The greatest satirists do more than expose hypocrisy. They reshape how citizens understand power and civic responsibility.
Articles on Mark Twain
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Even before generative AI went mainstream, fewer people were reading books.
As the fate of US cultural exchange programs is debated, one foreign policy historian recounts how such programs have made it ‘harder to hate people you really know.’
Donald Trump has cited the Gilded Age era as an inspiration – but experts say it was rife with government and business corruption, social turmoil and inequality.
James is front and centre in this emotional and illuminating retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Why do so many Americans share the concern that success and integrity are in conflict, as if one comes at the expense of the other?
The user interfaces of AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, are designed to mimic natural human conversation. But in doing so, AI chatbots present as more trustworthy than they really are.
After visiting 72 countries as a travel writer, COVID forced Ben Stubbs to reassess the genre in an age of climate change and mass tourism. It’s time, he says, for a new kind of travel writing.
The controversial fantasy novel and its sequels enticed more authors to experiment with self-publishing, but the latter has a history that long predates the steamy bestseller.
Megachurches and the men who lead them can be superrich. So why don’t the IRS and local authorities see a cent in taxes? A scholar explains.
For more than two centuries, one particular epithet has resonated through US politics – and even helped inspire the unofficial mascot of a major political party.
When her contemporaries were engaging with European themes in their novels, Austen remained rooted in her home country.
Throughout America’s history, a duality has existed: On one side, there has been the belligerent, aggressive America. On the other, the generous, amiable one.
It was aboard a steamship that Mark Twain first laid eyes on a photograph of Olivia Langdon, known as Livy. It was love at first sight. In their marriage of 34 years, they remained deeply devoted.
Millions of people have imagined California, but only one man was its historian.
From Tolstoy to Mark Twain, the most famous writers owe many words of thanks to their long-suffering wives.
He probably would have been amused by – and maybe even befriended – Trump the entertainer. Trump the president? Not so much.
Scorn has a long and humorous history. But a new book on the subject, featuring quotes from Kanye West, Christopher Hitchens and of course, Donald Trump, rather lacks contemporary wit.
Bob Dylan is now a literary celebrity. And next week, the Booker Prize judges will anoint another. The tag is still chiefly attached to men but women authors shouldn’t despair: fame and good writing can be uneasy bedfellows.
A key argument in support of the jury system is that it is a valued form of citizen participation in democracies. But the system has led to human rights abuses in Ghana.
Top contributors
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Scholar in Media and Cultural Studies, Macquarie University
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Professor of History, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Honorary Associate Professor in Writing, The University of Queensland
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Professor of English, University at Buffalo
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Professor in Politics and Journalism, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Doctoral Candidate, Institute of Air & Space Law, McGill University
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Professor of Chinese and World History, University of California, Irvine
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Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
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Senior Lecturer, UniSA Creative, Adelaide University
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PhD Candidate, Communications and Culture, York University, Canada
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Reader in Postcolonial Literature, Leeds Beckett University
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Professor of Sociology, University of Tampa
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Director, Zone Learning & Professor, Digital Media, Toronto Metropolitan University
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Associate Professor, English and Linguistics, University of Otago
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Associate Professor of American Literature, University of North Georgia