Culture Watch

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Today's kids don't have to struggle with typewriter ribbons, correction tape, Wite-Out, carbon paper, mimeograph stencils, Ditto machines, and a myriad other medieval instruments of torture that plagued secretaries of old. What's a secretary? It was a woman (never a man) who munched a brown-bag sandwich at her desk as she typed, while her boss, who made more than ten times her salary, was out enjoying expense-paid 'business' lunches and martinis with other bosses. If I sound bitter, it's because I am. I was born way too soon I envy all who weren't. more »

"A popular misconception is that all manuscripts were made by monks and contained religious texts, but from the 11th century onwards professional scribes and artists were increasingly involved in a thriving book trade, producing both religious and secular texts." Spanning the 8th to the 17th centuries, the 150 manuscripts and fragments [in the exhibit] guide us on a journey through time, stopping at leading artistic centers of medieval and Renaissance Europe. more »

The three crime novels reviewed are not your ordinary fast beach reads. They take place in different cultures and all the crimes, which occur in the present, are connected to a specific historical context. None of the three novels makes you feel like you are reading a textbook, but each raises issues about international politics and social justice in a completely engaging way. more »

While women faded into the background at the Republican Convention, they were front and center at the Democrats'. Women were everywhere, and not just sitting in the seats. There were more events aimed at women each day of the Democratic Convention than on all the days of the Republican Convention. more »