Media Mentions

The latest media mentions, quotes, profiles, and writings from Division of the Humanities faculty, students, staff, and alumni. Visit us on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook for more updates.

What is 'recession pop' — and why is it making a comeback? New music from Kesha, Lady Gaga signals return to 'escapist pop bangers.'

Yahoo Entertainment
Paula Harper (music) was interviewed for this article on the resurgence of "recession pop"—the dance-floor anthems that offered escapist joy during the Great Recession and are now making a comeback. Harper explains how these songs served as “overcompensating counterpoints” to economic despair, offering “sonic bodily pleasure” in moments of uncertainty. 

How much influence did white supremacist groups have on Chicago housing?

WBEZ
Adrienne Brown (English Language and Literature) was interviewed for this article on how white supremacist groups influenced Chicago housing segregation. She explains that while extremist groups like the White Circle League played a role, segregation was also upheld by real estate boards, neighborhood associations, and banks that adapted discriminatory practices even after legal barriers fell. Brown emphasizes that these systemic issues not only shaped Chicago’s housing market but also the lives and works of Black thinkers like Richard Wright, Lorraine Hansberry, and Gwendolyn Brooks.

The latest media mentions, quotes, profiles, and writings from Division of the Humanities faculty, students, staff, and alumni. Visit us on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook for more updates.

Commitment to History
Anandabazar Patrika
Rochona Majumdar (South Asian Languages and Civilizations) pays tribute to Shyam Benegal, who began his career at the height of the Indian new wave. She highlights his work in film, television, and documentary highlighting his commitment to history, radical cinema, and social critique. From Ankur (1974) to Mammo (1994), his films expose systemic oppression while exploring India’s evolving identity.

Snehalata Mukhopadhyay: The teen whose dowry death shook 20th-century Bengal into action
The Indian Express
Rochona Majumdar (South Asian Languages and Civilizations) is featured in the article through her book Marriage and Modernity: Family Values in Colonial Bengal. In it, she examines Snehalata Mukhopadhyay's tragic suicide, which stemmed from her family's inability to afford the dowry required for her marriage, as one of the most debated cases in Bengali and Indian history. Prof. Majumdar provides critical historical context and analysis, linking this personal tragedy to broader themes of family values, societal expectations, and gender oppression in colonial Bengal.