Octavia Butler’s Roots in Black History
The Parable books seem different yet familiar, their plots framed by a world shattered by racism, economic inequality, and climate change.
Fighting for Sex Workers’ Rights in India
Labor unions for sex workers reveal how sexuality, gender, and caste intersect in a precarious and often dangerous work environment.
The Battle over Drag in 1960s San Francisco
The organized struggle for rights has been shaped by debates over the relationship between gender presentation and sexuality.
Bodies of the Titanic: Found and Lost Again
Ideas about economic class informed decisions about which recovered bodies would be preserved for land burial and which would be returned to the icy seas.
Elvis and American Karate
Presley’s embrace of martial arts resonated with working- and middle-class Americans who felt alienated from the US justice system.
Can Fan Hashtag Campaigns Stop the “Bury Your Gays” Trope?
Organized fan hashtag campaigns put pressure on the entertainment industry to improve their writing for and treatment of LGBTQ+ characters.
The Lesbian As Villain or Victim
In Oregon in the 1960s, the debate over capital punishment hinged on shifting interpretations of the gendered female body.
Juneteenth: A Freedom Celebration Behind Bars
Juneteenth is commemorated by an incarcerated Black woman in a 1975 issue of Sunfighter. What does it mean to celebrate freedom when you have none?
Improving Communications Around Climate Change
How can scientists better explain the potential hazards of sea-level rise to historic coastal communities?
Mad About Nixon
No other personality appeared more often on the cover of Mad during the first fifty years of the satirical magazine’s life.