Keeping the Baba-Nyonya Culture of Penang Alive
Identity consciousness among Malaysian Chinese Peranakans is on the rise as the Babas and Nyonyas seek to celebrate and preserve their unique heritage.
The Challenges of Regulating Rice in Myanmar
The Myanmar government has regulated its agricultural and export industry through one specific crop: rice. What are the future prospects of the rice economy?
How Upper Lips Got Stiff
The truism that “boys don’t cry” is a Western social convention. Colonialism and imperialism made sure it spread East.
The Dawn of Kicks
Invented for a faddish game in the 1880s, tennis shoes became fashionable when manufacturers, fearing the tennis boom would go bust, pushed them off the lawn.
Sacred Groves, Medieval Babies, and Army Ants
Well-researched stories from Hakai Magazine, The Conversation, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
The Evolution of Zaha Hadid, Architect
An unconventional architect who started her career as an outsider, Hadid became a leading figure in architecture and design in the twenty-first century.
Pachuca Rebels in 1940s Los Angeles
Like their zoot suit-wearing male counterparts, young Mexican American women rebelled against white, mainstream culture through bold fashion choices.
Marie Bashkirtseff’s Diary
The art student died young, but her diary lived on to inspire future writers, including Anaïs Nin, Katherine Mansfield, and Mary MacLane.
The Flood Behind Bessie Smith’s “Back-Water Blues”
The Mississippi River flood that Smith allegedly memorialized happened weeks after she'd written and released her song. Where was the real “Back Water”?
Radical Theology: A Syllabus
Radical theology aims to construct revolutionary understandings of myth, ritual, and scripture that speak to the dearth of meaning in our contemporary moment.