A Brief History of Men Showing Leg
The story of the modern suit begins with tight pants, as men’s legs became markers of class, civility, and sexuality.
Samurai and Guerrillas: The First Official Japanese Visit
The first Japanese delegation to the US captivated crowds and confounded expectations, as the press cast its samurai as “effeminate.”
Marriage and the Maiden Name
While many women trade surnames they had at birth for their husbands’, some hold on tightly to the former, a tradition famously established by Lucy Stone.
The Hidden History of Women Game Designers
Nineteenth-century women turned music lessons into interactive entertainment, complete with spinning wheels and ivory counters.
What Was Behind Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal?
Swift’s savage animosity towards the Irish Protestant elites is front and center in his biting (perhaps literally) critique of the landlord class.
Misunderstood Malthus
The English thinker whose name is synonymous with doom and gloom has lessons for today.
Moral Economy and the Causes of Wage Inequality
How important are labor unions for combating wage inequality in the United States?
Take Me Out to the Class Game: Social Stratification in the Stadium
The private boxes for the privileged few in today’s baseball stadiums are nothing new.
Lonely Diarist of the High Seas
As ship stewardess, Ella Sheldon tended to upper-crust women onboard and battled a range of workplace demons. Her journals tell her story.
Pan-Asianism Redux, or Why We Think Japan Is Special
Observers have long hailed Japan’s aptitude for cultural synthesis. Is this characterization warranted, or does it reflect a collective fantasy about exceptionalism?