What are some upcoming trends for the next year?

Trends in scholarly work tend to develop over time—decades, even. One trend on our list is the global turn in the history of science (Global Scientific Practice in an Age of Revolutions, 1750–1850, edited by Patrick Manning and Daniel Rood) and more recently in the history of health, medicine, and disease (we just launched our Histories and Ecologies of Health book series). I also see growing interest in the materials of science, or the history of things and their role in the production of knowledge (Working With Paper, edited by Carla Bittel, Elaine Leong, and Christine von Oertzen, and Entangled Itineraries, edited by Pamela H. Smith).

Two book series I manage at the press situate histories within their wider social, political, and cultural contexts: Science and Culture in the Nineteenth Century and Culture, Politics, and the Built Environment. I’m also actively seeking new work in the philosophy of science that examines the relationship between science, values, and the public (Hans Radder’s From Commodification to the Common Good). New books on my list will also work to bridge the gap between the sciences and the humanities with a focus on art history and visual culture (Catherine L. Newell’s Destined for the Stars). 

What book/genre/topic would you like to see cross your transom?

I would love to see more books by and about women and those on the margins who are either buried in footnotes or otherwise absent from official records and left out of dominant historical narratives. This makes uncovering their contributions all the more challenging. But not knowing enough is not reason enough to exclude neglected voices—it should be the impetus to learn more and be as inclusive as possible. 

What topic don’t you ever want to see again? 

Ideas for books often cross my desk that I can’t consider because they fall outside the scope of what I do: medical histories written by and for physicians, for example, or work about medical progress from a clinical perspective. But this raises important questions about the state of the field, the future of the history of medicine, and how academic histories can be useful for contemporary medicine. I think our new book series, Histories and Ecologies of Health, marks another sea change in a field whose boundaries have continued to expand since the emergence of social history in the 1960s. It will offer an alternative to Western-centric approaches, focusing on Asia, Africa, and South America, and will encourage interdisciplinary perspectives on environmental histories of disease and health.

What do you want to change about publishing?

I just came back from the Association of University Presses meeting in Detroit, which emphasized diversity: the need to foster a culture of inclusion, not only among the authors and peer reviewers we work with and the content we publish (and its accessibility), but also within the walls of our own industry, which desperately needs to promote gender equity and create more mentoring and career opportunities for people of color, such as the diversity fellowship program sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Although the disciplines we support as a mission-driven press reflect a commitment to diversity, that commitment needs to extend to our daily collaborations and practices.

What’s unique about your corner of the publishing industry?

Every book we publish goes through a rigorous vetting process, from the acquiring editor’s internal review to peer review—the evaluation of a manuscript by other scholars in the field—to the review and endorsement of our faculty board. It adds a level of accountability and revision that is unique to academic publishing.