While wandering around the moors last week I started thinking a lot about performances of nostalgia. But when I got back I realized I already wrote about that last year in this review of ‘Cantina’ and the Fitzrovia Radio Hour, so I’m not going to rehash that for you. However, while I was (re)considering all … Continue reading
Category Archives: All
Global Moves Shirts
You might remember that I created a couple of word clouds based on the frequency of terms found in my book Global Moves. Well, I grew so attached to them that I thought I should put them on some shirts. And I am pleased to say you can now have your very own Global Moves … Continue reading
Haworth
As you will already know, dear devoted reader, my second book is coming out in the autumn with McFarland press. This book is a volume of collected essays by scholars from around the world and I feel deeply privileged to have been part of this project. We are nearing the end of the marathon now, … Continue reading
Stripped Star Trek: When is it Gratuitous?
A while back I wrote glowingly about the new Star Trek film (or rather, I wrote glowingly about the idea of Starfleet and how fabulous it would be to work there.) There was this one scene in the film that has drawn a lot of criticism from feminists–I don’t think it will be too much … Continue reading
Space for Anthropology: the new Star Trek movie
I have no qualms in stating that I love Star Trek. I’m a fan of rambling summer blockbusters generally, but Star Trek–Star Trek is a whole universe. And my favorite thing about the Star Trek universe is that it is founded on an idea of learning. More than that: Starfleet, at the heart of Star … Continue reading
Merry Widows and Gay Divorcees: Gender & Power in Marriage Narratives
After reading my friend & colleague Dr Jem Bloomfield’s post on Twelfth Night and “Mapp and Lucia”, which focused on the discomforts caused by sexual tension (or imagined sexual tension) between sets of people in social power relationships of inequality, I had some follow-up thoughts. For Jem, the focus of these two narratives on “the … Continue reading
Walking the Bounds
When I was young, we were forced to read Ethan Frome for school. I found this novel utterly infuriating because one of the major themes is that the titular character leads a depressed, reduced life because he’d “seen too many New England winters.” Now, New England winters are tough, but they don’t KILL people. Okay, … Continue reading
Così fan tutte: They’re (Operas) All Like That?
I recently had the chance to see the English Touring Opera’s dress rehearsal of Così fan tutte at the Hackney Empire. It’s a very exciting thing to walk into a working theatre for a rehearsal: for me there is a very strong sense of having crept into a secret world of esoteric delights. I haven’t … Continue reading
The Opera Caped Crusader
I speak frequently and with affection about my velvet opera cape. All academics are especially fond of playing dress-up: in formal situations we wear long black robes with silk cowls, oddly-shaped sleeves, and some seriously natty headgear. You may have thought I got my PhD because I have a deep and abiding love of Learning. … Continue reading
Anglo-American Relations
So I just sent my application off to get my visa renewed. I have to do this every few years and I always hate it, even though compared to a lot of people who want to stay in this country, my path is pretty straightforward. And I’ve been lucky enough to have quite a bit … Continue reading
In a Merry Hour: Caitlin E McDonald 