SUNY Press

09/14/2026

Join Michael Amo for a lecture this Thursday! Amo's new book, OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, is the story of an outsider representing the Hasidic Satmar Jewish community of Kiryas Joel in the Orange County, New York. https://sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs/index.html -details/b630bbd1-40c5-4c86-8e6e-4f367012a741Legislature.

The United States is known as a “melting pot.” People from all over the world have come to America and call It their own. Hundreds of ethnic and nationality groups comprise the population. Within those groups are hundreds of sub-groups based on language, religion, customs, and race.

Orange County has a long history with many changes. Population shifts have occurred during the centuries. One that has recently evolved is the movement of large numbers of Hasidic Jews from Brooklyn to Orange County. How has that affected the longtime generations of residents, both Jews and non-Jews? Do the differences in culture and custom clash?

On Thursday, September 17, at 6:30pm, venue: Rowley Center for Science and Engineering, Gerry Forum, room 010, Michael Amo will speak on the Hasidic Satmar Jewish community which resides within the boundaries of the legislative district which he has represented in the Orange County Legislature for three +(plus) decades. A non-Jew and a political minority member of the legislature, Amo holds a unique perspective in how to best represent them. He has researched their community and worked with local members of the Satmar Hasidim to better understand their traditions, values, and priorities.

His lecture, Outside Looking In, given from a scholarly approach and based on many years of research and interaction with the Satmar Hasidic Jewish residents, will examine the community's approach to separation and self-preservation, ultimately illuminating the humanity and core values of the Satmar in relationship to the world around them. He will describe how they manage conflicts among themselves, and the non-Hasidic or secular world of Orange County, discussing the subject through historical, philosophical, social science, and literary lenses. A moderated Q&A will follow the lecture.

Michael F. Amo represents District 7 of the Orange County, NY Legislature, covering the towns of Monroe, Palm Tree, and Woodbury. He is a retired administrator from the NYS Office of Mental Health.

Rowley Center for Science and Engineering is located at 10 East Conkling Ave., Middletown. Free parking can be found in the college lots at 24 Grandview Avenue and lots on South Street.

Questions may be directed to [email protected]
website: www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs

09/14/2026

"A welcome rallying cry for preserving the nation’s musical heritage."

https://tinyurl.com/yru4y7uw

An excellent review from Kirkus for Don't Lose Your Good Thing, by .bsky.social, which is available to preorder now!

09/14/2026

This week's is from Michael Campochiaro in marketing. The Avowal of Difference explores theories of q***r performativity, as articulated within the US Academy, are unable to capture the whole of Latino American q***r subjectivity and experience.

https://tinyurl.com/yfhnjpf4

***rstudies

09/13/2026

"The book is polemical—but no less interesting for that. In one respect, the book can be read as an introductory text on US politics: it is focused, comprehensive, and—with more than 100 pages of notes—very well-researched. It is clearly the work of someone with a long-term interest in and knowledge of the topic. DiMaggio's book is also a well-argued and comprehensive polemical diatribe against the corporate elites who dictate political (and economic) outcomes in the USA." — DEMOCRATIZATION

https://tinyurl.com/3v6fuxa2

09/12/2026

On September 24th at 3:00 pm EST, join SUNY Press authors Will Adams, Patrick Byrne, and Ragnhild Utheim for a conversation about why our current ways of thinking about nature fuel the climate crisis and what Indigenous, contemplative, and non-Western traditions can teach us about unlearning them.

Register for the webinar at https://tinyurl.com/3h35dh99

09/11/2026

"This important book delivers a strategy liberal societies and states can employ to protect a plurality of environmental worldviews, particularly those that embody sustainable ways of life. Its guidance is especially timely as renewable energy development threatens to undermine the rights of some citizens for the sake of meeting the needs of others." — Ela Tokay, SUNY Old Westbury

Forthcoming in paperback: https://tinyurl.com/ycy96cdt

09/10/2026

For over three decades, this series has explored the culture and intellectual history of Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the wider Hispanophone and Lusophone world. Open to diverse subjects and approaches, it features both broad interdisciplinary studies of literature, arts, philosophy, and social thought, as well as focused analyses of historical and contemporary issues, including questions of identity.

Browse books in the series at https://sunypress.edu/Series/S/SUNY-series-in-Latin-American-and-Iberian-Thought-and-Culture

09/09/2026

We're saddened to hear of the passing of Tom Conley. Tom was a SUNY Press author (Action, Action, Action: The Early Cinema of Raoul Walsh), and a frequent film studies peer reviewer for us. It was always a pleasure working with Tom. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/9/7/tom-conley-obit/

09/09/2026

Labzik: Tales of a Clever Pup will publish in January and is available to preorder now: https://tinyurl.com/2zzjnwmc

Written by Chaver Paver, translated by Miriam Udel, and beautifully illustrated by Louis Bunin and Ryan Bradburn, Labzik is the story of a brave, big-hearted underdog and the close-knit, working-class family that adopts him in 1930s New York City.

09/09/2026

Our latest guest blog post is from Barbara L. Graham, whose book Supreme Court Policymaking and Race: Origins and Development is now available in paperback. tinyurl.com/mr6xuz6v