Mussolini’s Motherhood Factories
In fascist Italy, childbirth, breastfeeding and motherhood were given a hybrid structure of industrial management and eugenicist biological essentialism.
Mesmerizing Labor
The man who introduced mesmerism to the US was a slave-owner from Guadeloupe, where planters were experimenting with “magnetizing” their enslaved people.
The New Negro and the Dawn of the Harlem Renaissance
In 1925, an anthology of Black creative work heralded the arrival of a movement that had been years in the making.
In Defense of Kitsch
The denigration of kitsch betrays a latent anti-Catholicism, one born from centuries of class and ethnic divisions.
The First Movie Kiss
The public fascination was so intense that fans soon started demanding live reenactments.
What Was the Black International?
The twentieth-century struggle for African independence began in Paris salons hosted by the daughters of elite blacks, then travelled by telegram and steamship.
Why John Baldessari Burned His Own Art
The artist's "Cremation Project" of 1970 marked a liberation from the tradition of painting and a step toward a more encompassing vision.
The Anti-Jewish Tropes in How the Grinch Stole Christmas
You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You’re in keeping with the medieval tradition of viewing the Jew as an outcast and a baleful force in society.
Walter Benn Michaels: What’s His Deal?
The literary critic Walter Benn Michaels challenges the prevailing trends of postmodernist theory.
Why Do Governments Target Protest Masks?
The galvanizing power of the ideology behind a protest mask is a palpable thing.