The superhero agenda: When was the last time you saw a Marvel movie, and what does it reveal about your political instincts? The Harper Review’s most recent essay comes from associate editor Noah Glasgow, who argues that superhero movies tend to promote individualist, vigilante ethics and an eye to conservatism or reaction. It would be sensible for such an ethos to appeal to right-wing viewers, yet American Marvel fans skew strongly to the left. Read Glasgow’s discussion of what this means for the American left today on our website.
Why liberalism didn’t fail: The word “liberal” has countless meanings, but political philosopher Michael Walzer argues that we can clear up some of the confusion by understanding its part of speech. In his new book, The Struggle for a Decent Politics, the emeritus professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, claims that the word is best understood as an adjective, not a noun, since in common parlance, it conveys a moral stance rather than a specific ideology. For Walzer, the characteristics described by the adjective “liberal” include a commitment to the principle of equality, the rule of law, and cultural and political pluralism. In a world in which liberal values are under attack, he hopes to remind us that they are universal and worth fighting for.
Holy utopia!: For as long as humanity has existed, we’ve held certain objects, rituals, and ideas as special, even infused with supernatural significance. How, then, will rapid technological advances and the changes they bring affect our understanding of sacredness? The Future Café, a student-organized space for undergraduates to imagine utopian possibilities and long-term futures, presents “The Future of the Sacred” to discuss the topic. The event, which is sponsored by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory, will take place in Foster Hall at 6 p.m. on January 26. Dinner will be provided.
The best of the small presses: Every year the Pushcart Prize honors authors, poets, memoirists, and essayists whose writing is the “best of the small presses”—the finest work to appear in small literary journals rather than blockbuster newsstand magazines. Buckminster Fuller, Joyce Carol Oates, and Ralph Ellison number among former editors of the resulting volume. The 2023 edition, published last December, features nearly 500 pages of writing that is particular, unusual, and unlikely to be found anywhere else anytime soon. A favorite is the brief “Talking to the Hedgerows about Money,” written by singer-songwriter Jeb Loy Nichols. Nichols recalls indigenous creation myths and tries to grasp the perversion of his world by the forces of private wealth. He wonders, “Can we not be content with rosemary and mint… Is it not enough to simply live and admire and be thankful for this beautiful place?”
In black and white: Just as losing one of your senses heightens all the others, monochrome art derives its excitement from variables such as texture, medium, and shape, after the color is fixed. An exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago explores monochromatic art over time in Japanese prints. While the traditional starting point for monochrome work is placed in the twentieth century, the genre has a history in Japan dating back to the eighth century. Black-and-white prints can mean commercial accessibility of work by famous artists, painterly effects, and forward-thinking innovation like the monochrome does now. The exhibition will be open through early April.