We’re all used to reading about South Asia in the headlines, but it takes an expert to grasp the complex political, social, and military history of a region that has spent the last thirty-plus years as one of the focal points of U.S. foreign policy. Dilip Hiro, author of more
An important, and critically well received, component of this year’s Whitney Biennial is an adeptly curated roster of performance pieces and a frequently updated schedule of film screenings. Punctuating the exhibition’s expected fare of painting, sculpture, photography and installation, these elements of sound and movement serve to readjust and reengage
It’s snowing. Under the flakes, a door opens at last On the garden beyond the world. I set out. But my scarf Snags on a rusty nail, And the cloth of my dreams is torn. “The Garden,” by Yves Bonnefoy; translated from the French by Hoyt Rogers In Second Simplicity:
Adrienne Rich is unforgettable. Last month, we announced the winner of the 2012 Younger Poet Series competition, and beginning our celebration of Poetry Month in April, it takes little effort to remember one of YSYP’s best and greatest poets. The world was sad to note her passing last Tuesday, March
In her second piece for “Eminent Biography” Emily Bernard, author of Carl Van Vechten and the Harlem Renaissance: A Portrait in Black and White, explores the relationships of Carl Van Vechten and the many women who circled through his interracial and inter-artistic world of the Harlem Renaissance. After all, it is
Though the curriculum for her book Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What’s Right was developed over years of teaching and experience, Mary C. Gentile’s work is never done—and the recent paperback release of Giving Voice to Values speaks to its continued relevance. If
As one of America’s foremost political thinkers, Michael Walzer has written about a wide variety of topics in political theory and moral philosophy, including political obligation, just and unjust war, nationalism and ethnicity, economic justice, and the welfare state. In his forthcoming book, In God’s Shadow: Politics in the Hebrew
The United States Supreme Court is, in the words of today’s New York Times headline, up against a “momentous test.” As most Americans are aware, the justices are hearing arguments about the constitutionality of requiring citizens to obtain health care: the “mandate” that is one of the central components of
For more than a decade now, “Islam” has been a contentious word, associated alternately with terrorism, political regimes, and a widely misunderstood religious faith. Since September 11, 2001, American political commentators have been split between those who call the acts of terrorism typified by the destruction of the World Trade
The 80s were tumultuous times. The AIDS crisis brought about the ominous feeling of the end of times, while feminism and movements for social justice challenged tradition and opened possibilities for new relationships between races and genders. The 80s ushered in a new era of conservative politics and postmodern ideas,