Charles Library at Temple University in Philadelphia achieved LEED Gold status (the highest level) by incorporating elements such as construction materials that contain recycled content and/or low-emitting materials, low-flow water faucets and toilets, energy-efficient equipment, and a green roof with drought-resistant plants that absorb storm-water runoff.

Via WWL New Orleans

Via the Oxford University Press Blog and their podcast, The Oxford Comment.

The Board of Directors of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has approved the addition of the Association for Study of African-American Life and History, the National Women’s Studies Association, and the Philosophy of Science Association as member societies.

The Third Chapter Project is pleased to announce a new publishing partner, University of Calgary Press, a leading Canadian publisher of Open Access scholarly books. University of Calgary Press is a participant in the global Exploring Open Access eBook Usage (OAeBU) data trust pilot project supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Director of the Press, Brian Scrivener, has joined the project’s Advisory Board of fourteen thought leaders representing a diverse array of OA book stakeholders from across five continents.

Third Chapter looks forward to collaborating with University of Calgary Press, and we encourage you to examine their OA titles. Topics range from Indigenous studies, literature, film studies, and history to area studies, sustainability, and African Studies titles.