Arts, Culture & Media
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Cross-Border Politics and the Game of Cricket
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By any measure, cricket is more than just a game. Historian C.L.R. James famously wrote that “Cricket is first and foremost a dramatic spectacle. It belongs with theatre, ballet, opera and the dance.” Today, with an estimated global audience exceeding two billion, cricket is deeply embedded in the political and…
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Yes, it’s political: Dance & Disparities during a Trump term
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The first sentence of the 2024 Republican Party Platform is its dedication: “To the forgotten men and women of America.” This powerful message can and should be expanded upon as the toll of inequality continues to rip through America. From attacks on LGBTQ+ rights to stark racial disparities in mortality…
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It’s Time to be Creative: Student Mental Health Needs the Arts
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To students and families who transitioned back to in-person schooling after the COVID-19 lockdown, it’s clear that the pandemic significantly impacted student mental health. For some, this may have been worsened by a range of other factors, such as eco-anxiety(concern about the effects of climate change), bullying, and financial anxiety.…
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Aggression and Video Games: Do Violent Video Games Induce Aggressive Attitudes and Behaviors?
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Video games are often cited as a cause of mass violence. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton asked federal agencies to investigate violent media. More recently, National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre directed blame toward video games in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. President Trump…
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Do Arts Industries Lead to Gentrification?
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Urban revitalization projects that use arts-based industries have had mixed results and are often accused of causing gentrification and displacement. Gentrification occurs when an area “improves” its look and feel, leading a wave of higher-income groups to enter an area and to increase the cost of living there. As a…
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Bridging social science, policy and community: engaged research
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If you ask a social researcher—psychologist, sociologist, cultural anthropologist—why they chose their profession, you might hear something like, “to help people,” but western social research is sometimes criticized for failing to help those who may need it most: groups on the underside of the power differential. When applied social research…
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Sexual Adaptation and Miscommunication in the Age of #MeToo
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At one of #MeToo founder Tarana Burke’s first workshops, 30 high-school girls were asked to write “Me Too” on a sheet of paper if they wanted to anonymously record their experience of sexual harassment. Burke was stunned by how many sheets she counted; two-thirds of the girls wrote “Me Too.” Driven…
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Reza Aslan on the History of God, Religious Interpretation, and ISIS
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Religion has served as a vital influence in society for thousands of years, and its interpretation has been cited as the cause for numerous acts of charity and violence alike. While affiliated militants of the Islamic State recently attacked a crowd of worshipers in Egypt in the name of Islam,…