Cultural Studies

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

Radical Optimization: On “Desperately Seeking Self-Improvement”
On Carl Cederström and André Spicer's "Desperately Seeking Self-Improvement" and the obsession with optimization in a neoliberal world.
Peter BloomMar 14, 2018
A Messiah-cum-Surrogate-Dad for Gormless Dimwits: On Jordan B. Peterson’s “12 Rules for Life”
Houman Barekat questions “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos” by Jordan B. Peterson.
Houman BarekatMar 8, 2018
- Cultural Studies
- Philosophy & Religion
Whose Survival Is Wrapped Up in Mine: An Interview with Benjamin Bateman
Alex Espinoza talks with Benjamin Bateman about his new book, “The Modernist Art of Queer Survival.”
Alex EspinozaFeb 25, 2018
Let Me Take a Selfie: Possibility, Performativity, and Politics in Alicia Eler’s “The Selfie Generation”
Alicia Eler’s “The Selfie Generation” dilates on perhaps the seminal photographic genre of our time to think about its possibilities and pitfalls.
Hollis GriffinJan 26, 2018
Reading Bad
Bruce Robbins reads Merve Emre's "Paraliterary: The Making of Bad Readers in Postwar America."
Bruce RobbinsJan 21, 2018
- Cultural Studies
- Literary Criticism
What We Talk About When We Talk About Translation
Deborah Smith, whose rendition of Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” won the Man Booker International Prize, reflects on the controversies of translation.
Deborah SmithJan 11, 2018
An A to Z of Iain Sinclair on the Occasion of the American Publication of “The Last London: True Fictions from an Unreal City”
Geoff Nicholson goes through the alphabet to describe the multifaceted work of Iain Sinclair.
Geoff NicholsonJan 9, 2018
- Around the World
- Cultural Studies
To Petrify Time: On Grigory Kanovich’s “Shtetl Love Song” and Sergey Kanovich’s Lost Shtetl Project
Linda Kinstler considers two Lithuanian Jewish memorial endeavors, Grigory Kanovich's novel “Shtetl Love Song” and his son Sergey’s “Lost Shtetl” project.
Linda KinstlerJan 3, 2018
Permanent Precarity for American Millennials
Reece Rogers is rallied by “Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials” by Malcolm Harris.
Reece RogersDec 9, 2017
A Lexicon of the Indigenous Body: Images of Autonomy and Desire
Natalie Diaz on the indigenous body in art.
Natalie DiazDec 8, 2017
The Politics of the Ostrich: On Pascal Bruckner’s “Un racisme imaginaire: La querelle de l’islamophobie et culpabilité”
Reza Zia-Ebrahimi exposes the real danger of “Un racisme imaginaire” by Pascal Bruckner.
Reza Zia-EbrahimiDec 7, 2017
Going in Beauty: An Interview with Tony Hillerman
Alan Warhaftig offers an interview, conducted in 1984, with legendary mystery writer Tony Hillerman.
Alan WarhaftigDec 6, 2017
- Cultural Studies
- Noir