by Gillian Leslie Film Studies at Edinburgh University Press is one of the newer lists and was originally the Film, Media and Cultural Studies list. The decision to focus just on film, due to its potential as a publishing area, was taken in 2010 and resulted in rapid growth – we went from publishing 10 to 15 new film studies books each year to publishing over 40. In addition, we publish the Journal of British Cinema and Television four times a year, and Film-Philosophy, our diamond Open Access film journal, three times a year.  In 2017, we began commissioning in Television Studies due to ..read more

by Misha Nguyen, Book Reviews Editorial Assistant (De Montfort University) The upcoming Spring and Summer editions of the Journal of British Cinema and Television, Volume 21.2 & 21.3) promise another bumper crop of book reviews, offering valuable insights into recent scholarly works. Issue 21.2 begins with the book that is likely to be regarded as the definitive account of post-war British film finance: The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985 by James Chapman. As reviewer Justin Smith observes, while various studies have delved into the contemporary landsc ..read more

by C. Ceyhun Arslan The author of The Ottoman Canon and the Construction of Arabic and Turkish Literatures talks about his writing process, the inspiration behind his new book, and the surprises he encountered along the way. Tell us a bit about your book. The Ottoman Canon is about how texts create communities. It examines how, for example, the pre-Islamic poems of Imru’ al-Qays contribute to the formation of both an Arab national and an Ottoman imperial consciousness. When we study literature, we often assume that a community produces a national literature that serves as a window into that co ..read more

by Robert Singer Robert Singer, the author of Beyond Realism: Naturalist Film in Theory and Practice, discusses the inspiration behind his research for the book and what most surprised him during the writing process. Regeneration (1915), director, Raoul Walsh “The alcoholic abuses his impoverished family”Tell us a bit about your book. Whether set in coal mines, prison cells, or swimming pools, naturalist cinema exists! While it is often mistaken for realist film, international naturalist cinema has a unique cultural and critical history. My book, Beyond Realism: Naturalist Film in Theory and P ..read more

by Ersev Ersoy Our Scottish Studies list has always been an integral part of Edinburgh University Press. We have an eclectic portfolio with topics ranging from archaeology to art, philosophy to law, politics to literature. Our high-quality Scottish history books are at the heart of our publishing, exploring the cultural landscape of Scotland from the earliest times to the present. Our Scottish Studies journals contribute greatly to our position as the leading publisher of Scottish academic content.   We are committed to publishing pioneering works by leading figures in the field, impactf ..read more

by Elisa Cazzato Those who have familiarity with the work backstage in a theatre or dance production will know that this is where quarrels and logistic tensions often occur. In my research at the Paris Opéra, I take a look behind the scenes of early nineteenth-century French operatic production to understand how the management of the creative team worked, with specific attention to the stage setting. My forthcoming article, Performing for Napoleon: Production Quarrels at the Paris Opéra in Dance Research Volume 41 (2) explores the collaboration of the stage designer, Ignazio Degotti (1758–1824 ..read more

Heritage and Mobility amongst Afghanistan’s Central Asian émigrés by Magnus Marsden In Jeddah’s Bukhariya Street – a lively commercial centre in the south of Jeddah – merchants from northern Afghanistan sipped green tea as they engaged in the wholesale of prayer mats and carpets. Diners feasted on inexpensive yet delicious Central Asian dishes in low-key eateries. The narrow alleys leading into the main commercial street were teaming with children returning home from school fetching fresh bread from the street’s many bakeries.   Central Asian bakery in the Bukhariya Street, Jeddah. Aut ..read more

By Lynn Matluck Brooks Ballet in early America? Didn’t we have to wait for the Russians to show up in the 1910s with the Ballets Russes, and for those who emigrated to the United States in the 1920s and ’30s? Indeed not! In fact, ballet was making its way to early U.S. stages at least 100 years prior to the dates mentioned above. The distinctive technique that has sometimes been called “Romantic ballet” leapt across the Atlantic almost as soon as it was danced in Europe. Major United States cities like Philadelphia, New York, and New Orleans hosted balletic dancers in interlude entertainment ..read more

by Ninya Mikhaila The discovery of rare, or unknown items of historic dress is always exciting. It can also be challenging when the extant object offers evidence which contradicts previously held beliefs about people in the past. A farthingale sleeve dating from the 1590s, made of fustian and sewn with fourteen whalebone hoops, is one such finding. The late Elizabethan era was one of extreme fashion in dress, for both men and women. Narrow, elongated waists were admired, and they were accentuated on both men and women by full hips enhanced with hooped petticoats or bombasted breeches and wide ..read more

by Carol Macdonald We have a deep and rich history of publishing field-defining art history books. Many of these were published through partnerships and collaborations, including with our parent university, which are as important to us today as they were then. Our current output in art and visual culture across disciplines in the humanities and social sciences is shaped as much by this history as our enduring commitment to publishing at the cutting edge of scholarship. We have close connections with the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh, Talbot Rice Gallery. At the forefront o ..read more