The Confounding Career of William Klein
The American artist brought the physical world into fashion photography in ways that were often unappreciated or unpredictable.
The New York School Poets
From Bernadette Mayer to Joan Mitchell. Tracing the path from the New York School poets to their painter friends.
Batman: A Hero or a New ‘Mr. Hyde’?
The parallels between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde are examined through the lenses of Gothic literature and psychological symbolism.
“I Have A Dream”: Annotated
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s iconic speech, annotated with relevant scholarship on the literary, political, and religious roots of his words.
The Declaration of Independence: Annotated
Related links to free scholarly context on JSTOR for the foundational document in American government.
The Ecological Prescience of Dune
Frank Herbert’s novel isn't just about space messiahs, giant sandworms, and trippy space drugs. At its core, the sci-fi epic is about ecology.
How to Gather the Oral Histories of COVID-19
The Federal Writers’ Project offers vital lessons for capturing the oral histories of ordinary Americans living through the coronavirus pandemic.
D.T. Suzuki’s Very American Zen
Zen was a conservative form of Buddhism in Japan that eventually became a way for Americans to find inner peace.
How Churches Helped Make Scandinavians “White”
At a time when people from the "wrong" places were entering the U.S., missionaries tried to recruit immigrants they found acceptable.
Crispus Attucks Needs No Introduction. Or Does He?
The African American Patriot, who died in the Boston Massacre, was erased from visual history. Black abolitionists revived his memory.