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Black and white headshot of author Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon is a freelance writer in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her writing has appeared in publications including Salon, Aeon Magazine and the Good Men Project. Contact her on Twitter @liviagershon.

Ebeneezer Scrooge
Business

Charles Dickens Had It Right

Materialism, by most measures, does not correlate to happiness.
Margaret Sanger
Politics & History

Margaret Sanger’s Eugenics Defense

Margaret Sanger's belief in eugenics stemmed from her interest in individual choice—an idea that brought birth control into the mainstream of American life.
Raw kombu
Arts & Culture

Tasty! The Story of MSG

MSG, the Japanese flavor enhancer, has grown into an international sensation. But its history is also fraught with tension.
Christmas Lights
Arts & Culture

The Class Perceptions of Christmas Decorations in Great Britain

In the U.K., Christmas decorations are often associated with the lower-class, and such visibility has been scorned and criticized.
Man inside a voting booth.
Politics & History

How Class Conflicts Determine Voter Turnout

Studying voting data from 1840 to the 1990s, a correlation emerges between voter turnout and class conflicts throughout the country.
A man is talking while his assistant takes notes.
Business

Why Is Clerical Work Women’s Work?

As office jobs increased in the early 20th century, so did the distinction between men and women appropriate employment.
Hitler salutes marching Nazis in Weimar – Oct 1930
Politics & History

What Christmas Meant to the Nazis

The Nazi regime used Christmas to foster among the German people a sense of national unity and pride.
People standing in the office and working together on computer.
Business

When Companies Try to Socialize Their Employees

Recreational facilities were introduced by employers to encourage employee loyalty and instill within them certain middle-class values.
Weldon's Ladies' Journal April 1895 Public Domain via <a href="http://elusivemu.se/resources-for-artists-public-domain-fashion-images/#prettyPhoto[gallery-1]/1" target="_blank">elusivemu.se</a>
Arts & Culture

The Birth of Fashion Magazines

Fashion magazines, which first emerged in the 19th century, bridged notions of femininity with an increasingly consumerist society.
Family sitting around the dinner table.
Education & Society

What Makes a “Home”?

Privacy and retreat weren't always hallmarks of one's home.
Spoiled girl crying.
Education & Society

The Spoiled Child Is Not a Modern Invention

You know what’s wrong with kids these days? They want to “take things easy.” Or so said a school superintendent in 1905.
Philadelphia, PA, USA - December 12, 2014; Temple University students march on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, PA during a 'Black Lives Mater' protest march. (photo by Bas Slabbers)
Education

Challenging Unpopular Ideas on College Campuses Isn’t New

And it wasn't invented by millenials.
Sign for LGBT
Business

The Work Life of Transpeople

How transpeople actively do and undo gender in the workplace.
Concerned Student 1950, led by University of Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butler, second from right, speaks following the announcement that University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe would resign Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, in Columbia, Mo. Wolfe resigned Monday with the football team and others on campus in open revolt over his handling of racial tensions at the school. (Sarah Bell/Missourian via AP)
Education & Society

The Pervasive Racism on U.S. College Campuses

How faculty and students of color are marginalized by their own institutions.
A girl studying.
Business & Economics

The Real Driver Behind Curbing Population Growth

The solution isn't minimizing poverty or supplying more contraceptives.
Grasslands
Science & Technology

How Mining Impacted the Midwestern Grasslands

Is it possible to recover from the effects of coal mining? We investigate.
Campaign Donors
Politics & Government

The Five Percent: Looking at Where the Largest Campaign Donors Come From

The majority of campaign donors live in just five percent of the country's zip codes. Here is where they ideologically stand on issues.
Danish flags in Jens Bangs Stenhus, Aalborg
Politics & Government

Does Socialism Make People Happy?

Bernie Sanders cites Denmark's social welfare programs as a model. We turn to socialism and see whether he's right.
Oprah Winfrey
Business

Oprah, Weight Watchers, and the Power of Shame

Oprah Winfrey has recently acquired Weight Watchers. We look at them and other organizations dedicated to weight loss and body image.
An office secretary - 1970s
Arts & Culture

A Woman’s Life in Publishing

Anita D. McClellan entered the publishing industry as a secretary, one of the few opportunities available to women at the time. We tell her story.
Extra Credit Suggested Readings from JSTOR Daily Editors
Suggested Readings

Suggested Readings: Unisex Brains, Cops and Communities, and Touching Other People

Our pick of stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each Tuesday from the editors of JSTOR Daily.
Politicians Having a Beer
Politics & Government

The Upside of Partisanship

How partisanship shapes voter decision-making and turnout.
Charter Schools
Education

Charter School Networks: How They’re Funded

We look at the role the federal government and private donors play in funding charter school networks.
Smart Fourtwo Passion Coupe parked in driveway
Business

The Cost of Going Hybrid

What makes us buy hybrid cars? Going beyond the environmental argument.
Imprisoned student
Education

Bringing Education to Prisoners

Is there an alternative to the punitive treatment of criminals? We look at the history of correctional education reforms within the American prison system.

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