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Archives: Culture

Image of the Day: European Buddhists (?) & Zoroastrians, c. 1650

British Museum | (Safavid Era Painting) | - - School/style: Persian School/Style term details Culture/period: Safavid dynasty term details Date: 1650-1700 (circa) Production place: Made in: Iran "Four men worshipping at a…

Would Trump let Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali back into the Country?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Mahershala Ali, 43, last night won an Oscar for best supporting actor, in Moonlight . The film treats themes of sexual repression, gayness,…

Iran’s Oscar-Winning Director Hopes Anti-Fascist Movement Grows

TeleSur | - - "We believe there is no best country, best gender, best religion or best color,” the directors of the five Oscar foreign films nominees wrote in a joint statement.…

Photo of the Day: Gaza (the Old Town), 1862

The New York Public Library | Francis Frith | - - The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Gaza (the…

Oscar Nominee Asghar Farhadi between US Muslim Ban and Ayatollahs’ Censorship

By Kevin Hagopian | (The Conversation) | - - Politics loom over this year’s Oscars, with many bracing for what the winners will – or won’t – say when they ascend the…

Garden Party, 1640: Iranian Lady entertains European Gentleman

Metropolitian Museum of Art | Isfahan Tile | - - "At the center of this scene, a lady leans on a bolster pillow and languidly holds out a filled cup. Making somewhat…

Image of the Day: Gemini Constellation, As Seen in the Heavens, Iran,1630

New York Public Library | Spencer Collection, The New York Public Library. "Gemini, as seen in the heavens. Mirror image of f. 91?" Tarjumah-i suwar al-kawâkib (Translation of "Images of the Planets").…

Iranian Drummer Woman, 1842

British Museum | - - "Portrait of a young woman; single-page painting mounted on album folio. A woman beats a drum slung over her shoulder. She wears an orange blouse, a green…

Why America needs the Muslim Ms. Marvel now more than Ever!

By Katie M. Logan | (The Conversation) | - - During the first few weeks of the Trump administration, we’ve seen increased pressure on Muslim and immigrant communities in the United States.…

Photo of the Day: Sad Girl, Happy Girl, Iran 1900 (Sykes)

British Museum | Sir Percy Sykes | - - Two rural Iranian girls of the Qajar era, 1900, one sad, one mischievous. Via British Museum Museum number: Sykes.453 Description: Lantern slide, showing…

Image of the Day: Persian Lady in Green, 1600

British Museum | Safavid Painting | - - Painting: Portrait of a Lady in Green, Iran, 1600 British Museum Description: Recto Painting. Portrait of a lady in green. Ascribed to Riza-yi Abbasi.…

Image of the Day: “Jonah and the Whale” (Persian Miniature)

Metropolitan Museum of Art | (Persian Miniature Painting) | - - "Jonah and the Whale", Folio from a Jami al-Tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles [A medieval World History]) Inscription: In Persian, on the…

“This Land:” The pro-Immigrant Radicalism of Lady Gaga and Guthrie at Half-Time

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - By beginning with Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" and then switching to Woody Guthrie's "This Land is your Land," Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta,…

SNL: Bannon puts Trump up to Disastrous Calls to World Leaders

Saturday Night Live | (Video Clip) SNL Cold Open

Understanding Islam means understanding its and our Multiculturalism

Kishwar Rizvi | (The Conversation) | - - There has been much misinformation about Islam. Reports in Western media tend to perpetuate stereotypes that Islam is a violent religion and Muslim women…

Meryl Streep calls out Trump: Having Bully-in-Chief Coarsens whole Culture

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Occasionally entertainment and politics intersect, often hitting a false note. You never want your screenplay to be, as they say in Hollywood, "on…

6 Reasons Feminist Carrie Fisher Was Ahead of Her Time

TeleSur | - - While all Star Wars (male) fans only remember Carrie Fisher in her sex-slave golden bikini, the late actress had a feminist conception of her role way ahead of…

‘Post-Truth’ or ‘Xenophobia’ or . . . What word sums up Horrible 2016?

By Philip Seargeant | (The Conversation) | - - Every December, lexicographers around the world choose their “words of the year”, and this year, perhaps more than ever, the stories these tell…

The Reich Strikes Back? Neo-Nazis Call for a Boycott of New Star Wars Movie

By TeleSur | - - White-supremacists are upset because nearly all of the major characters on the new Star Wars film are people of color. Neo-Nazi groups on the Internet are calling…

Hasan Minhaj on New Brown America and His Superpowers

Hari Kondabolu and W. Kamau Bell interview Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj on their podcast Politically Re-Active. The interview begins at 31:49: