A story of gay love between a white American expat living in Paris – petrified by his attraction to men – and a louche Italian bartender, Giovanni’s Room is one of the great 20th century novels.
Articles on Cultural touchstones
Displaying 21 - 38 of 38 articles
Amanda Tink is one of many autistic people with reservations about Mark Haddon’s bestseller, which perpetuates harmful myths. But new productions starring autistic actors are a positive development.
In 2013, anthropologist David Graeber wrote an article for an obscure, left-wing magazine. It spawned a book – and a turn of phrase – that became a cultural phenomenon.
Too Many Men won acclaim for its depiction of a father and daughter and their different emotional responses to the crimes of the past. Tess Scholfield-Peters considers the book’s impact today.
Sci-fi master Ursula Le Guin always asked the question: what sort of world do you want to live in? In her masterpiece, The Dispossessed, she considers injustice and war through an alternative universe.
Australia has a long history of book banning organised by Christian associations and churches. A federal court appeal attempt to ban graphic memoir Gender Queer is still to be considered this year.
A psychology professor debunks Rhonda Byrne’s world-bestselling book and film – and her theory of personal success through a magical connection with the universe.
The new TV series, Feud: Capote vs the Swans tells the story behind Answered Prayers, the never-finished gossip novel that made its author a social pariah. But what was in the book – and was it any good?
Christopher Lasch’s sharp-tonged a critique of American society was a product of its time, but has things to say about the present.
The publication 25 years ago of The Ethical Slut shattered social norms and stigma about non-monogamy. It’s now sold over 200,000 copies – and continues to be important.
Helter Skelter was the first and most famous book claiming to tell the ‘truth’ about the 1969 Manson murders. Sally Breen explores the myths and conflicting truths that have emerged over nearly 50 years.
Our health consumes a growing share of our economy and our attention, but we are not in great shape. Even as a ruinous pandemic subsides, epidemics of chronic disease, obesity, addiction and mental illness…
Ayn Rand’s dystopian fable about government meddling in free-market arrangements remains hugely influential, including with Elon Musk. Donald Trump, too, is an Ayn Rand fan. Why is she so popular?
Marijane Meaker was a lesbian pulp fiction trailblazer who wrote bestselling YA fiction as M.E. Kerr. She was also Patricia Highsmith’s lover.
In a new edition of his classic work, Suzuki suggests the major crises we face – pandemics, climate disruption, biodiversity loss – all have roots in our lack of recognition of our place in nature.
Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is a ‘bible’ for scholars, voted a top 10 book of the 20th century. It also fascinated general readers, as a guide to social manners.
Four years after its release, My Year of Rest and Relaxation has become a publishing and cultural phenomenon – with TikTok trends and film rights bought by Margot Robbie. But is it exploitative?
A lucid, demanding book on the psychology and neurobiology of trauma has become a publishing phenomenon. It resonates, writes Nick Haslam, with an age in which people are seeing trauma everywhere.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney
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Professor of Psychology, The University of Melbourne
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Lecturer, Media Law and Ethics, Adelaide University
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Associate Teaching Fellow, Sociology, Deakin University
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Professor, School of Psychology, Adelaide University
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Senior Lecturer, Literary Studies and Creative Writing, Monash University
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Associate Professor in Creative Writing, Griffith University
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Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
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Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Justice and Society, UniSA, Adelaide University
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Casual Academic, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
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Associate Professor, Department of English, Creative Writing and Film, Adelaide University
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Jury Professor of English and Language and Literature, Adelaide University
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Associate Dean and Associate Professor in Social Sciences, University of Canberra
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Senior Research Fellow, Division of Health Research and Social Work, Lancaster University; La Trobe University
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Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Wollongong