Editor

E-mail: pnelson@uchicago.edu

Subjects: Anthropology; history (European, world, history of ideas); gender & sexuality studies; current events
Series: Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning; The Life of Ideas; Silk Roads

I acquire books for the Press’s long-standing and distinguished lists in anthropology, history, and gender & sexuality studies. In anthropology, books that combine ethnography and critique fit particularly well with our list. Economics, technology, work, religion, intimacy, urban studies, media, epistemology, social theory, and ethnographic writing are topics of special interest. Our anthropology list encompasses a broad range of works, from general interest titles to classroom classics. Recent books from my list in anthropology include The Torture Letters by Laurence Ralph, Critical Terms for the Study of Africa, and a second edition of the introductory volume Exotic No More.

My interests in history include the history of ideas, world history, biography, and works of broad historiographical significance. A few recent highlights include No Exit by Yoav Di-Capua, On the Spirit of Rights by Dan Edelstein, The Human Body in the Age of Catastrophe by Stefanos Geroulanos and Todd Meyers, and a TRIOS book, Authoritarianism by Wendy Brown, Peter Gordon, and Max Pensky.

In gender and sexuality studies, I am drawn to works on the political economy of intimacy, histories of sexuality, feminist and queer social thought, biographies and letters, and general interest works on the future of love and sex. Recent works from this side of my list include Feminism by Deborah Cameron, Ethno-Erotic Economies by George Paul Meiu, and The Book of Minor Perverts by Benjamin Kahan.

I am the proud sponsor of several series at Chicago. The Life of Ideas, aims to nourish the resurgent field of intellectual history. Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning brings an interdisciplinary ethos to rigorous social scientific inquiry. Meanwhile, the Silk Roads series, supported in part by the Luce Foundation, aims to cultivate transregional work in diverse fields, from history and religious studies to current events.

I joined the Press in 2011, and my fields of acquisition reflect my academic training at the University of Chicago and the University of Texas at Austin. Here I work with Editorial Associate Dylan Montanari, who provides essential support for these editorial endeavors. We welcome inquiries from authors and agents who are, like us, deeply committed to both precise thinking and beautiful writing.