Cultural Studies

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

The Search for What Makes Us Human: The Killer Ape Account of the Mid-20th Century
Does violence make humans unique? Melinda Baldwin reviews Erika Lorraine Milam’s “Creatures of Cain: The Hunt for Human Nature in Cold War America.”
Melinda BaldwinJun 16, 2019
One Feels a Malady: On Robert N. Watson’s “Cultural Evolution and its Discontents”
William Flesch reviews "Cultural Evolution and its Discontents: Cognitive Overload, Parasitic Cultures, and the Humanistic Cure."
William FleschJun 7, 2019
My Friend Marshall
The dean of American music critics on his late friend, public intellectual Marshall Berman.
Robert ChristgauMay 27, 2019
This Is Why We Cry: From “Sad by Design: On Platform Nihilism”
LARB presents an excerpt from “Sad by Design: On Platform Nihilism” by Geert Lovink.
Geert LovinkMay 20, 2019
- Cultural Studies
- Science & Technology
The Party of Utopia: A Report from the 43rd Annual Society for Utopian Studies Conference
Bonnie Johnson reports from the 43rd annual Society for Utopian Studies Conference.
Bonnie JohnsonMay 15, 2019
- Cultural Studies
Office Park: A Review of Amazon’s Spheres
"A kind of emptiness makes the green spaces of The Spheres feel more like a branding move on Amazon’s part than a facility to be used by actual workers."
Sheila LimingApr 26, 2019
The Singular Power of Writing: A Conversation with Thomas Chatterton Williams
Otis Houston speaks to Thomas Chatterton Williams, author of “Losing My Cool” and “Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race.”
Otis HoustonApr 12, 2019
Rewriting the West: A Discussion About the Cultural History of the American “Frontier”
A conversation with Michelle García, Carolina A. Miranda, and Fernanda Santos of “Rewriting the West,” a partnership between Michelle García and “Guernica.”
Stephanie MalakApr 6, 2019
- Cultural Studies
- History
Wit and Wisdom at the 35th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Sean McCoy reports from the 35th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.
Sean McCoyMar 17, 2019
Russianness Under Foreign Skies: On Edyta M. Bojanowska’s “A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada”
Yelena Furman navigates “A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada,” by Edyta M. Bojanowska.
Yelena FurmanMar 10, 2019
The Necessity of Being Judgmental: On “k-punk: The Collected and Unpublished Writings of Mark Fisher”
"k-punk" is a primer in how to write cultural criticism today. If it is a catastrophe that we no longer have Mark Fisher, we at least have this collection.
Roger LuckhurstMar 9, 2019
Menu Matters: On Alison Pearlman’s “May We Suggest”
India Mandelkern samples “May We Suggest: Restaurant Menus and the Art of Persuasion” by Alison Pearlman.
India MandelkernFeb 17, 2019