Culture and Arts

Nancy Scheper-Hughes gave two presentations at a human-trafficking plenary in Rome and says her primary contributions came in proposals relating to organ trafficking. One would prohibit "the buying, selling, brokering and implanting of organs and tissues from trafficking persons in all countries." Another would ask the world’s religions to encourage voluntary and altruistic organ sharing. "In the end, clothes did not make either the man or the woman. Gender still remained highly marked, and many clerics at Santa Marta [the Pope's residence] were uncomfortable sharing a communal table with a woman, let alone talking to her." more »

From a NYT's Editorial: The libraries are where poor children learn to read and love literature, where immigrants learn English, where job-seekers hone résumés and cover letters, and where those who lack ready access to the Internet can cross the digital divide. They are havens for thinking, dreaming, studying, striving and — for many children and the elderly — simply for staying safe, and out of the heat. more »

The Critique of Reason: Romantic Art, 1760 –1860 comprises more than 300 paintings, sculptures, medals, watercolors, drawings, prints, and photographs by such iconic artists as William Blake, John Constable, Honoré Daumier, David d'Angers, Eugène Delacroix, Henri Fuseli, Théodore Géricault, Francisco de Goya, John Martin, and J. M. W. Turner that expanded the view of Romanticism as a movement opposed to reason and the scientific method.   more »

Joan L. Cannon writes: In my teens I came to the realization that without words we could not actually think. Feel, emote, react — of course, but it takes words to think. My father was a perfectionist. A musician and writer, he did his best to reorder his world to an ideal of regularity and esthetic standards. That included his growing daughter's handling of the English language. more »