In May 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sparked a firestorm by referencing the 2013 movie “Her” to highlight the novelty of the latest iteration of ChatGPT. Within days, actor Scarlett Johansson, who…
Tag: Literature
Palestinian writers have long explored the horrors of amputation
Words fail as 2,000-pound bombs shred lives and limbs. The sheer number of children killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza is devastating – at least 13,000 children in the first six months…
Gen Zers and millennials are still big fans of books – even if they don’t call themselves ‘readers’
CC BY-ND. Identifying with an activity is different from actually doing it. For example, 49% of Americans play video games, but only 10% identify as gamers. According to a recent survey we…
Indian protesters pull from poetic tradition to resist Modi’s Hindu nationalism
India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, implemented the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA, in March 2024. Opponents of the law – which fast-tracks citizenship for undocumented, non-Muslim migrants from…
What’s behind the astonishing rise in LGBTQ+ romance literature?
CC BY-SA A major transformation is underway in Romancelandia. Once upon a time, romance novels from major U.S. publishers featured only heterosexual couples. Today, the five biggest publishers regularly release same-sex love…
Some of the Renaissance’s most romantic love poems weren’t for lovers
As poets have demonstrated for centuries, a sonnet for your beloved never goes out of style. The gift of verse may carry extra cachet this Valentine’s Day, on the heels of Taylor…
Barbara Kingsolver’s ‘Demon Copperhead’ and the enduring devastation of the opioid crisis
Barbara Kingsolver’s literary honors range from the National Book Prize of South Africa to the PEN/Faulkner Award. On May 8, 2023, she added a Pulitzer Prize to her accolades. Her winning novel,…
To better understand addiction, students in this course take a close look at liquor in literature
Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Title of course: Alcohol in American Literature What prompted the idea for the course? I got the…
Why Kurt Vonnegut’s advice to college graduates still matters today
Kurt Vonnegut didn’t deliver the famous “Wear Sunscreen” graduation speech published in the Chicago Tribune that was often mistakenly attributed to the celebrated author. But he could have. Over his lifetime, he…
What’s behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill?
In March 2023, a Utah woman named Kouri Richins published a children’s book titled “Are You With Me?” which she characterized as an effort to help her three young sons process the…