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.
Iconic Rock Photography from the Beatles to Woodstock and Beyond
In 1964, fifteen-year-old Mike Frankel found himself among professional photojournalists covering a Beatles concert during the band's first tour in the United States. A few years later, he was a regular photographer at the Fillmore East, a storied venue in classic rock. And in 1969, he was onstage at Woodstock, documenting one of the most ......
Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran
A vibrant urban settlement from medieval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, this book reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Farshid Emami expands our understanding of ......
The works covered in college art history classes frequently depict violence against women. Traditional survey textbooks highlight the impressive formal qualities of artworks depicting rape, murder, and other violence but often fail to address the violent content and context. Gender Violence, Art, and the Viewer investigates the role that the art ......
"More popular than Jesus." Despite the uproar it caused in America in 1966, John Lennon's famous assessment of the Beatles vis-a-vis religion was not far off. The Beatles did mean more to kids than the religions in which they were raised, not only in America but everywhere in the world. By all accounts, the Beatles were the most significant ......
Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability
Climate change. Habitat loss. Soil erosion. Groundwater depletion. Toxins in our food. Inhumane treatment of farm animals. Increasing farm worker exploitation. Hunger and malnutrition in the midst of plenty. What will it take for farmers in the United States to embrace sustainable practices?
Political Caricature in the United States, 1789-1828
Prints of a New Kind details the political strategies and scandals that inspired the first generation of American caricaturists to share news and opinions with their audiences in shockingly radical ways. Complementing studies on British and European printmaking, this book is a survey and catalogue of all known American political caricatures ......
The Origin, Development, and Enduring Meaning of the Jewish Sabbath
This book begins by exploring the mysterious origins of an institution so familiar that most of us never wonder where it came from-the seven-day week. Jon D. Levenson then focuses on the historical development of the Jewish Sabbath and the rich range of theological and ethical meanings it has acquired over the centuries. Levenson evaluates the ......
John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch
What did it mean for ordinary believers to live a Christian life in late antiquity? In Christians at Home, Blake Leyerle explores this question through the writings, teachings, and reception of John Chrysostom-a priest of Antioch who went on to become the bishop of Constantinople in 397 AD. Through elaborate spatial and ritual recommendations, ......
Maerten de Vos, Antwerp Print, and the Early Modern Globe
As a social phenomenon and a commonplace of internet culture, virality provides a critical vocabulary for addressing questions raised by the global mobility and reproduction of early modern artworks. This book uses the concept of virality to study artworks' role in the uneven processes of early modern globalization. Drawing from archival research ......
