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Sloterdijk

Sloterdijk

Here’s a birthday post for Semiotext(e) author and philosophical giant, Peter Sloterdijk, written by our own Marc Lowenthal:

Public Safety Month I

Public Safety Month I

For Public Safety Month, Ian Brown and Christopher Marsden the authors of  Regulating Code write about the recent scandal involving the collection of Verizon user’s metadata, and how it relates to Public Safety. The authors are giving talks at MIT and Harvard today, June 17th.

Bloomsday

Bloomsday

Today is Bloomsday. It is celebrated every June 16th in conjunction with Leopold Bloom’s metaphysical and gastronomical (and maybe pataphysical) journey through Dublin on June 16th, 1904. For our post, we have Andrew Hugill author of  ‘Pataphysics: A Useless Guide discussing the influence of pataphysics on James Joyce. The post is best read with a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of burgundy!

Epicenter of Crisis

Epicenter of Crisis

The United Nations’ most recent report on Syria, published earlier this morning, indicated that the Civil War in Syria has claimed nearly 93,000 lives, including over 20,000 since the beginning of the year, while also producing 1.5 million refugees.  Moreover, the recent confirmation by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah (the Lebanese-based Shia group) that his forces will be fighting alongside Syrian soldiers still loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime only portends further violence for Syria and the Middle East. Ever since Al-Assad took over the presidency from his father in 2000, Syria’s bond with Hezbollah has steadily grown, and this burgeoning relationship throughout the past decade is detailed extensively in The Epicenter of Crisis: The New Middle East.  The book stands as a thorough history of Middle Eastern relations over the past few decades, which culminates with insights on the region’s present state and how it will impact future international relations. Beyond four chapters on Syria, the book also includes commentary on Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan from a large group of impressive contributors.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing

For Crowdsourcing week, Daren Brabham writes about his recently released book, Crowdsourcing. The book is the latest in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series.

World Environment Day

World Environment Day

For World Environment Day, we’ve asked  William P. Kabasenche, editor of  The Environment: Philosophy, Science, and Ethics to answer some questions about the role of philosophers in environmental issues.

Cancer Survivor Day

Cancer Survivor Day

June 2nd is Cancer Survivor Day. Cancer affects millions of Americans in every demographical category. We’ve asked Shobita Parthasarathy, author of Building Genetic Medicine to take part in an Q & A to commemorate this special day.

National Maritime Day

National Maritime Day

For National Maritime Day we are featuring a guest blog post from Larrie Ferreiro, author of  Ships and Science: The Birth of Naval Architecture in the Scientific Revolution, 1600-1800. Enjoy!

An American Acquisitions Editor in Paris

An American Acquisitions Editor in Paris

Katie Helke Dokshina, Associate Acquisitions Editor in Design, Game Studies, and New Media, recently traveled to Paris for the Computer Human Interaction Conference. Below are her thoughts.

National Transportation Week

National Transportation Week

We are celebrating National Transportation Week May 12-18th with a series of transportation themed MIT books. Check out our first post from Changing Lanes authors Joseph DiMento and Cliff Ellis.