Some fields have an easier time describing themselves than others. "History is the study of past events." "Biology is the study of living organisms." But art? Is art a discipline? Is it a practice? Who gets to answer this most fundamental of questions, and why do we prefer not to try? Between Discipline and a Hard Place, written from the perspective of a pra ... Show More
Today
Ailbhe Kenny, "Music Refuge: Living Asylum through Music" (Oxford UP, Press 2025)
How can music change people’s lives? In Music Refuge: Living Asylum Through Music (Oxford UP, Press 2025) Ailbhe Kenny, an Associate Professor in Music Education at Mary Immaculate College Ireland, explores music programmes for, with and by people seeking asylum in Ireland and G ... Show More
38m 54s
Today
Catherine Elgin, "Epistemic Ecology" (MIT Press, 2025)
Humans are highly inquisitive, yet fallible and cognitively limited. How can we improve our epistemic lot despite our limitations? In Epistemic Ecology (MIT Press, 2025), Catherine Elgin develops a model in which individuals learn to rely on communal epistemic resources, such as ... Show More
1 h
Yesterday
Jessi Streib, "The Accidental Equalizer: How Luck Determines Pay After College" (U Chicago Press, 2023)
Are jobs fair? In The Accidental Equalizer: How Luck Determines Pay after College (U Chicago Press, 2023), Jessi Streib, an associate Professor of Sociology at Duke University, uncovers the remarkable story of the way luck shapes the hiring process for a key strata of business jo ... Show More
34m 53s
Apr 2021
Danielle Child, "Working Aesthetics: Labour, Art and Capitalism" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019)
Working Aesthetics: Labour, Art and Capitalism (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019) is the story of art and work under contemporary capitalism. Whilst labour used to be regarded as an unattractive subject for art, the proximity of work to everyday life has subsequently narrowed the gap be ... Show More
54m 17s
Jan 2018
Alison Gerber, “The Work of Art: Value in Creative Careers” (Stanford UP, 2017)
Is making art a job? This question is central to The Work of Art: Value in Creative Careers (Stanford University Press, 2017), the new book by Alison Gerber, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Sociology at Lund University. The book explores the working lives of artists by ... Show More
52m 3s
Feb 2024
Artist Mothers and Education in the Arts with Artist Jennifer Combe
<p id="gwdfi381" class="DI5wk _8h3nW" dir="auto" data-pm-slice= "1 1 []">Jennifer Combe is a mother, artist, and associate professor of art at The University of Montana. Before shifting to higher education, she taught K12 in Washington State public schools for fifteen years. Her ... Show More
39m 1s
Apr 2022
What psychology has to say about art, with Ellen Winner, PhD
Art is universal – there has never been a human society without it. But we don’t always agree on what makes for good art, or even what makes something art at all. Ellen Winner, PhD, of Boston College, talks about how psychology can help answer the question “What is art?” why even ... Show More
42m 17s
Mar 2023
What Does it Mean to be an Artist? [198]
This week, we're discussing what it means to be an artist. Renowned music producer Rick Rubin has written a book in which he argues that the artist is a conduit for creativity comes from source energy. Therefore, he says, the artist’s job is to open themselves up as much as possi ... Show More
58m 3s
May 2021
04 Modernism: Modern Art, Now with Women
It’s weird that contemporary art isn’t Modern Art, right? Modernism can be confusing, but host Klaire Lockheart will do her best to guide you through it. She will even improve upon the typical art history narrative because she will include women artists, such as Hilma af Klint an ... Show More
35m 25s