Category: Commentary

Close-up of a hornet on a pin.

Beyond the “Murder Hornet” Panic

Remember murder hornets? Samuel Klee tells their story a different way—with less panic and more attention to settler-colonial plantation ecologies.

The Land Remembers Native Histories

The University of Wisconsin–Madison was constructed through the erasure of Native monuments. But the land remembers. Graduate student Kendra Greendeer (Ho-Chunk) considers histories of settler erasure and contemporary efforts to commemorate Indigenous presence.

A series of differently shaped laser cut and engraved wood seals are arranged on a surface.

There’s Nothing “Natural” About Binary Gender

In light of the US government’s controversial proposal to define gender as a “biological fact,” a trans scholar and artist critiques the use of “nature” to limit the messy, multidimensional reality of gender identity and expression.

A collage of seven books covers to cite in the #metoo era

Citation in the #MeToo Era

An ecocritic had just finished a book chapter on Sherman Alexie’s poetry when accusations about his sexual misconduct went viral last spring. She asks if environmental humanities scholars should continue to engage with the work of abusers, and why certain writers and scholars come to dominate our archives in the first place.

Plastic Drink Beach

The Year of the Plastic Straw Ban

Controversial plastic straw bans continue to make headlines. A cultural analysis helps weigh the most recent legislation and asks whether bans on single-use plastics offer a path toward a more sustainable future or a distraction from systemic change.

The Monuments We Never Built

Charlottesville reminds us that a full reckoning with our landscapes of commemoration requires we ask not only what stories they tell, but also what stories they don’t.