The evisceration of storytelling
In his seminal essay “The Storyteller,” published in 1936, the German philosopher Walter Benjamin decried the loss of the craft of oral storytelling marked by the advent of the short story and the...
View ArticleBeyond nostalgia: understanding socialism markets
From Che Guevara t-shirts and Honnecker’s Hostel to Mao mugs and Good Bye, Lenin!—why do millions of consumers in China, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and other former socialist societies still insist on...
View ArticleNew narrative nonfiction [podcast]
After the 2008 recession, print book sales took a hit, but now BookScan has recorded consistent growth in print book sales year over year for the past five years. What has been driving these sales?...
View ArticleHow ‘the future’ connects across subjects
‘Today’s world is complex and unreliable. Tomorrow is expected to be more so.’ – Jennifer M. Gidley, The Future: A Very Short IntroductionFrom the beginning of time, humanity has been driven by a...
View ArticleRevolutionary Music and the Social Fabric of Rebellion
Rebels are central actors in civil wars. However, their perspectives and lifeworlds remain little understood. In fact, many studies on civil war suffer from what Ranajit Guha criticised as the “prose...
View ArticleWorld Humanitarian Day [podcast]
Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life. World Humanitarian Day is held every year on 19 August to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to...
View ArticleThe cost of the American dream
In its simplest form, the American Dream asserts that success should be determined by effort, not one’s starting point. This is the promise on which most Americans base their hopes and the calculus...
View ArticleAre casual hookups sexually empowering for college women?
A note from the editor:Dear reader: Dr. Jennifer Beste is the College of Saint Benedict Koch Professor of Catholic Thought and Culture at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. She...
View Article5 essential focuses in Sociology
Sociology is a rather new discipline; while its founding theorists lived during the Enlightenment, seminal figures like Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber shaped the field amid the rise of...
View ArticleMultiple inheritances: how the art of Romare Bearden reflects 21st century...
On his way to becoming a successful artist, Romare Bearden was a promising varsity baseball player at Boston University, who occasionally played for The Boston Tigers, a Negro League team. Once during...
View Article2018 Midterm Elections HQ | Oxford University Press
The United States midterm elections will decide who controls the Senate and House during the remaining years of the Trump Administration’s first term. In order for the Democrats to gain control over...
View ArticleConsent on campus [podcast]
This episode of The Oxford Comment includes discussion of sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.As students head back to university to start their fall semester, the conversation of consent...
View ArticleSerena redux: waiting to exhale
y now, much has been written about the Serena Williams-Naomi Osaka-Carlos Ramos fiasco at the 2018 US Open. During the women’s final, the umpire, Carlos Ramos, issued Williams a warning for suspected...
View ArticleFinancial capability for all
Millions of U.S. families find themselves in precarious financial circumstances, living on the wrong side of the growing income and wealth divide. Despite the recent economic recovery, average wages...
View ArticleWho remembers Goffman?
Erving Goffman died 36 years ago, in 1982, but his work is still frequently cited (Google Scholar documents 260,399 citations as of this writing) and he is certainly remembered by many. This is a...
View ArticleThe politics of food [podcast]
Gearing up for Thanksgiving and the holiday season brings excitement for decorations and holiday cheer, but it can also bring on a financial burden – especially where food is concerned. The expectation...
View ArticleImmigration, the US Census, and political power
As I write these lines, a key court case has begun in New York. That case centers on the US Census. At issue is the Trump administration’s addition of a question to the Census which will ask people...
View ArticleHow video may influence juror decision-making for police defendants
On 20 October, 2014, Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke shot and killed Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old black boy. In his initial police report, Van Dyke indicated that McDonald had been walking down...
View ArticleHow video may influence juror decision-making for police defendants
On 20 October, 2014, Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke shot and killed Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old black boy. In his initial police report, Van Dyke indicated that McDonald had been walking down...
View ArticleThe history of holiday traditions [podcast]
One of the best parts of the holiday season is that everyone celebrates it in their own unique way. Some traditions have grown out of novelty, such as eating Kentucky Fried Chicken dinners on Christmas...
View ArticleIn the face of such ridicule, why would any sane women run for office?
The recent election of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress has evoked a fair amount of ridicule among persons taken aback by her youth and ideology. She is the “telegenic it girl of the left”...
View ArticleHow self-help can help the world
Many meditators, yogis, and other spiritual practitioners will answer this question with a resounding yes. Critics – ranging from religious studies and management scholars to serious Buddhist...
View ArticleThe ongoing significance of racism in American medicine
America’s healthcare system is considered by many the finest in the world, and the symbol of what America can achieve combining science and service. It’s also true that we spend 1/5 of our nation’s...
View ArticleWhy gender matters so much in policy making
The 2018 U.S. elections changed many things, including, most notably, the gender composition of elected representatives in Washington and throughout the country. Both the Senate and House of...
View ArticleSeven reasons why failure is impossible for feminists
In 1906, an 86-year-old woman greeted a room full of suffragists who were still fighting for the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony made her last public statement: “But with all the help with people like...
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