The Conversation
Peter Thomas of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (left), Marcel Dionne of Roarockit (centre) and Jaimie Isaac, curator for Indigenous/Contemporary at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (right), are seen building a skateboard using a do-it-yourself kit in this 2017 photo. Art and design schools should reward those who actually build and create more than they do design theorists. (Author provided)

Art, design schools must cultivate creators

Ted Hunter, OCADU

Guitarist David Hinds at Reggae on the Rocks in Denver, Colorado. Photo by Rick Scuteri/Invision/AP

Reggae’s sacred roots and call to protest injustice

David W. Stowe, Michigan State University

Reggae is the musical expression of Rastafari, a belief system of migrants to Jamaica. A popular song, 'Rivers of Babylon,' offers a window into their spirituality and longing for their homeland.
Rapper Drake watches the action at an NBA game in Toronto in 2016. A recent battle between Drake and Pusha-T brought the issue of blackface back into the headlines. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

The problem with blackface

Philip S. S. Howard, McGill University

Is blackface ever innocent? Is it less racist when a Black person enacts it as a statement of resistance? Because of our history of deep and ongoing racism in Canada, the answer is no.
Refugee Journeys is a board game designed to help front-line workers and educators confront their bias towards refugees. Michelle Lam

Challenge your ideas about refugees

Michelle Lam, University of Manitoba

Many Canadians have volunteered to help newcomers adjust to society. This board game was developed to help these volunteers understand what it feels like to enter a new country and build a new life.
In Season 3 of ‘Parts Unknown,’ Anthony Bourdain took viewers to Tanzania. CNN

Anthony Bourdain’s window into Africa

Jacob Henry, University of Hawaii

When covering Africa, Bourdain rejected the monolithic way media outlets have historically depicted the continent's diverse cultures and populations.
In a study on porn, viewers preferred to watch pleasure over aggression on a popular online pornography site. (Shutterstock)

Porn fans prefer women’s pleasure, not violence

Eran Shor, McGill University and Kimberly Seida, McGill University

Many claim that pornography is getting more violent. But a new study shows that porn has become less aggressive over the past decade, and videos in which women enjoy themselves are the most popular.
Designs by Jeneen Frei Njootli on the runway at the Frost Moon Showcase at Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto last weekend. (Red Works Photography)

Indigenous Fashion Week is healing and resurgence

Riley Kucheran, Ryerson University

The organizers of Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto gathered a group of designers and creative thinkers to present and discuss the future of Indigenous fashion last week.
Many authors born in Latin America have produced some of their finest work while living in the United States. Alvy Libros/flickr

Five Latino authors you should be reading

Laura Lomas, Rutgers University Newark

Spanish-speaking writers have made exceptional contributions to American literature. Here are the best Latin American and Latino authors you probably haven't heard of.

Quote of the Day

Shakespeare may or may not have committed sodomitical acts. It’s tough to say, if only because sodomy covers a lot of territory. (Oral sex— categorized as sodomy — is still illegal in some American states, although the law was made unenforceable (as late as 2003!). Sky Gilbert, Professor, School of English and Theatre Studies, University of Guelph

Editor's Picks

The Pulitzer Prize winning emcee Kendrick Lamar recently asked a white fan to refrain from rapping the n-word. A video recording of the incident has reignited a controversy that gained wide attention last year. In this 2016 file photo, Kendrick Lamar performs in New York. (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File)

White people should never rap the n-word

Darin Flynn, University of Calgary

At one of his shows, rapper Kendrick Lamar asked a white fan to refrain from rapping the n-word. A video of the incident has reignited a controversy: can white people ever rap the n-word?
An orange flag with the traditional Indian swastika on top of ancient Hindu temples in the Himalayas. (Shutterstock)

How Nazis twisted the swastika into a symbol of hate

James M. Skidmore, University of Waterloo

The swastika, an ancient and innocent symbol in many cultures for hundreds of years, now represents racial hatred. Should the swastika be banned in North America as it is in Germany?
The theme at the core of Rowling’s wizarding world speaks directly to a universal human reality: The struggle to come to terms with our mortality. Shutterstock

Harry Potter and the surprisingly poignant literary theme

J. Andrew Deman,, University of Waterloo

We may think of _Harry Potter_ as escapist delight, but J.K. Rowling’s books also contain an extended theme that has more in common with _King Lear_ than most English professors might care to admit.
Barn Hammer Brewing Company Head Brewer Brian Westcott, Matt Gibbs of the University of Winnipeg and Barn Hammer owner Tyler Birch teamed up to re-create an ancient beer. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

The taste of an ancient Graeco-Roman beer

Matt Gibbs, University of Winnipeg

Beer is the most consumed beverages in the world with a long history. What does the ancient art of brewing tell us about culture and tastes?
‘Love, Simon’ tells the story of a gay teenager who is ‘just like you’ - a mainstream comedy first - but what happens when they are not just like you? (20th Century Fox)

Homophobia: Old problem, new disguise in ‘Love, Simon’

Sky Gilbert, University of Guelph

Given the progress gay rights have made over the last 40 years, we might believe we live in queer friendly North America and that homophobia is dead. But it's not. It is just in disguise.

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  2. Art and design schools must cultivate creators, not theorists
  3. How Nazis twisted the swastika into a symbol of hate
  4. Porn viewers prefer women’s pleasure over violence
  5. It’s time to start The Conversation in Canada

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