‘Winter in Sokcho’ Offers an Icy Narrative of Identity and Distance
Author Elisa Shua Dusapin draws from her own challenges of entwined cultures and a feeling of not belonging in Winter in Sokcho.
Linda Levitt
Reading, thinking, talking and writing. Communication PhD and assoc prof in Texas.
Anthony Bourdain’s Last Word on Travel
In World Travel, readers are once again welcomed to Anthony Bourdain’s world, although that world is trapped in time.
15 Years Ago Paul Simon’s ‘Surprise’ Synthesized Traditional and Transformational Songwriting
Surprise shows that the familiar pleasures of Paul Simon’s work are the themes and musical sparks that leave a lasting influence.
What Made Mahjong Click with Suburban Americans?
In Annelise Heinz’s cultural history, ‘Mahjong’, the role of games tells more significant stories than simply recording how we use our leisure time.
Robert Whiting’s Life Comes Full Circle with His Latest Book, ‘Tokyo Junkie’
Robert Whiting’s aim in ‘Tokyo Junkie’ and all of his writing is to delineate the cultural differences and similarities between Japan and the United States.
How “Hip Checks” Betray Our Gender-Mediated Gaze
Erica Rand applies the sports method, “hip checks”, to explore race and gender bias in ‘The Small Book of Hip Checks’.
Hilma af Klint’s Art Gives Shape to the Things We Cannot See
Swedish artist Hilma af Klint embraced theosophy and its intent of exploring occult phenomena by uniting spirituality and science.
Visual Culture’s Power Over You
Visual culture is not just ubiquitous, it's also a potent force.
‘Clutter’ Gets in Your Head
In Jennifer Howard's social history, Clutter, the emotional relationship to the material world is critical in trying to understand her mother's hoarding behaviors.
Literary Scholar Andrew H. Miller On Solitude As a Common Bond
Andrew H. Miller's On Not Being Someone Else considers how contemplating other possibilities for one's life is a way of creating meaning in the life one leads.
Manual for Survival’s History of Chernobyl Resonates in Our Time of COVID-19
Shortly after the reactor explosion in Chernobyl in 1986, officials in Belarus offered up an argument that will be hauntingly familiar to those tracking the spread of COVID-19.