Einstein observed, “Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration of this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious.” As the p…[Read more]

This poster presents a digital humanities study abroad program that brings undergraduate students to the UK to explore the intersections of technology, humanities, and the arts. Over four weeks, the students meet with curators, DH practitioners, and creatives. In addition to connecting students with professionals in the cultural heritage sector,…[Read more]

In lieu of an abstract, here is the beginning of the article… One of the most striking things about speculative literature of the twenty-first century has been its increasingly focussed interest in imagining impending disaster: from the escalating likelihood of biblical deluge on a planetary scale to looming ecocatastrophes of drought and…[Read more]

This article explores an emerging cluster of ecocatastrophe narratives that locate utopian possibility within the Earth’s sub-crustal lithosphere. Texts such as N. K. Jemisin’s “Broken Earth” trilogy (2015–2017), J. G. Ballard’s The Crystal World (1966), Lars von Trier’s film Melancholia (2011), Irene Solà’s Catalan novel When I Sing, Mountains…[Read more]

While the colonial and modern history of epidemics in South Asia is well researched, the earlier developments of this subject area have hardly been studied. The project Epidemics and Crisis Management in Pre-modern South Asia aims to fill part of this gap by exploring the intellectual history of epidemics and similar disasters in South Asia and…[Read more]

Forest conservation is a very important concept across the world. It is not only crucial for climate change but also very critical for the survival of humanity. In Africa, forests have always been an important aspect of nature that is regarded with uttermost reverence and
care. Importantly, discussions on health, healthcare, culture, economics…[Read more]

Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714–1774), a Bolognese wax sculptor, overcame humble origins to become one of the most important anatomical artists of the eighteenth century. Working with her husband Giovanni Manzolini (c. 1700–1755), and continuing alone after his death, Morandi created remarkably lifelike and anatomically accurate wax models of the sen…[Read more]

The introduction to a special issue of New Literary History titled “Culture, Theory, Data,” which explores the consequences of computation for cultural theory—and vice-versa.

The introduction begins by explaining how we came to a historical juncture where “culture” and “data” seem to be opposed terms. Then it offers some reasons for believing t…[Read more]

This Critical Exchange explores the nonhuman condition. It asks: What are the implications of decentering the human subject via a new materialist reading of radical democracy? Does this reading dilute political agency? Or should this be seen, on the contrary, as an invitation for new voices and demands to enter into democratic assemblages? How…[Read more]

1. Gergen argues that situations which human beings didn’t understand or deal with appropriately would inflict painful lessons – providing a conditioning or predisposition for learning. “In the Darwinian sense, the ability to conceptualize has survival value. To be more specific, concepts are valuable tools in problem solving.” (p.23) “In ess…[Read more]