In this revised extract from the introduction to Troubling Images: Visual Culture and the Politics of Afrikaner Nationalism, the book’s editors assess how art and design helped forge Afrikaner nationalism. In Banal Nationalism British academic Michael Billig writes, “If the future remains uncertain, we know the past history of nationalism. And that should be sufficient...
From the methods used to make its most boundary-pushing shoe soles to the ornamental design of the knitted uppers that can be found in its Flyknit technology, Nike’s arsenal of utility and design patents is sweeping. In addition to using those legal protections to try to stomp down on competitors if they veer too close to...
In the autumn of 2017, hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed Puerto Rico causing thousands of deaths, illnesses and suffering, which brought about a situation of serious economic, political and public health crisis, and widespread death and destruction. However, neither the US nor the Puerto Rican government reacted adequately to such a grave situation. A scientific...
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19328290/GettyImages_1094677202.jpg "Revenge Porn Is Sexual Violence, Not Millennial Negligence")
U.S. Representative Katie Hill was the latest victim of a form of sexual abuse that’s become increasingly common: revenge porn. Intimate photos of her were leaked to the media and published, without her consent, for the world to see – a transgression Hill suspects her estranged husband was behind. The photos implicated Hill in a...
MoMA PS1 presents a large-scale group exhibition examining the legacies of American-led military engagement in Iraq beginning with the Gulf War in 1991. Through more than 250 works, Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991-2011 explores the effects of these wars on artists based in Iraq and its diasporas, as well as those responding to...
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54066441/wind-solar.0.jpg "The Truth Behind the Paris Agreement Climate Pledges")
Only 28 European Union nations & 7 others will reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 China & India, top emitters, will reduce emissions intensity, but their emissions will increase U.S., second top emitter, has reversed key national policies to combat climate change Almost 70 percent of the pledges rely on funding from...
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will donate to charity the US$1 million Berggruen Prize for Culture and Philosophy she recently won. The prize is given annually to a “thinker whose ideas are shaping human self-understanding to advance humankind.” The recipient of the award was decided by a five-member jury that chose among over 500 nominees and...
In the 1970s, doctors in the United States performed sterilizations on an estimated 25 to 42% of Native American women of childbearing age, some as young as 15. Even the lower estimate—one quarter of Native women—is a whopping statistic. The federal government subsidized the sterilizations, which often took place without consent or under great duress....
Family structure in America is sharply divided by class and race. While 84% of children whose mothers have a bachelor’s degree or higher-level education live with married parents, only 58% of children whose mothers have a high school degree or less do so. And while 75% of white children live with married parents, just 38%...
Those who study and treat disorders of the mind – such as neuroscientists, psychiatrists and therapists – are in a position of influence. Their decisions and actions have the potential to impact individuals at the deepest levels by affecting our memories and even how we see ourselves. Such professionals “…occupy positions of intellectual authority” as...
