T.S. Eliot astride a John Deere tractor.Photo remix by David S. Roh. BY DAVID S. ROHAssistant professor of English at the University of Utah What does T.S. Eliot have in common with a John Deere tractor? Quite a bit, as it turns out. The John Deere company (owned by General Motors) recently set the blogosphere … More On the perils of absolute ownership, tractors, and T.S. Eliot
A homeless man in New York. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been interestedin East New York as a mass transit hub—but at what cost to the rest of the neighborhood?Image: Wikimedia Commons. BY CRAIG WILLSEAssistant professor of cultural studies, George Mason University A recent article in the Wall Street Journal publicized new … More Homelessness and housing justice in gentrifying Brooklyn
BY GRANT FARREDCornell University I’ve been living with Martin Heidegger for a while now. Longer, I suppose, than I could accurately tell. At some point, maybe ten or so years ago, I turned to Heidegger and since then I have been unable to get away from him. And, as if to intensify that truth, I … More Living with the ghost of Martin Heidegger
Recent events in America including the #BlackLivesMatter movement areforcing white Americans to look at race in a way that’s uncomfortable—but also much more realistic.Image taken in November 2014 of a demonstration in New York City. Credit: Flickr. BY JULIA LEEAssistant professor of English at University of Nevada, Las Vegas According to a recent poll, nearly … More Examining America’s rhetoric of postracial progress.
BY RYAN THOMAS SKINNERAssistant professor of ethnomusicology at The Ohio State University For many, to think of a place called “Mali” is to hear, first and foremost, its music. Mali may be a poor, landlocked, and sunbaked country in the West African Sahel, but its widely acclaimed music culture—with its bluesy resonances, danceable rhythms, and … More What is "Malian music"?
This image created by the Hubble Space Telescopeis often referred to as the “Pillars of Creation.” It hasbeen a common subject for painters such as Thomas Moran. BY ELIZABETH A. KESSLERStanford University On April 24, 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope into its orbit above Earth. During its 25 years in space, astronomers have … More 25 years of Hubble images from space: strange, alien, phenomenal—and yet somehow, familiar.
California’s Mono Lake, pictured in August 2014. BY KAREN PIPERProfessor of postcolonial studies in English and adjunct professor in geography at the University of Missouri The solution to California’s drought is simple: stop shipping water to China. Farmers, who use 80% of the state’s water, ship crops containing “virtual water” (the water used to grow … More On California’s Water-Free Future
BY RYAN R. THORESON In October 1994, a group of U.S. activists led by Rodney Wilson, a teacher in Missouri, created LGBT History Month. Adopting a strategy pioneered with Black History Month in the 1970s and Women’s History Month in the 1980s, the activists launched the project as a way to ensure the varied and … More LGBT History Month: A look at behind-the-scenes groundwork that leads to the headline-grabbing victories.
BY GILDA L. OCHOAProfessor of sociology and Chicana/o-Latina/o studies at Pomona College Recently, much has been made about census reports that highlight how white students are no longer the numeric majority in U.S. public schools. Awareness of these changes is important, but statistics on students’ racial demographics tell only part of the story. These demographic … More Despite that white students are no longer the numerical majority in U.S. schools, racial inequality persists.
Click here to download the graphic version of this article. This week is World Water Week in Stockholm, where more than 200 organizations are convening to discuss global water and development issues. In light of this event, we wanted to take the opportunity to feature a new book that responds to these same issues and … More Explore the frightening landscape where water and thirst are political, and drought is a business opportunity.
