Having listened to the forty-odd studio albums comprising Neil Young’s catalogue this spring, Erstwhile editor Graeme Pente traces the thread of the Canadian-American musician’s environmentalism back to the first Earth Day fifty years ago. In the hallways of the ages, on the road to history What we do now will always be with us. It’s a…
Taika Waititi’s (Māori) Jojo Rabbit (2019) is a film that simultaneously reminds audiences of the beauty of youthful innocence and the pernicious toxicity of Nazism—two things that moviegoers of all ages in this moment of xenophobia and nationalism could stand to be reminded of. Note: spoilers ahead.
In this post, editor Kerri Clement briefly reviews the origin(s) of the National Western Stock Show, which is held in Denver every January.
Join our editors as they share some of the books they will be enjoying in their downtime over the winter break.
Erstwhile editor Graeme Pente reviews Bohemians: A Graphic History (Verso, 2014). In Bohemians: A Graphic History (2014), Paul Buhle, David Berger, and Luisa Cetti help a dozen artists bring to life an impressive cast of historical characters who lived on the margins of mainstream society while pushing the creative boundaries of diverse forms of art.[1] Covering the…
In what has become something of an Erstwhile tradition, contributing editor Kerri Clement highlights a collection of Indigenous popular culture links, all of which feature history in some form or fashion. Let’s descend from the ivory tower, pick up the headphones or the cookbook and explore contemporary Indigenous culture during Native American Heritage Month and throughout the year.
Guest contributor and friend of the blog Evan Willford places Blizzard Entertainment’s recent censorship scandal in the context of a longer history of the company’s accommodation of the Chinese government. Since this summer, hundreds of thousands of protestors have packed the streets of Hong Kong, demonstrating against Chinese encroachment on Hong Kong’s special status under…
Erstwhile contributing editor Caroline Grego talks about recent-ish music that draws upon the history of the American South for this week’s post. Featured image courtesy Smithsonian Folkways. Rhiannon Giddens, a classically trained, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter intent on re-centering the historical contributions of Black women to American music traditions, gave an interview to National Public Radio one…
Erstwhile Contributing Editor Travis R May examines the connections between Marvel’s Black Panther and the ongoing debate surrounding museums and artifact collections acquired during the colonial period. This post does contain spoilers for Black Panther. Writer/Director Ryan Coogler’s first foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2018’s Black Panther, is a fairly radical…
This week, contributing editor Kerri Clement provides links to pop culture roundups created by Indigenous peoples. While not strictly history, these links provide contemporary examples of Indigenous people responding, wielding, molding, or speaking to their own history. These links cover some of my favorite podcasts, artists, comics, designers, writers, and musicians. I know I have…
Erstwhile: A History Blog 