Cultural Studies

"Culture is an instrument wielded by professors to manufacture professors." — Simone Weil

“Toxic” Relationships in the Affective Age
What memoirs by Melissa Febos, Carmen Maria Machado, and Alisson Wood can tell us about our affective age.
Gila AshtorDec 17, 2020
- Cultural Studies
- Memoir & Essay
The Dream of the Swimming Pool
James Delbourgo considers the ways we've looked at swimming pools over the years.
James DelbourgoDec 14, 2020
Toward a Saner Psychedelia
Ido Hartogsohn’s new book explores the impact of LSD on postwar American society and culture.
Matthew BondDec 12, 2020
- Cultural Studies
- Science & Technology
The Talented Ms. Calloway
What can Caroline Calloway tell us about media culture, the self-branding industry, gig work, and a growing army of hungry creatives vying for attention?
Sarah BrouilletteDec 10, 2020
- Cultural Studies
- Economics and Finance
Meritocracy and Battle Royale
What online games can tell us about our culture of cutthroat competition and rampant inequality.
Brendan MackieDec 10, 2020
- Cultural Studies
- Politics
Performance Anxiety: How Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines Shaped Soldiers’ (Mis)Understandings of the Vietnam War
Cheap magazine stories may have fueled the way we fought the Vietnam War.
Nicholas UtzigDec 5, 2020
The Myth of Mestizaje
A celebrated Mexican anthropologist explodes one of his nation’s founding myths.
Ellen Jones, Federico NavarreteNov 27, 2020
The Undying Half-Life of Yiddish
Two books explore the indelible imprint of Yiddish on modern politics and popular culture.
Marc CaplanNov 23, 2020
A Modest Proposal for Building the Future
Alex Pang thinks he should hate Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell’s book “The Innovation Delusion.” Instead, he wholeheartedly agrees with their main points.
Alex Soojung-Kim PangNov 23, 2020
Hard Times: Martin Hägglund’s “This Life” and the Pomodoro Technique
What makes the Pomodoro Technique difficult to criticize is not simply that we need PT-like scaffolds in the realm of freedom.
Alexa HazelNov 21, 2020
Quantified Life: An Interview with Sun-ha Hong
Emily Watlington interviews Sun-ha Hong about our data fantasies.
Emily WatlingtonOct 26, 2020
A Grim Purgatory: On Greg Jenner’s History of Celebrity
Aida Amoako considers celebrity through Greg Jenner’s history of fame, “Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen.”
Aida AmoakoOct 21, 2020
- Cultural Studies
- History