The “Queer Innocence” of the Brady Bunch
The squeaky-clean Brady Bunch family symbolized the avoidance of the sexual revolution, feminism, and other social forces that were coming to the fore.
What Does Archaeology Have to do with Nationalism?
Many nations have adopted origin stories in order to link themselves more closely to heroic, historical figures.
Halloween Stories
Why are Victorians the default haunted house, what do ghosts have to do with the imagination, and why do we like to be scared?
When Artists Painted with Real Mummies
The popular paint pigment called “mummy brown” used to be made from—yep—ground-up Egyptian mummies.
Krazy Kat’s Complex Relationship with Race
Behind the slapstick antics in this beloved comic strip simmered ambivalence about color and race.
The Mysterious Mana of Speaking
The Austronesian concept of "mana" helps us understand that behind the monolithic "magic" of modern power and authority, there is a fragile human dimension.
The First True Ornithologist
Though he was once dismissed as a dilettante, naturalist Francis Willughby was in fact part of the vanguard of observation-based modern science.
Mary Shelley’s Obsession with the Cemetery
The author of Frankenstein always saw love and death as connected. She visited the cemetery to commune with her dead mother. And with her lover.
Did A Star is Born Make Judy Garland a Gay Icon?
One scholar argues that Judy Garland's role in A Star is Born was so pivotal because it involved both gender impersonation and “racial drag."
Art in Space
Artists may soon be heading to the moon for the first time, but art and space travel have been linked together since the beginning.