Sammy Davis Jr, wearing a Beatles t-shirt, performs on stage at The Talk of The Town in London, England in 1967

Sammy Davis Jr.’s Conversion Mishegoss

Sammy Davis Jr.'s conversion to Judaism in 1960 was met with skepticism, derision, and, yes, jokes by the members of the groups he claimed and embraced.
A film still from The Batman

Batman: A Hero or a New ‘Mr. Hyde’?

The parallels between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde are examined through the lenses of Gothic literature and psychological symbolism.
Pixelated books

Are Video Games Like Novels?

Video games as interactive storytelling? Maybe not at first glance, but as Eric Hayot explains, the interplay between game and narrative is real.
Somebody stealing a speech bubble from another person

Policing Joke Theft

Joke theft: it's a serious matter.
The cover of Ebony and Topaz: A Collectanea

The Short but Influential Run of Ebony and Topaz

The 1927 art and literature magazine only ran for a single issue, but “proved an integral component of Harlem Renaissance cultural production."
Close-up of a Man's smiling mouth

The Laugh Track: Loathe It or Love It

The use of a laugh track began with radio, and was taken up by the new medium of television in 1950. Both viewers and critics have loathed it ever since.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and former Russian President Boris Yeltsin attend an inauguration ceremony for Putin May 7, 2000 in the Kremlin in Moscow.

Russia and the Soviet Union: A Syllabus of Background Readings

These readings from our archive provide context for the developing conflict in Ukraine.
Thurgood Marshall, 1967

Drafting a Constitution: Thurgood Marshall in Kenya

In 1960, before his nomination as a US Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall helped frame the constitution that would serve a new country.
A promotional image for Moon Over Harlem, 1939

How Film Ads Were Part of the Fight Against Segregation

In the Jim Crow era, Black film theaters were left out of the "first-run" distribution channels. Theater owners used creativity to attract their audiences.