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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.

Tailgating at a football game
Business

How Beer Companies Made Light Beer Macho

Light beer was originally marketed for its reduced calorie count. But heavy drinking men weren't into that.
Birth of Venus - Sandro Botticelli [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Business & Economics

What Early Economists Thought About Sex

We take a look at how sex was viewed by early economists, from Sir William Petty to Adam Smith to Jeremy Bentham.
Pile of textbooks on a desk
Education

The Racism of History Textbooks

How history textbooks reinforced narratives of racism, and the fight to change those books from the 1940s to the present.
Slum
Business & Economics

America: A Welfare Nation

We think of welfare as social security for the economically vulnerable. Maybe it's time we rightfully enlarge what we mean by the term.
Student using a cell phone
Education

Should Cell Phones Be Used in the Classroom?

When schools welcome the use of cell phones and other technologies in the classroom.
Original caption: 12/31/1916-Dorothy Day (1897-1980), American journalist and reformer, born in Brooklyn, NY. (Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)
Politics & History

Dorothy Day and the Activism of the Catholic Church

We look back at the work of social activist Dorothy Day, who's staunch defense of labor unions fell in-line with the activism of the Catholic Church.
Butter-making, Appalachia, USA, c1917. (Photo by EFD SS/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
Business

Gender and Family Farms: An Investigation

We look at how gender affects the roles of men, women, and children on family farms in Appalachia.
Row of workers at their desks
Business

How Temp Jobs Changed Everything

Temporary employment, popularly known as temp jobs, skyrocketed in the 1990s. A look at its dramatic impact on the labor market.
Aaron Shikler [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Politics & Government

A Muslim Shouldn’t Be President? We Said That About Catholics, Too

Ben Carson's remarks on whether or not a Muslim should be President of the United States is put into context. We've seen this before.
Crowed escalator
Business & Economics

Consumerism: An Economic Critique

Consumerism, a hallmark of American life, may not be as beneficial as we all think.
Toronto, Canada - May 25, 2012: A protest sign reading "I was wearing pants + a sweater, was it my fault too?" Taken during "Slut Walk 2012", a protest event about sexual assault and victims' rights, among other related issues.
Education & Society

“Victim Culture” and Victim Blaming

The critique of contemporary "victim culture" has parallels to the critique of "victim feminism" of the 1990s.
"ClubForGrowth" by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ClubForGrowth.jpg#/media/File:ClubForGrowth.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>
Politics & Government

The Club for Growth and Political Polarization

Organized groups have arisen to enforce "party purity" and wider political polarization in American politics.
Statue of Lady Justice holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other
Education & Society

How Reforms to Rape Law Changed Our Understanding of the Crime

Reforms to rape law in the 1970s and 1980s transformed the definition of rape and brought the crime out of the shadows.
A restaurant check paid in cash
Business

Why Do Americans Love Tipping?

Tipping as cultural practice: why some countries like the U.S. like tipping and others don't.
"Hazelton coal miners". Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hazelton_coal_miners.jpg#/media/File:Hazelton_coal_miners.jpg" target="_blank">Commons</a>
Politics & History

The Rise and Fall of Coal Miners’ Unions

The origin of coal miners’ unions during the late nineteenth century.
circa 1955: Women loiter in the doorways of nightclubs in Yoshiwara, the red light district of Tokyo, while prospective clients wander past or stop to look. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)
Politics & History

The Battle to Keep Prostitution Legal in 1950s Japan

Revisiting the struggle to keep prostitution from being criminalized in 1950s Japan.
Black and white photo of a Model-T
Politics & History

Electric Cars… of The 1890s

Electric cars were first introduced in the late 1890s, but they didn't catch on.
"Annual report of the Board of Education of School District Number One in the City and County of Denver, Colorado (1918) (14779460911)" by School District Number One in the City and County of Denver, Colorado. Board of Education - https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14779460911/Source book page: https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofb1819scho/annualreportofb1819scho#page/n143/mode/1up. Licensed under No restrictions via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Annual_report_of_the_Board_of_Education_of_School_District_Number_One_in_the_City_and_County_of_Denver,_Colorado_(1918)_(14779460911).jpg#/media/File:Annual_report_of_the_Board_of_Education_of_School_District_Number_One_in_the_City_and_County_of_Denver,_Colorado_(1918)_(14779460911).jpg" target="_blank">Commons</a>
Education

Teaching Kids Their Place

A historical survey of early 20th century teaching finds students being taught their place in the socioeconomic system.
A pastor speaking to his congregation
Business

When Televangelism Got Big

Deregulation of the airwaves helped lead to the success of televangelism, and cable made it stronger.
A refugee family seen arrives at the Munich railway station before being checked by the medical staffs. - Thousands of refugees mainly from Iraq and Syria continue to flood in to Munich railway station in southern Germany as trains arrive from Budapest and Vienna. 8th September 2015 (Photo by Geovien So/NurPhoto) Credit: Associated Press
Politics & History

How Should Europe Welcome Refugees?

A comparison of the different ways European countries welcome refugees suggest that a combination of methods works best.
A group of handguns
Politics & Government

Who Opposes Gun Control?

People who oppose gun control tend to be white, male, Protestant, and living in the West, Mountain states, or South.
Punch clock next to a wall of timecards
Business

The Trouble with Scientific Management

Frederick Taylor's scientific management theory has some holes in it.
Extra Credit Suggested Readings from JSTOR Daily Editors
Suggested Readings

Suggested Reading: The truth about Shakespeare, How to Count Trees, the End of Work Friends

Our weekly pick of suggested reading.
A teacher helps a student in the classroom
Education

White Teachers, Black Students

Perception of black students by their white teachers may be racially biased.
"Bamn Automat" by User:Nricardo - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bamn_Automat.png#/media/File:Bamn_Automat.png
Politics & History

The Automated Future, and Past, of Fast Food

Automat cafeterias were the precursors of contemporary fast food restaurants.

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