Cultural Criticism and Analysis

The Big Yam The Big Yam

Chinese hearts, minds and pocketbooks get a lot of attention from the Eastern and Western consumer markets.

Jan 31, 2008 / Books & the Arts / John Feffer

New Old Things New Old Things

A new collection of short pieces by the prodigious and wide-ranging critic Luc Sante doubles as a history of Modernism's outlaws.

Jan 31, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Frances Richard

A Great Deal of Work A Great Deal of Work

Edmund Wilson's politics have long been criticized, but his views were more nuanced than you might think.

Jan 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / George Scialabba

Amnesia at the Multiplex Amnesia at the Multiplex

Two films address US adventures in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a big dose of historical amnesia, political pandering, moral superiority and outraged innocence.

Dec 30, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Lakshmi Chaudhry

Will the Real Generation Obama Please Stand Up? Will the Real Generation Obama Please Stand Up?

The cranky, quirky and sometimes progressive politics practiced by a generation once considered slackers could be a deciding factor in this presidential election.

Nov 15, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Lakshmi Chaudhry

Come On, People Come On, People

A new book by Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint is a tough-love prescription for social change. Why are critics in the black community piling on?

Nov 14, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Amy Alexander

Susan Faludi: America’s Terror Dream Susan Faludi: America’s Terror Dream

A discussion with the author of The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America, the master narrative of our national security myth.

Nov 12, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Rashi Kesarwani

The U.S. and the World (Editors’ Introduction) The U.S. and the World (Editors’ Introduction)

The 2008 election, more than any election in decades, will turn on questions of foreign policy and national security.

Nov 1, 2007 / Books & the Arts / The Nation

Latina America Lavishly Comes of Age Latina America Lavishly Comes of Age

The quinceañera has become a rite of passage for even the poorest Latina teens, another example of our most treasured rites debased at the cash register.

Oct 16, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Lakshmi Chaudhry

Terry McMillan vs. Ghetto Lit Terry McMillan vs. Ghetto Lit

Driven by a tabloid episode from her own marriage, the novelist joins the debate over the mass marketing of trashy books to young black readers.

Oct 15, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Amy Alexander

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