The recently shuttered immigrant detention facility continued a long tradition of using alligators in ways that have reinforced demeaning racial stereotypes.
Articles on Symbolism
Displaying 1 - 20 of 24 articles
Recognizing the stories behind people’s concerns with vaccines can help public health advocates build a more inclusive approach to healthcare.
Two communication scholars explain how what Americans eat became shorthand for who they are.
A 42,000 year old stone with a face is the oldest known example of symbolic work by a Neanderthal.
While the origins of the cross as a kiss are still debated, the answer likely lies in the letters of working-class lovers like these.
Politicians like Cicero saw gladiators as vain and self-indulgent, while the true warriors engaged in wars of words.
The All Eyes on Rafah image has been criticised as being overly sanitised. How does it compare to other war images? And where is the line between performative solidarity and moral responsibility?
Ending discrimination against the Osu has been difficult because identifying an Osu is relatively straightforward for Igbos.
An anthropologist explains the power of purification rituals, such as bringing down a building following a tragic occurrence in it, and why they help reduce our anxieties.
The letter Z has become a controversial pro-Russian symbol during the war in Ukraine.
Does the flag unite Canadians, or confuse them as its symbolism is used to different ends and causes?
The iconic image may have originated with a meat supplier named Samuel Wilson. Or not.
In several other parts of the world, people used the bones of animals that were important within their respective cultures to make tools.
Why did Confederate flags start appearing in the country’s anti-lockdown protests?
Do you see a fearsome predator? A fragile icon of impending extinction? What these arctic giants have stood for in art has continually evolved.
Ever since players tweaked the game to reflect the medieval social order, poets and writers have used chess as an allegory for love, duty, conflict and accomplishment.
Nigerian women have successfully used their naked bodies as an instrument of power, rather than shame, to protest injustice.
Authors sometimes put deeper meanings into their stories, but really, it’s the reader who decides.
As societal habits change so too does language and metaphors.
A desk is a place to work. But it can also be a symbol of prestige and power, as EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has demonstrated in his choice of expensive and ostentatious desks for his office.
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Professor, Southern Cross University
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Professor and Head of Department of Political and Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela University
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IT Service Desk Coordinator, Swansea University
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Assistant Professor of Management at the W.A. Franke College of Business, Northern Arizona University
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Provost’s PhD Fellow in English Literature, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Associate Professor of Practice, University of Wyoming
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Associate Professor Visual Communication, University of Technology Sydney
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Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Texas State University
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Associate Professor, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies/ History, University of Oxford
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Co-Director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Bowdoin College
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Trent University
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Adjunct Professor of Professional Writing, Regis College, Regis College