Odd Bits
Celebrating the Fourth of July
Here in the United States, we’re heading into the July 4th weekend–a holiday that expands or contracts depending on where in the week it falls. It’s also a holiday where the meaning of what we are celebrating is often lost in the celebration itself. In the past I’ve used this post to remind all of…
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Idols of Perversity
In the course of reading around the edges of the book topic I’m exploring[1], I was surprised to come across a discussion of a book I found useful while writing my dissertation: Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-Siècle Culture by literary scholar Bram Dijkstra. I found the way the author used Dijkstra’s…
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Pure Invention
Those of you who also read my newsletter may remember that for the last few months I have been exploring the question of Japanese pop culture and the United States. It has been fascinating and frustrating. I know a lot more than I did when I began my quest in early February, but I still…
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