African American Studies: Foundations and Key Concepts
This non-exhaustive list of readings in African American Studies highlights the vibrant history of the discipline and introduces the field.
Jill Lepore: How to Respond to the Crisis of Our Institutions
Lepore talks about presidential deceit, why women are often forgotten by history, and the “epistemological crisis” of our era.
War and Pest Control
Since World War I, the connections between pest control and war have been scientific, technological, institutional, and metaphorical.
Can Consumer Groups Be Radical?
Historian Lawrence Glickman looked at the consumer movements of the 1930s to find out.
How Female Singer-Songwriters Taught Us to Love in the 70s
Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon offered a way to imagine more modern ideals of romance and sexual relationships.
When Reading Inspired Women to Change History
The "Friday Night" group was a cohort of prominent nineteenth century Baltimore women who met each week to read, write, and debate social issues.
When Landscape Painting Was Protest Art
The landscape painter Thomas Cole celebrated the American landscape, but also expressed doubts about the limits of civilization.
The 19th Century War on Dogs
Dogs have always been a matter of debate in American cities. In 19th-century New York City, the debate involved paying impoverished children to participate in dog-murder.
The High School Hair Wars of the 1960s
Following the introduction of the mop top by the Beatles, the battle over how long school boys could wear their hair in the 1960s and 1970s went to the courts again and again.
The People’s Grocery Lynching, Memphis, Tennessee
On March 2, 1892, in Memphis, Tennessee, a racially charged mob grew out of a fight between a black and a white youth near People’s Grocery.