MIT Press

    Additional Aids for Autodidacts

    My last post about University Presses was provided back in June (see: "Wolverines, Spartans and Books.") Before that, I offered you entertaining entries which were designed for lone wolf learners who wish to tackle tough subjects from their recliners.  For example, in early 2019 I helped you make some "Intellectual Resolutions" by suggesting that you could bone up on weighty subjects by reading the slim books in the "Very Short Introduction...series produced by Oxford University Press, or the even shorter ones in the "30 Second Books" offered by Ivy Press. That was followed during the dog days of August by "More Aids for Autodidacts" which discusses Yale's "Why X Matters Series" and the "Little Histories" which will make you appear to know a lot. Now you will learn about another university press series which offers a short cut to enlightenment.

                                          Essential Knowledge Series

  

   I suppose one could quibble a bit about what constitutes "Essential Knowledge", but I will not, since"MIT" stands for the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology" and the folks typically found there are much more knowledgeable than I. This is what they say about this series:

“The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers accessible, concise, beautifully produced books on topics of current interest. Written by leading thinkers, the books in this series deliver expert overviews of subjects that range from the cultural and the historical to the scientific and the technical. In today's era of instant information gratification, we have ready access to opinions, rationalizations, and superficial descriptions. Much harder to come by is the foundational knowledge that informs a principled understanding of the world. Essential Knowledge books fill that need. Synthesizing specialized subject matter for nonspecialists and engaging critical topics through fundamentals, each of these compact volumes offers readers a point of access to complex ideas.’

  Ninety-two titles are currently listed in categories ranging from Architecture to Technology. Two are found under "History" and they are: Hunting: A Cultural History and Nuclear Weapons. There are thirteen related to "Political Science." Some are highly topical: 

Here are some other samples: 

Whiteness, by Martin Lund.

"The socially constructed phenomenon of whiteness: how it was created, how it changes, and how it protects and privileges people who are perceived as white.

"This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series examines the socially constructed phenomenon of whiteness, tracing its creation, its changing formation, and its power to privilege and protect people who are perceived as white. Whiteness, author Martin Lund explains, is not one single idea but a shifting, overarching category, a flexible cluster of historically, culturally, and geographically contingent ideals and standards that enable systems of hierarchical classification. Lund discusses words used to talk about whiteness, from white privilege to white fragility; the intersections of whiteness with race, class, and gender; whiteness in popular culture; and such ideas as “colorblindness” and “reverse racism,” which, he argues, actually uphold whiteness."

Hate Speech, by Caitlin Ring Carlson.

"Hate speech can happen anywhere—in Charlottesville, Virginia, where young men in khakis shouted, “Jews will not replace us”; in Myanmar, where the military used Facebook to target the Muslim Rohingya; in Capetown, South Africa, where a pastor called on ISIS to rid South Africa of the "homosexual curse.” In person or online, people wield language to attack others for their race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or other aspects of identity. This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series examines hate speech: what it is, and is not; its history; and efforts to address it.

Author Caitlin Ring Carlson, an expert in communication and mass media, defines hate speech as any expression—spoken words, images, or symbols—that seeks to malign people for their immutable characteristics. Hate speech is not synonymous with offensive speech—saying that you do not like someone does not constitute hate speech—or hate crimes, which are criminal acts motivated by prejudice. Hate speech traumatizes victims and degrades societies that condone it. Carlson investigates legal approaches taken by the EU, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Africa, and the United States, with a detailed discussion of how the U.S. addresses, and in most cases, allows, hate speech. She explores recent hate speech controversies, and suggests ways that governments, colleges, media organizations, and other organizations can limit the spread of hate speech."

   

   As you will see from the samples I have chosen, the books in this series offer "Essential Knowledge" about "topics of current interest." Some of them may prove to be more ephemeral than essential, but they will be useful nonetheless. 

Sources:

  The books in the MIT "Essential Knowledge" series can be found here.

   MIT publishes many other books. See mitpress.mit.edu. 

   One topic included is "Content", which seems like a rather amorphous subject to me. To see what the author is up to, look at this essay by her which is adapted from Content, by Kate Eichhorn: " "Content" Erases Wall Between Fact & Fiction," Kate Eichhorn, Public Books..." 8/2/22. 

The Bonus: 

   I mentioned "dog days" above, which has more to do with astronomy than with dogs panting in the hot sun. See: "Here's Why We Call This Time of Year the 'Dog Days' of Summer," Becky Little, National Geographic, July 16, 2021.
"These punishingly hot summer days get their name from an ancient belief about the brightest star in the sky—not from dogs’ tendency to laze around in the heat."