Letters & Science

Do the portrayals of objects in literary texts represent historical evidence about the material culture of the past? Or are things in books more than things in the world? Sophie Volpp considers fictional objects of the late Ming and Qing that defy being read as illustrative of historical...Read more about The Substance of Fiction Literary Objects in China, 1550-1775

Today, a world without “gender” is hard to imagine. Gender is at the center of contentious political and social debates, shapes policy decisions, and informs our everyday lives. Its formulation, however, is lesser known: Gender was first used in clinical practice. This book tells the story...Read more about How the Clinic Made Gender: The Medical History of a Transformative Idea

Silicon Valley is known for its lavish perks, intense work culture, and spiritual gurus. Work Pray Code explores how tech companies are bringing religion into the workplace in ways that are replacing traditional places of worship, blurring the line between work and religion and...Read more about Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley

Collected here are seventeen prose stories and two comics created by established and rising stars in American fiction and graphic narrative, all published since the year 2000—masterful works that vary greatly in style and content but spring from a common source: the desire to forge a...Read more about In the Between: 21st Century Short Stories