Marilyn Monroe

The Many Meanings of Marilyn Monroe

The life, times and image of Monroe has been expounded upon tirelessly in the decades after her tragic death at age 36.
Jay Z on stage

Can Jay Z Help Students Read James Joyce?

Rapper Jay Z recently released his 13th studio album 4:44. Could this be used in the classroom to enlighten and educate students in secondary schools?
Jeanna Moreau

Jeanne Moreau and the Birth of Cool

The French actress Jeanne Moreau worked with directors Truffaut, Duras, Buñuel, Renoir, Antonioni, Fassbinder, and Orson Welles.
Bob Dylan and Herman Melville

What Herman Melville Can Teach Bob Dylan about Plagiarism

Bob Dylan delivered his Nobel Prize lecture on June 4, just days before a deadline that would have ...
Unabomber words

Fighting Words With the Unabomber

Some of the world's most baffling criminal cases were solved thanks to some seemingly harmless point about language. Take the Unabomber, for example.
Graceland facade

Was Graceland Elvis’ Greatest Aesthetic Masterpiece?

When you think of the aesthetic life of Elvis Presley, you probably think of the gaudy glitz of Graceland. But what did the tacky décor really mean?
Bronte Sisters

Branwell: The Other Brontë

It's the 200th anniversary of the birth of Branwell Brontë, who isn't nearly as famous as his three sisters but remains a key player in the family drama.
Mad Magazine

How Mad Magazine Informed America’s Cultural Critique

When Tales Calculated to Drive You MAD—Humor in a Jugular Vein first erupted onto the streets in 1952, it was like nothing ever seen before.
Jerri Sloan

Synthetic Fabrics Inspired a Cultural Revolution

The advent of synthetic fabrics played a surprising role in bringing women into the workforce, as Mercury 13 trainee Geraldine Sloan’s story illustrates.
Woman sitting on chair, putting on stockings

Why Women Burned Their Stockings in the 1930s

The average 1930s American woman bought up to 15 pairs of silk stockings a year—until, that is, women boycotted the fabric behind an essential garment.