BLADE RUNNER 2049

Do We Have Moral Obligations to Robots?

The recent film Blade Runner 2049 engages with questions raised by Karel Čapek and Isaac Asimov: What do we owe our creations (and what do they owe us)?
1949 Little Women

The Grumpiness of Little Women

By focusing in on the characters’ emotions, a scholar discovers something more than good little women. She finds surprisingly angry ones.
Tiffany Illinois mosaic

What Can Tiffany’s Mosaics Teach us about Stereotypes?

Tiffany’s glass mosaics can teach us a lot about stereotypes and nineteenth-century ideologies, particularly in the Marquette Buildings mosaic friezes.
Casablanca poster

Casablanca at 75

On the 75th anniversary of the premier of Casablanca, let's revisit the art and politics of this venerable American classic.
Emma Amos Flying Circus

Emma Amos’s Family Romance

Postmodernist painter and printmaker Emma Amos makes artwork that references historical figures as well as her family legacy.
Scrabble game

Codifying What Counts as a Word in Scrabble

Alfred M. Butts first created a word game called Lexico (or Lexiko) for his family in 1931. His business partner renamed it Scrabble.
Concorde jet

The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Concorde

Once a major advancement in aircraft technology, the Concorde jet was retired in 2003.
Thoreau Sherlock Holmes

The Truth About Sherlock Holmes: He’s Actually Henry David Thoreau

A tongue in cheek comparison between the British fictional sleuth and the American Transcendentalist author, just because.
Mulberry tree Cambridge

When America Went Crazy for Mulberry Trees

In the early 19th century, mulberry trees became associated with economic prosperity and morally upright productiveness, leading to a speculative bubble.
Glazed tiles wall of spanish province of Ciudad Real at Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain

Is Don Quixote to Blame for Modern Movie Reboots?

The culture industry has long repackaged content from the past for the present. Just look at Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote.