How Stanley Kubrick Lost His Way
Kubrick and the Rule of Empire By Tom Durwood Stanley Kubrick circa 1949. LOOK Magazine Collection, Library of Congress An English teacher’s “empire theory of literature” sheds a little light on the colossus...
Empire Studies Magazine Blog
EMPIRE AND EDUCATION ARE CLOSELY LINKED
Schools and Empire An Interview with Daniel T. Kirsch INTRODUCTION Our higher-education system is at a crossroads. America’s impressive college enrollment rate—almost two-thirds of high school completers enroll within one year of graduation—is very...
Harry Potter: Last of the Breed
A Final Golden Age Work to Close the Door on High Empire Kid Lit Troll statue in Scandinavian park Credit: Wikimedia Commons by Tom Durwood Now that we have a bit of distance, we...
“The Lion King” and Its Message of Social Darwinism
A Cultural Critic Sees Undertones of Fascism in the Popular Story Dan Hassler-Forest Introduction In this smart, provocative article and interview, cultural critic Dan Hassler-Forest warns us that loaded images and ideas may lurk...
Star Wars and Government
The Heart of the Space-Based Franchise Lies in Civics Alexander Maxwell Editor’s Introduction Without some form of government, we are stuck in Thomas Hobbes’ hellish state of nature, ‘the war of all against all.’...
Imperialism in the “Tarzan” Franchise
Anna Kozak What the King of the Jungle Reveals About Us Editor’s Introduction What we call “Tarzan” is a sprawling collection, or mini-industry, of stories. The original Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure novel, “Tarzan...
Empire and Higher Education in Nnedi Okorafor’s “Binti”
Breaking Colonial Conventions, Confronting Past and Future by Amanda Lagji Editor’s Introduction “The Empire Writes Back” is a powerful concept. It is a phrase coined by Salman Rushdie in a magazine article and then...
How We See ‘The Other’ in Tintin
Emma Walker The Role of Empire in One of Our Most Popular Comics Editor’s Introduction In 1879, King Leopold of Belgium hired a British explorer (Henry...
Polar Bears and the Real Arctic
ROUGH DRAFT Phillip Pullman, Polar Bears and the Real Arctic R.L. Shields How a Close Reading of History Matters to “His Dark Materials” ...
The Architecture of India
BOOK REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW The Architecture of India India: Modern Architecture in History Skyy, Powai, Mumbai, 2013 (Urban Studio) by Peter Scriver and Amit Srivastava EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Architecture is classroom gold. When I...
Gandhi’s Changing Image-A Case Study in Perspective and Reputation
BOOK REVIEW: Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World (1914-1948) EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION A new biography of Mahatma Gandhi reminds us of how reputations can change, and how valuable it can be to put together...
