Culture

Ask any “Downton Abbey” fan about the wildly popular historical television drama and they will wistfully reminisce about being whisked away to a more gentile and elegant time in post-Edwardian England. With a majestic castle as the backdrop and actors adorned in lavish costumes, audiences were immersed into life as it was in the early...

In 1992, former Vice President Dan Quayle criticized the sitcom character Murphy Brown’s decision to have a child out of wedlock. His comments soon expanded to include “the cultural elite in Hollywood,” who were accused of undermining traditional family values. Quayle’s comments ignited discussions that dominated the day’s news cycle and continue today about how...

As the next Women’s March approaches, a new study of the 2017 Women’s March solidarity events led by University of Notre Dame Associate Professor of Sociology Kraig Beyerlein is likely a good predictor of what to expect. Based on a survey of sister marches across the United States, key characteristics of the events were massive...

A study published in the February 2019 “Pediatrics” journal suggests the majority of gay fathers and their children continue to experience stigma with potentially harmful physical and psychological effects, despite legal, media and social advances. Study participants specifically cited structural stigma, such as state laws and beliefs of religious communities, as affecting their experiences in...

A new study by the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich (Leibniz-LSB@TUM) shows that craft beer should be kept cool and consumed as fresh as possible. After three months, cold stored beer already loses more than one third of an important hop odorant which characterizes the typical aroma of many...

Data from more than 4 million tests completed between 2004 and 2016 show that Americans’ attitudes toward certain social groups are becoming less biased over time, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings show that participants’ self-reported (explicit) attitudes regarding groups defined by age, disability, body weight, race,...

Now is the time many people make New Year’s resolutions: Save money. Eat better. Lose weight. Stop smoking. Studies have shown that about 41 percent of people make New Year’s resolutions, but only about 8 percent are successful in achieving their goals. “It’s easy to be seduced by the promise of “new year, new you,” only...

Young women in China, living in a rapidly changing society with more personal independence, disposable income and exposure to Western media than ever before, are also altering their views of female beauty. “The beauty industry is booming in China, and these young women I interviewed in focus groups are really endorsing the Anglo-European image of...

In 2008, Newsweek published an article on then-presidential candidate Barack Obama titled “From Barry to Barack.” The story explained how Obama’s Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr., chose Barry as a nickname for himself in 1959 in order “to fit in.” But the younger Barack – who had been called Barry since he was a child...