The Masculinization of Little Lord Fauntleroy
The 1936 movie Little Lord Fauntleroy broke box office records, only to be toned down and masculinized amid cultural fears of the “sissified” male.
Pompeii Mania in the Era of Romanticism
Nothing appealed more perfectly to the Romantic sensibility than the mix of horror and awe evoked by a volcano erupting.
With the Coronavirus, Science Confronts Geopolitics
The containment of COVID-19 raises pressing questions related to the freedom of scientific information, civil liberties, and human rights, one scholar explains.
How Film Noir Tried to Scare Women out of Working
In the period immediately following World War II, the femme fatale embodied a host of male anxieties about gender roles.
When Language Goes Viral
How do innocuous words become insidious in the face of a public health emergency?
How Renaissance Artisans Turned Live Animals into Silver
Lifecasting was the renaissance art of making sculptures using molds taken from real-life plants and animals.
The Case for Reparations Is Nothing New
In fact, Black activists and civil rights leaders have been advocating for compensation for the trauma and cost of slavery for centuries.
The Sinatra Movie Some Blamed for JFK’s Death
In the 1950s, Frank Sinatra starred in Suddenly, a movie that happens to depict a plot against the President.
Bipartisan Forever Wars
A critical analysis of both political parties is necessary to understand how the US has created its informal empire—and to envision a different future.
Dating Apps Are Intensifying Online Partisanship
Some social scientists argue that dating and mating patterns may be the real drivers of polarization.