Asian Families, the RAND Book, and Science Fiction
New books and scholarship from Stanford University Press, University of Minnesota, and MIT Press.
A Decades-in-the-Making Artwork in a Dormant Volcano
James Turrell is building an observatory that uses the human eye instead of optical instruments. It may soon be open to the public for the first time.
The Silkwomen of Medieval London
A group of skilled women ran the silk-making industry in 15th century London. So why didn't they protect their workers' rights by forming a guild?
This British Suffragist Used Her Art for Activism
Sylvia Pankhurst gave up painting to focus on suffrage and anti-colonialism activism, but she continued to use her design sense throughout her career.
The Transgressive Subtext of Teen Surf Movies
Surf movies of the 1950s and 1960s only seemed squeaky-clean. Just beneath the surface was rebellion, rule-bending, and an embrace of the "other."
The Ladylike Language of Letters
Letters reveal how language changes. They also offer a peek into the way people--especially women--have always constructed their private and public selves.
Was Modernism Meant to Keep the Working Classes Out?
In the 19th century, more working class readers started partaking in contemporary fiction. Modernist literature, however, was specifically not for them.
Samuel Beckett and the Theatre of Resistance
The dark, absurdist humor of Samuel Beckett's work was directly informed by his time in the French Resistance during World War II.
William Faulkner Goes to Hollywood
The curious, forgotten connection between William Faulkner and Charles de Gaulle.