essays

I remember my thoughts as I walked into the book exhibit at a conference in London last summer: “Can I just snuggle amongst all the books?” That may sound a little ridiculous, but I’ve always loved being in settings where I could learn and read, particularly libraries...

The 2019 theme for the Writivism Literary Festival in Kampala, Uganda—“UnBreakable Bonds” —began with a question: what does it mean to be a prize competition, and by extension a publisher, only open to writers living on the African continent? Beneath this question are...

In 2018, the Latinx population in the United States reached 59.9 million.[1] Given the current climate of fear and uncertainty created by the policies of the Trump administration toward immigrant families as well as historical attitudes toward Latin American...

“Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii” is a marble sculpture designed by Randolph Rogers [1825–1892], and reproduced in two sizes for 167 copies. “Nydia” portrays how narratives can inspire art and, in turn, how art can function as a communicative medium that...

Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BC – 8 BC), known to the anglophone world as Horace, was a Roman lyric poet. Published between 23 BC and 13 BC, his Odes are a collection of praise songs, adapted principally from earlier Greek lyrics, on diverse subjects. In Horace, The...

Today, books are increasingly available to us in formats other than the printed volume. At the same time, the communal activity of the book club is adapting to the current technological age: Authors are establishing Facebook groups and engaging in Twitter discussions...

For scientists, these are times both exciting and apprehensive. From designer babies to genomic medicine, artificial intelligence, and molecular surveillance, science is arguably the most dominant force defining our future.But even as they eagerly claim the mantle of...

Cybernetic signs and symbols have increasingly become a magnetizing spectacle in contemporary culture. The cyborg as a hybrid of human and machine in high fashion runway shows of the late 20th and early 21st centuries and the ways in which it engages with identity,...

Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, a tragedy likely written in late 1593 and set in ancient Rome, is a meditation on early modern race relations that still resonates today. The play follows a white, Roman family, the clan of Andronici, in their quest for vengeance...

As a historian, and as a person interested in most narratives of the past, I realize the unique value of Ancestry.com as a research tool in my own work. But, I realize now that I have to make a distinction between the value of Ancestry.com as a resource that helps me...

“Rock and Roll Never Dies!” From buskers on La Via del Corso to Eurovision winners, Måneskin shows what it means to earn a growing global platform and use it wellThis year’s Eurovision Song Contest saw major changes from past competitions. Sure, the stadium was...

I love the supermarket — fiercely, obsessively, weirdly. I go to the supermarket when I feel overwhelmed. And it turns out I’m not alone. I used to hang out at my local grocery store every day and see hundreds of other people stopping in for lunch at the hot bar, or...