The heroic romance is one of the West's most enduring narratives, found everywhere, from religion and myth to blockbuster films and young adult literature. Within this story, adolescent girls are not, and cannot be, the heroes. They are, at best, the hero's bride, a prize he wins for slaying monsters. Crucially, although the girl's exclusion from heroic self ... Show More
Today
Stephanie Coontz, "For Better and Worse: The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage" (Viking, 2026)
Marriage rates have fallen dramatically since the 1970s. Yet far from devaluing marriage, people still overwhelmingly describe marriage as the highest commitment they can imagine. Most Americans say they want to marry eventually, and couples who do marry have a lower chance of ... Show More
46m 13s
Jun 11
Don Thomas Deere, "The Invention of Order: On the Coloniality of Space" (Duke UP, 2026)
In The Invention of Order: On the Coloniality of Space (Duke University Press, 2026), Don Thomas Deere retraces the colonial origins of spatial organization in the Americas and the Caribbean and its lasting impact on modern structures of knowledge, power, race, gender as well ... Show More
46m 2s
Jan 2024
Women of Science Fiction: Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929 - 2018) was an American author who wrote works of speculative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. Her literary career spanned nearly 60 years and resulted in more than 20 novels, over 100 short stories, poetry, literary criticism, and childrens books. F ... Show More
7m 25s
Dec 2023
Amya Agarwal, "Contesting Masculinities and Women’s Agency in Kashmir" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022)
What is the significance of gender and masculinities in understanding conflict?
Through an ethnographic study conducted between 2013 and 2016, Amya Agarwal's book Contesting Masculinities and Women’s Agency in Kashmir (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) explores the politics of competin ... Show More
36m 49s
Dec 2018
Victoria Cann, "Girls Like This, Boys Like That: Understanding the (Re)Production of Gender in Contemporary Youth Cultures" (I.B.Tauris, 2018)
How does cultural taste regulate our lives? In Girls Like This, Boys Like That: Understanding the (Re)Production of Gender in Contemporary Youth Cultures (I.B. Tauris, 2018), Dr. Victoria Cann, a lecturer in humanities at the University of East Anglia, explores the regulatory rol ... Show More
41m 8s
Dec 2023
Daniel Shank Cruz, "Ethics for Apocalyptic Times: Theapoetics, Autotheory, and Mennonite Literature" (Penn State UP, 2023)
Ethics for Apocalyptic Times: Theapoetics, Autotheory, and Mennonite Literature (Penn State UP, 2023) is about the role literature can play in helping readers cope with our present-day crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the shift toward fascism in global ... Show More
43m 55s