Gonna Make You a (Bangsawan) Star
The bangsawan theater in early twentieth-century Malaya offered women a chance to build a public identity beyond marriage and motherhood.
The Princess Brides of the Malay Annals
Narratives about women as gift objects in classical literature show the power dynamics of trade and diplomacy in the early modern Malay world.
Imperial Humo(u)r
Imperialism, experienced as both royal subject and new colonizer, has been a key element in the development, continuity, and disruption of American humor.
What the Shadow Says
The appearance of the vigilante crime fighter known as the Shadow in the writings of Plath, Kerouac, and Baraka reveals a twentieth-century duality.
From Folkway to Art: The Transformation of Quilts
In the late twentieth century, the image of the American quilt shifted from one of practicality and handicraft to a celebration of modernist abstraction.
The “Soundscape” Heard ’Round the World
The rich origins of an everyday word about everyday sound—and why we celebrate composer R. Murray Schafer on World Listening Day.
The Spiritual Side of Calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy is a personal art that draws on Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism as well as spiritual practices that date to the second century CE.
The Magical Furniture of David Roentgen
Cabinetmaker to Marie Antoinette, Roentgen designed “surprise furniture,” bureaus and desks that appeared to magically transform at the push of a button.
The Enduring Drive-In Theater
Even as televisions spread across the American landscape, the drive-in movie theater grew in popularity in the years following World War II.
How Keanu Reeves Radically Rescripts Race
Reeves’s career showcases his transnational mobility as well as a representational flexibility granted by the melding of races, ethnicities, and cultures.