Stories about Culture
16 April 2018
School history assignment stirs up a storm in Jamaica over how slavery should be taught
"Now to the assignment at hand, would Hillel have asked on an assignment about World War 2 to come up with ways for Nazi Germany to annihilate the Jewish people?"
14 April 2018
Jamaican Dancehall Star Buju Banton's Impending Release from Prison Sparks Renewed Controversy
"If Banton[...]retracted his hideous views on homosexuality and sought to amend the damage he has done to men and women across the Caribbean, he would be worthy of a platform."
11 April 2018
Confrontation and Disruption in a New Exhibition by Chinese-American Artist Xiaoze Xie
"Subjects with conflicts, struggles, and some intensity always compel me to paint, because I think they are important."
No Laughing Matter: China Shuts Down Popular Joke-Sharing App
"A country, a government, a supervision department. They are all scared of a joke-sharing application."
9 April 2018
How Nationalism Played a Role in Preserving Orthodox Christian Cultural Heritage During the Soviet Union Era
Some of the artistic legacies of Orthodox Christian religion were used to promote patriotic pride during the Soviet Union era.
6 April 2018
A European Union-Supported Rap Video Tries to Persuade Young Guineans Against Migrating
"It’s about poverty, the lack of opportunities...That is why young people find it more risky to stay at home...They say: 'I would rather die on the sea than stay here.'"
5 April 2018
Indian Government Threatens to Revoke Media Accreditation Over ‘Fake News’
New federal guidelines in India which states that journalists can lose accreditation if found spreading "fake" or "uncomfortable" news raises an issue of media-surveillance.
3 April 2018
A Children's Costume Contest in Macedonia Sparks Outrage With ‘Portable Adolf’ Hitler Entry
"Everybody was appalled by the poor kid dressed as Hitler. Who, we all know, was racist...Even those who shouted..."For a clean Macedonia," which is exactly what Hitler was all about."
31 March 2018
Experience Tokyo's ‘Street of the Day’ With YouTuber Mimei
Popular Tokyo-based vlogger Mimei shows off the various streets of Japan's most populous city, one day at a time on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and other social media channels.
27 March 2018
A Muslim Scholar Seeks to Link Israel and Indonesia Through the Hebrew Language
"I told my family that what I'm doing might have uncertain consequences, but it's something that needs to be done."
26 March 2018
Photos of Japanese Soldiers in the Trenches During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905
The colorized stereographs provide a fascinating glimpse into a war that in many ways was a precursor to the events of the 20th century.
25 March 2018
From Informal Sales to Market Intelligence: The History of the Largest Afro-Descendant Fair in Latin America
In the 16 years since its founding, the Feira Preta fair has succeeded in strengthening and emphasizing the Brazilian black identity.
24 March 2018
Tuberculosis Survivors Advocate To Eradicate The Disease From India
Community mobilization is key to ending Tuberculosis in India. The survivors of this disease are sharing their stories to strengthen the fight to eradicate TB from India.
21 March 2018
On World Poetry Day, Some Verses Straight From Persia's Heart
"The sadness in my heart, like a mountain/The heart under your chest, like a stone."
19 March 2018
A Respected Ceramicist and a Skilled Novelist: Jamaica Loses Two Much-Loved Creatives in Two Days
"Jamaica, we mourn the passing of sculptor Gene Pearson and writer Garfield Ellis. But we will celebrate them always."
17 March 2018
What Japan's 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Mascots Say About Attitudes Toward Disability
On a careful reading of its character description you will notice that unlike its Olympic counterpart, the Paralympic mascot is not explicitly described as “athletic”.
16 March 2018
Guyanese Literary Giant Sir Wilson Harris Leaves Behind a ‘Literacy of the Imagination’
"The indigenous people of the Caribbean, the landscape [...] and native myth were [...] given new meaning because of him. He changed the way Caribbean literature is written and read."
14 March 2018
‘Aesthetics Japan’ Tweets the Beauty of Japan, From Neon Lights to Misty Mountaintops
“It was traditional Edo architecture and nature that attracted me to it. Then as I grew older, the neon lights of Tokyo made me love it all over again.”
