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Cultural Studies

The Myth of the Absent Ancient: On Donatien Grau’s “De Civitate Angelorum”
Patrick R. Crowley reviews Donatien Grau’s “De Civitate Angelorum.”...
Patrick R. CrowleyDec 9
- Cultural Studies
- Translation
“Good to Think With,” but Also Delicious: A Conversation Between Merry White and Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft
Merry White and Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft discuss their new book “Ways of Eating: Exploring Food Through History and Culture.”...
Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft, Merry WhiteDec 7
Philosophy in Times Like These
Vanessa Wills argues that philosophical engagement is a necessary alternative to anti-intellectual nihilism and resurgent authoritarianism....
Vanessa WillsNov 27
Above a Noise Floor: On Kimberly Alidio’s “Teeter”
Rebecca Teich reviews Kimberly Alidio’s “Teeter.”...
Rebecca TeichNov 21
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
Using Our Words: On Minna Dubin’s “Mom Rage”
Tanya Ward Goodman reviews Minna Dubin’s “Mom Rage: The Everyday Crisis of Modern Motherhood.”...
Tanya Ward GoodmanNov 20
- Cultural Studies
- Nonfiction
The Many Worlds of China: On Joshua Kurlantzick’s “Beijing’s Global Media Offensive” and Michael Berry’s “Jia Zhangke on Jia Zhangke”
Yangyang Cheng reviews Joshua Kurlantzick’s “Beijing’s Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World” and Michael Berry’s “Jia Zhangke on Jia Zhangke.”...
Yangyang ChengNov 18
The Great Leap to Valhalla: Wagner in China
Melissa Chan writes about the performance of Wagner operas in China....
Melissa ChanNov 13
“Secrets & Sisterhood” and the Burden of Afghan Representation
Azeta Hatef reviews the Hulu reality show “Secrets & Sisterhood:The Sozahdahs."...
Azeta HatefNov 12
- Cultural Studies
- Television
Coral Tongues: On Chang Yuchen’s “Coral Dictionary Vol. 1”
Maya Hayda reviews Chang Yuchen’s “Coral Dictionary Vol. 1: 2019–2022.”...
Maya HaydaNov 4
How the World Ends: On Lindsay Turner’s “The Upstate”
Rona Cran reviews “The Upstate” by Lindsay Turner....
Rona CranNov 4
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
Vehicles of Awareness: On Terrance Hayes’s “So to Speak” and “Watch Your Language”
Jeevika Verma reviews Terrance Hayes’s “So to Speak” and “Watch Your Language: Visual and Literary Reflections on a Century of American Poetry.”...
Jeevika VermaOct 29
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
The Gift That Chung’s Gave Me: On Curtis Chin’s “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant”
A. C. Huyen reviews Curtis Chin’s “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.”...
A. C. HuyenOct 27
- Cultural Studies
- Memoir
Can We Imagine Better Work? On Aviva Briefel and Jason Middleton’s “Labors of Fear”
Brandon R. Grafius reviews Aviva Briefel and Jason Middleton’s “Labors of Fear: The Modern Horror Film Goes to Work.”...
Brandon R. GrafiusOct 25
The Same Water at Different Points: A Conversation with Hala Alyan and Zeina Hashem Beck
Summer Farah interviews Hala Alyan and Zeina Hashem Beck about “We Call to the Eye & the Night: Love Poems by Writers of Arab Heritage.”...
Summer FarahOct 25
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
Unplotting Trauma: On Elisa Gonzalez’s “Grand Tour”
C. Francis Fisher reviews Elisa Gonzalez’s “Grand Tour.”...
C. Francis FisherOct 21
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
Of Exile and Determination: On Leslie Sainz’s “Have You Been Long Enough at Table”
Emily Collins reviews Leslie Sainz’s “Have You Been Long Enough at Table.”...
Emily CollinsOct 8
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
Pillows of Air: A Conversation with Lawrence Weschler
In a preview of LARB Quarterly no. 39 “Air,” Michelle Chihara interviews Lawrence Weschler about his ancestry, his relationship to Los Angeles, his time at NYU, and more....
Michelle ChiharaOct 6
Where Life Is Precious, Life Is Precious. And Surely That’s Not Here: On Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s “Chain-Gang All-Stars”
Salem James Martinez reviews Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s “Chain-Gang All-Stars.”...
Salem James MartinezSep 29
The Chinese Restaurant on Main Street, USA: On Zai Liang’s “From Chinatown to Every Town”
Weiling Deng considers Zai Liang’s “From Chinatown to Every Town: How Chinese Immigrants Have Expanded the Restaurant Business in the United States.”...
Weiling DengSep 23
Critically Cringe: On Susan Neiman’s “Left Is Not Woke”
Samuel C. Huneke takes Susan Neiman’s “Left Is Not Woke” to task....
Samuel Clowes HunekeSep 17
- Cultural Studies
- Politics and Economics
North Korea on the Hudson: On Alexander Stille’s “The Sullivanians”
The history of an Upper West Side sex therapy cult isn’t what you think it will be, according to Dave Mandl’s review of Alexander Stille’s “The Sullivanians.”...
Dave MandlSep 9
- Cultural Studies
- History
Whose Fantasy Is This? On Sally Wen Mao’s “The Kingdom of Surfaces”
Hazem Fahmy reviews “The Kingdom of Surfaces” by Sally Wen Mao....
Hazem FahmyAug 28
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
What Fresh Hell: On Mary-Alice Daniel’s “Mass for Shut-Ins”
Chloe Xiang reviews “Mass for Shut-Ins” by Mary-Alice Daniel....
Chloe XiangAug 4
Family No Longer Sustains: On Michael Szalay’s “Second Lives”
Olivia Stowell reviews Michael Szalay’s “Second Lives: Black-Market Melodramas & the Reinvention of Television.”...
Olivia StowellJul 29
- Cultural Studies
- Television