December 4, 2011

Neurogastronomy and Why Smell Matters for the Food We Love

“Rather than being weak and vestigial, human smell appears to be quite powerful. Some have even suggested that humans and their primate relatives are “supersmellers” among ani­mals. It is time, therefore, for a new appreciation of this much maligned and...

December 2, 2011

Alan Wallace: "A True Revolution in the Mind Science"

We conclude our week’s feature on B. Alan Wallace’s Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice, with an excerpt from his epilogue in which he discusses the potential for a true revolution in...

December 2, 2011

University Press Roundup

Our semi-regular roundup of recent blog posts and features from other university presses: Yale University Press runs an excerpt from Melissa V. Harris Perry’s Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. Why Don’t American Cities Burn? Michael B....

December 1, 2011

Santiago Zabala: A Philosophy for the Occupy Wall Street Movement

“Hermeneutics, then, is one of the few philosophies that reflects the pluralism of our postmodern societies because, like truly democratic procedures, it includes and allows structural changes to take place every time citizens demand them. Ignoring these demands for change...

November 30, 2011

Follow Granger's World of Poetry!

The Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry , an extensive and easy-to-use database, which includes frequent updates and many interesting new features on poets and poetry, can now be followed on facebook and twitter! Granger’s updated weekly with new full text...

November 30, 2011

Alan Wallace on science, Buddhism, skepticism, and meditation

In this video Alan Wallace, most recently the author of Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice, discusses science, Buddhism, skepticism, and meditation.

November 30, 2011

Justin McDaniel: Amulets and the Commercialization of Thai Buddhism

The following is a guest post by Justin McDaniel, author of The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand. In June 2001 a police sergeant in Pattaya (Central Thailand) was arrested and charged with attempted murder...

November 29, 2011

New Book Tuesday: Food and Christianity

Food and Faith in Christian Culture Edited by Ken Albala and Trudy Eden The Right to Justification: Elements of a Constructivist Theory of Justice Rainer Forst Hiroshima After Iraq: Three Studies in Art and War (Now available in paperback) Rosalyn...

November 29, 2011

Interview with Alan Wallace, author of Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic

The following is an interview with B. Alan Wallace, author of Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice. Question: How does Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic differ from your previous books? B. Alan...

November 28, 2011

Steven Pinker Chooses Why Civil Resistance Works as a Best Book of 2011

The Guardian recently posted its list of the Best Books of 2011 as selected by such notable figures as AS Byatt, Jonathan Franzen, Eric Hobsbawm, Hari Kunzru, Hanif Kureishi, David Lodge Colm Tóibín, David Hare, and Jeanette Winterson. The Guardian...

November 28, 2011

B. Alan Wallace: Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic

This week’s featured book is Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice, by Alan Wallace. The following is the conclusion to the book’s opening chapter, Toward a Revolution in the Mind Sciences: Galileo,...

November 28, 2011

Holiday Sale! Save 40% on Gift Ideas from Columbia University Press

From the science of flavor and building a meal to journalistic and cult classics, here are some holiday gift suggestions. We are offering a 40% discount on these titles. IMPORTANT: Be sure to enter the special promotion code HOLIDAY in...