A decade ago, when Iván Chaar López first began researching drones, his Tumblr webpage served as a kind of makeshift digital archive filled with images, articles, reports, and videos he came across online. Some were cheerful depictions of drones delivering pizzas and presents, but a few more sobering pieces detailed drone strikes and deployment for surveillance in the Global War on Terrorism. The striking contrast between the two aesthetics would ultimately prove to be an impetus for his wo...| Life & Letters Magazine
Brian Hurley’s first exposure to Japanese studies, as a kid in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri, was somewhat serendipitous. When he was in junior high school, a local summer program offered a six-week Japanese language class, taught by a university student. “One thing about growing up in a college town is you’re exposed to folks who are studying all sorts of things,” he says. “I thought, ‘Oh, that sounds interesting.’ So I went.” He continued studying the language in high s...| Life & Letters Magazine
Jennifer Wilks began her newest book project with a seemingly simple question: “Why are there so many adaptations of Carmen set in African diasporic contexts?”| Life & Letters Magazine
If classicist Andrew M. Riggsby had to give a speech about his dog Elmer — an extensive rousing one that he’d need to recall without effort or external aid — he would first visualize the strip mall near where he lives. | Life & Letters Magazine