by Rodrigo Salido Moulinié Can art really say anything? Although it may seem like a childish question, raising it triggers some unsettling thoughts. Much of what we usually think about artists and their work, the role art plays in our worlds, and even the possibility of writing its history relies on the answer to that […]
Art/Architecture
The Lived Nile: Environment, Disease, and Material Colonial Economy in Egypt by Jennifer L. Derr (2019)
by Atar David Jennifer Derr takes her readers down the Egyptian Nile River, past its newly constructed dams and flowing into its irrigation canals, providing them with the opportunity to dive into the complexity of British colonialism in Egypt in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Following their invasion of Egypt in 1882, the […]
Paris, Capital of Modernity by David Harvey (2006)
by Isabelle Headrick The rule of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was bracketed by two violent revolutions in the French capital: the Revolution of 1848 and the Paris Commune of 1871. Elected as president in 1848, he staged a coup three years later and, like his famous uncle, anointed himself emperor of the “Second Empire.” Bonaparte amassed an […]
Border Land, Border Water: A History of Construction on the U.S.-Mexico Divide by C.J. Alvarez (2019)
By Alejandra C. Garza The U.S.-Mexico border is a constant subject in today’s news. Debates over immigration and the building of a wall along the border keep the spotlight fixed on the land and water that stretches from California to Texas on the U.S. side and Baja California to Tamaulipas in Mexico. As a native […]
The Drama of Celebrity by Sharon Marcus (2019)
by Kameron Dunn Sharon Marcus’s The Drama of Celebrity argues that a celebrity is not merely a creation of the media, but is rather a result of the competing interactions between the media, publics, and the celebrities themselves. Marcus makes the provocative argument that celebrities, as we conceive of them today, are not newly minted […]
More Great Books on US Theatre History
by Charlotte Canning Stephanie Batiste, Darkening Mirrors: Imperial Representation in Depression-Era African American Performance (2012). Batiste explores the ways in which African Americans used performance to construct global identities in the face of US oppression and imperialism. The book argues that claiming agency and empowerment was not impossible in a world of entrenched racism. Donna […]
Great Books on Women’s History: Asia
Not Even Past asked the UT Austin History faculty to recommend great books for Women’s History Month. The response was overwhelming so we will be posting their suggestions throughout the month. Here are some terrific book recommendations on women and gender in East Asia and South Asia
My Cocaine Museum, by Michael Taussig (2004)
By Jimena Perry One of Colombia´s most important museums is the Gold Museum, located in Bogotá. It is part of the Bank of the Republic, a state-run central bank. The museum houses approximately 55,000 gold pieces, most of them belonging to Pre-Columbian cultures, and aims to preserve the country´s heritage. Perhaps the most intriguing object […]
Architectural Agents: The Delusional, Abusive, Addictive Lives of Buildings, by Annabel Jane Wharton (2015)
Are buildings alive? Of course, the answer is no, in the technical sense. That question, however, raises another: are buildings agents? In other words, are they active, do they affect and animate the world within which they exist, or are they simply passive structures to be used however their owners might desire?
More to Read about Magnum & Photojournalism
Author of Reading Magnum: A Visual Archive of the Twentieth Century, Steven Hoelscher, recommends more to read about Magnum Photos and photojournalism history. Magnum Stories, edited by Chris Boot. London: Phaidon, 2004. A former bureau chief of Magnum’s London office, Chris Boot presents 61 different “photo stories,” as told by individual Magnum photographers. Magnum Contact Sheets, edited by Kristen […]