The Athenaeum Review

English

Art, Education, and Humanities & Social Sciences

Interviews with leading thinkers and writers about books, arts and ideas.
The music used for the intro and outro bumpers is Cello Suite no. 1 in G, BWV 1007, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Colin Carr.

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Episodes

Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land with Toni Jensen

Recorded on 2020-10-21

Our guest today is Toni Jensen, the author of Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land, a memoir-in-essays about gun violence, land and indigenous women’s lives which is out now from Ballantine Books. Carry was described as “an unsettling account that creeps into your bones” in the New York Times Book Review. She’s previously […]

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Dignity: A Conversation with Chris Arnade

Recorded on 2020-10-07

Our guest today is Chris Arnade, the author of Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America. He is a freelance writer and photographer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Atlantic, Guardian, Washington Post, Financial Times, and Wall Street Journal among many others. In this podcast: What does “dignity” mean, and how do you recognize it […]

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The State of the Arts and Humanities: A Conversation with Nils Roemer

Recorded on 2020-10-06

Our guest on this episode of the podcast is Nils Roemer, interim dean of the School of the Arts and Humanities, director of the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, and the Stan and Barbara Rabin Professor in Holocaust Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas. In this podcast:  The timing of the transition to […]

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The Search for Dark Matter: A Conversation with Xiangdong Ji

Recorded on 2020-09-16

Our guest on this podcast is Xiangdong Ji, project leader for the PandaX dark matter search collaboration in China’s JinPing Deep-Underground Lab in Sichuan, China, and Distinguished University Professor of physics at the University of Maryland. We discuss the history of the search for dark matter, and the beauty and simplicity of physics.

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Rescue and Resistance: A Conversation with Mark Roseman Part 2

Recorded on 2020-09-01

Our guest on this episode is Mark Roseman, the author of Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany. We discuss the Bund, a close-knit group that worked together to save lives in Nazi Germany, the ideas of “functionary” and “perpetrator,” the Wannsee Conference, and much more.

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Virtual Events in the Arts: A Conversation with Michele Hanlon

Recorded on 2020-05-12

Michele Hanlon, Associate Dean for the Arts at UT Dallas, discusses how teaching and performance have moved online in spring 2020, highlighting the School of Arts & Humanities Virtual Events in the Arts. In this episode:  How to keep figure-drawing classes going under a shelter-in-place order (1:15) — Using Blackboard Collaborate to conduct a conditioning class […]

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Medical Nihilism: A Conversation With Jacob Stegenga

Recorded on 2020-03-10

Our guest on this podcast is Jacob Stegenga, the author of Care and Cure and Medical Nihilism. We discuss the effectiveness of medical interventions, the relationship between philosophers and practitioners, how to deal with complexity, the nature of sexual desire, and much more. In this episode:  How do doctors and other medical professionals respond to the argument for medical […]

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Rescue and Resistance: A Conversation with Mark Roseman Part 1

Recorded on 2019-11-26

Our guest on this episode is Mark Roseman, the author of Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany. We discuss the Bund, a close-knit group that worked together to save lives in Nazi Germany, the ideas of “functionary” and “perpetrator,” the Wannsee Conference, and much more.

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The Power of Art, From Museums to Medicine: A Conversation With Bonnie Pitman Part 1

Recorded on 2019-09-24

Our guest on this episode is Bonnie Pitman, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, and Director of Art-Brain Innovations at the Center for Brain Health at The University of Dallas at Texas. From museum director, to hospital patient, to starting up a program in art and medicine at UT Southwestern (1:45) — […]

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Environment and Psychology in Architecture and Urbanism: A Conversation with Volker M. Welter Part 3

Recorded on 2019-08-10

Our guest on this episode is Volker M. Welter, professor of art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Vernacular architecture in California: the Case Study Houses (2:00) — the Tremaine houses and family patronage of domestic architecture in midcentury America (4:30) — how the Tremaine family worked with different modern architects (9:45) — […]

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Environment and Psychology in Architecture and Urbanism: A Conversation with Volker M. Welter Part 2

Recorded on 2019-07-05

Our guest on this episode is Volker M. Welter, professor of art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Along with practical functions, the need for cultural or spiritual elements in town planning: Geddes’ “cultural acropolis” (1:45) — The cosmic and religious symbolism of Geddes’s unbuilt plan for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on […]

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Environment and Psychology in Architecture and Urbanism: A Conversation with Volker M. Welter Part 1

Recorded on 2019-06-26

Our guest on this episode is Volker M. Welter, professor of art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara.Discovering the work of urban planner Patrick Geddes: community, civic responsibility and civic society (2:30) — The origins of town planning in the late 19th century: architecture, economics and biology (5:00) — The urban environment of […]

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Algorithms of Oppression: A Conversation with Safiya Umoja Noble

Recorded on 2019-06-06

Our guest on this episode is Safiya Umoja Noble, Associate Professor of Information Studies and African American Studies at UCLA. What happens when you type “black women” into a search engine? (1:15) — Or if you search for “good schools”? (3:15) — Is there any degree of algorithmic transparency available to the consumer of these […]

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Ethics in the Fandom Community: A Conversation With Casey Fiesler

Recorded on 2019-04-30

Our guest on this episode is Casey Fiesler, a social computing researcher who studies governance in online communities, technology ethics, and fandom. Studying human-computer interaction and online communities in the early 2000s (1:00) — How are ordinary users of technology supposed to respond to the Terms of Service? (2:45) — Do users in Europe enjoy any better […]

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Poetry, Nature and Science: A Conversation with Frederick Turner Part 2

Recorded on 2019-04-17

Our guest on this episode is Frederick Turner, whose new book of translations, The Golden Goblet: Selected Poems of Goethe (with Zsuzsanna Ozsváth), will be released by Deep Vellum Publishing in 2019. Reading the poem “Ride This One Out” (0:30) — Smartphones and cultural evolution (2:00) — Gardening as a model for engagement with nature […]

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Poetry, Nature and Science: A Conversation with Frederick Turner Part 1

Recorded on 2019-04-13

Our guest on this episode is Frederick Turner, whose new book of translations, The Golden Goblet: Selected Poems of Goethe (with Zsuzsanna Ozsváth), will be released by Deep Vellum Publishing in 2019. Childhood influences: brother Robert Turner, father Victor Turner (1:15) — The conflict between literary-humanistic and scientific-positivist values at Oxford and The Two Cultures (3:30) — The generativity, richness and abundance of the […]

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Modernity and History in Hungarian Poetry: A Conversation with Zsuzsanna Ozsváth Part 2

Recorded on 2019-03-06

Our guest on this episode is Zsuzsanna Ozsváth, whose new book of translations, The Golden Goblet: Selected Poems of Goethe (with Frederick Turner), will be released by Deep Vellum Publishing in 2019. The book of poems, written on postcards, found in Radnóti’s coat pocket after his death (0:30) — A reading of the “Razglednicas” (4:00) — The special position, and […]

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Ludwig Schwarz: The Desktop Paintings

Recorded on 2018-12-09

Ludwig Schwarz earned a BFA from Southern Methodist University and an MFA from the School of the Visual Arts, NY. Solo exhibitions include “Some 20 year old works on Paper and 2 New Sculptures”, curated by Charles Dee Mitchell, The Box Company, Dallas, TX (2017); “Rest Stop”, Peter Makebish Gallery, NYC (2015); “Retrospective (1990-2014)”, Oliver […]

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Contemporary art in Germany: A Conversation with Gregory Williams Part 2

Recorded on 2018-11-29

Since arriving at Boston University in 2005, Gregory Williams has delivered lectures and participated in numerous conferences in Europe and the United States. An editor-at-large of Brooklyn’s Cabinet magazine, he has published art criticism in periodicals, including Artforum, frieze and Texte zur Kunst. He has written catalogue essays for exhibitions of Rosemarie Trockel (Museum Ludwig […]

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Contemporary art in Germany: A Conversation with Gregory Williams Part 1

Recorded on 2018-11-16

Since arriving at Boston University in 2005, Gregory Williams has delivered lectures and participated in numerous conferences in Europe and the United States. An editor-at-large of Brooklyn’s Cabinet magazine, he has published art criticism in periodicals, including Artforum, frieze and Texte zur Kunst. He has written catalogue essays for exhibitions of Rosemarie Trockel (Museum Ludwig […]

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Allegorical Narrative in Thornton Wilder’s Plays and Novels: A Conversation with Hansong Dan Part 1

Recorded on 2018-11-03

Hansong dan is Associate Professor of English at the School of Foreign Studies, Nanjing University. His research interests include modern/contemporary American novels, 9/11 literature, posthumanism and Digital Humanities. He has authored numerous articles in nationally renowned journals, such asForeign Literature Review. His articles in English can be found in volumes published by Northwestern University Press […]

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Why We Need Religion: A Conversation with Stephen Asma Pt. 2

Recorded on 2018-09-19

Join Ben Lima for a conversation with Stephen Asma, a Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture. Asma is the author of ten books, including The Evolution of Imagination (University of Chicago Press, 2017), The Evolution of Mind: Affective Roots […]

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Pretend Play in Childhood: A Conversation with Sandra Russ

Recorded on 2018-09-13

Join Ben Lima for a conversation with Sandra Russ, a distinguished University Professor and Louis D. Beaumont University Professor at Case Western Reserve University. Her research has focused on understanding how pretend play is involved in child development and in child psychotherapy. She is the author of Pretend Play in Childhood: The Foundation of Adult […]

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Why We Need Religion: A Conversation with Stephen Asma Pt. 1

Recorded on 2018-09-06

Join Ben Lima for a conversation with Stephen Asma, a Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture. Asma is the author of ten books, including The Evolution of Imagination (University of Chicago Press, 2017), The Evolution of Mind: Affective Roots […]

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Berlin’s Museum Island: A Conversation with Thomas Gaehtgens

Recorded on 2018-08-30

Join Ben Lima for a conversation with Thomas Gaehtgens, director of the Getty Research Institute. The two discuss European art history and traditions of museum curation, as well as Museumsinsel, the northern half of one of Berlin’s districts which is made up of five architecturally grand museums. Spoken of in Specific detail is the Bode […]

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Chinese Influence on Western Ideals: A Conversation with Martin Powers, Part 2

Recorded on 2018-08-16

Our guest on this episode is Martin Powers, the Sally Michelson Davidson Professor of Chinese Arts and Cultures at the University of Michigan, and the author most recently of China and England: the Preindustrial Struggle for Justice in Word and Image. In Part One: Growing up in Back of the Yards, Chicago, the first person […]

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Chinese Influence on Western Ideals: A Conversation with Martin Powers, Part 1

Recorded on 2018-08-13

Our guest on this episode is Martin Powers, the Sally Michelson Davidson Professor of Chinese Arts and Cultures at the University of Michigan, and the author most recently of China and England: the Preindustrial Struggle for Justice in Word and Image. In Part One: Growing up in Back of the Yards, Chicago, the first person […]

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Commercial Culture, Realism and Pop Art: A Conversation with Michael Lobel Part 2

Recorded on 2018-08-04

Our guest on this episode is Michael Lobel, professor of art history at Hunter College and the author of books on Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and John Sloan. In Part One: Realism in 20th-century art: challenging the received critical narrative of the “triumph of abstraction” (1:30) — Contemporary realists e.g. Kerry James Marshall, Nicole Eisenman, […]

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Commercial Culture, Realism and Pop Art: A Conversation with Michael Lobel Part 1

Recorded on 2018-07-29

Our guest on this episode is Michael Lobel, professor of art history at Hunter College and the author of books on Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and John Sloan. In Part One: Realism in 20th-century art: challenging the received critical narrative of the “triumph of abstraction” (1:30) — Contemporary realists e.g. Kerry James Marshall, Nicole Eisenman, […]

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Creativity, Innovation and Social Change: Conversation with Vlad Glaveanu

Recorded on 2018-07-22

Our guest on this episode is Vlad Glaveanu, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology and Professional Counseling at Webster University Geneva, and an expert in the cultural psychology of creativity. In this episode: How research on Easter egg decoration in Romania led to a research program in creativity (0:50) — The importance […]

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Suzanne Preston Blier: Risk, Power and Identity in African Art

Recorded on 2018-07-17

Our guest on this episode is Suzanne Preston Blier, the Allen Whitehill Clowes Professor of Fine Arts and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. In this episode About the AfricaMap project at Harvard, its origins and objectives (1:15) — How she researched and wrote the book Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: […]

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From Matisse to Mondrian: A Conversation with Yve-Alain Bois

Recorded on 2018-05-17

Our guest on this episode is Yve-Alain Bois, professor of art history in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In this episode How the former state of art history in France influenced his decision to come to the United States (1:00) — How the conflict between formalism and […]

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Photography in Mexico: A Conversation with John Mraz Pt. 2

Recorded on 2018-05-04

Our guest on this episode is John Mraz, the world’s leading authority on photography in Mexico. Among his books are Looking for Mexico: Modern Visual Culture and National Identity ; Photographing the Mexican Revolution: Commitments, Testimonies, Icons ; and Nacho López: Mexican Photographer. He’s the curator of Los Hermanos Mayo: Photographing Exile, which was recently […]

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Photography in Mexico: A Conversation with John Mraz Pt. 1

Recorded on 2018-05-02

Our guest on this episode is John Mraz, the world’s leading authority on photography in Mexico. Among his books are Looking for Mexico: Modern Visual Culture and National Identity ; Photographing the Mexican Revolution: Commitments, Testimonies, Icons ; and Nacho López: Mexican Photographer. He’s the curator of Los Hermanos Mayo: Photographing Exile, which was recently […]

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