I study nuns. Now, let me start by saying that I’m not Catholic; I just study nuns in the nineteenth […]
The Eugenicists on Abortion
Clarence Thomas recently issued a twenty-page opinion on the Supreme Court decision Box v. Planned Parenthood that went viral because […]
A Tale of Two Midwives across Four Centuries
What happens when the person who delivers most of the babies in her community is arrested? This is a tale […]
The Anti-Abortion Politics of White Women
Last month, the Alabama State Senate passed a piece of legislation effectively banning abortion in the state of Alabama. House […]
The Opioid Epidemic as Metaphor
[gblockquote source=”Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor“]Of course, one cannot think without metaphors. But that does not mean there aren’t some […]
Going Baroque for Babies
A few months ago, a friend and I were chatting about plans for a baby shower that she was hosting […]
The Japanese Imperial Family Invented
In May 2019, as now Emperor Emeritus Akihito passed the Chrysanthemum Throne to his son Emperor Naruhito, the world watched […]
Desire Work, Gender, and Sexuality in South African Ex-Gay Ministries: A Conversation with Melissa Hackman
In her new book, Desire Work: Ex-Gay and Pentecostal Masculinity in South Africa, Dr. Melissa Hackman examines the experiences of […]
The Power of Corporate Interests Over Home Baking
In 1840, the American press widely circulated illustrations of Queen Victoria’s wedding cake. It was a 300-pound, 14-inch-tall and 10-foot-wide […]
A Woman Who Wrote About War: Recovering Ellen N. La Motte’s The Backwash of War
I love the old American spiritual “Down by the Riverside.” In fact, my first book borrows its title, War No […]
