From Mundus Subterraneous by Athanasius Kircher, 1641

Where Does Water Come From?

And what does the early modern search for the answer to this question tell us about the “scientific method” we colloquially accept today?
Watercolor painting of the earth by Martin Eklund

Planetary Health: Foundations and Key Concepts

The groundwork for the field of planetary health was laid by a range of disciplines and movements, including medicine, ecology, health, and feminism.
An advertising poster for Brauerei Hölle (Hell Brewery), Radolfzell

What is a Symbol?

A symbol can be any object, character, color, or even shape that represents an abstract concept without explanatory text. But wait, there's more!
The covers of Oscar Hijuelos’s The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (1989), Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker (2004), and Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007).

American Immigrant Literature Gets an Update

Despite the historical gulf between canonical and recent immigrant writing, one constant is the mark that new immigrant artists leave on US literature.
Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting join hands in Romeo and Juliet, 1967

Her Bounty Is Boundless

From the first actor—a man—to play Juliet to the “girl boss” version on Broadway, Shakespeare’s young lover offers something new in every iteration.
Ruby Bridges

Chainlink Chronicle: Celebrating Black History in Louisiana

An exploration of one prison newspaper’s commitment to celebrating Black History with a unique focus on its home state.
Jane Avril by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1899

Hysteria, Indigenous Identities, and Cocaine Bear

Well-researched stories from Vox, Lampham’s Quarterly, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
McDonald's Japan Swing Manager Miwa Suzuki presents a box of McChoco Potato on January 25, 2016 in Tokyo, Japan

Fast and Pluribus: Impacts of a Globalizing McDonald’s

The expansion of McDonald’s in the twentieth century brought the fast food chain to more than 100 countries. But how well did it integrate into its new home(s)?
Edwin Boring

Gatekeeping Psychology

In the mid-twentieth century, psychologist Edwin Boring attributed the limited role of female psychologists to issues other than discrimination.
(Clockwise from bottom left) Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, Terminator X, S1W and Chuck D of the rap group Public Enemy pose for a portrait in a studio, 1988

How Rap Taught (Some of) the Hip Hop Generation Black History

For members of the Hip Hop generation who came of age during the Black Power era, “reality rap” was an entry into the political power of Black history.