“Are You Popular?”
Mental hygiene films of the postwar era gave advice to American teens—and parroted specific cultural values.
The Linguistic Evolution of Taylor Swift
If Taylor Swift shifts her accent in her transition from country to pop, does she lose the personal authenticity important to country music?
How Annie Oakley Defined the Cinema Cowgirl
“Little Sure Shot” was famous for her precision, athleticism, and trademark femininity.
On Black Power in the Pacific
How the meaning of Blackness, and the social construction of race, varies across era and region.
How to Meme What You Say
The linguistic theories behind what we're trying to say when we adapt and share internet memes.
Socially Sanctioned Love Triangles of Romantic-Era Italy
Eighteenth-century Italian noblewomen had one indispensable accessory: an extramarital lover.
The Satanic Foreign Film That Was Banned in the U.S.
Benjamin Christensen's Häxan was part documentary and part fantasy—and considered too disturbing for public viewing.
The Detroit Rebellion
From 1964 to 1972, at least 300 U.S. cities faced violent upheavals, the biggest led by the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, in Detroit.
What Drove Buster Keaton to Try a Civil War Comedy?
“Someone should have told Buster that it is difficult to derive laughter from the sight of men being killed in battle.”