Category: Essays

Is the Outdoor Recreation Boom Too Good to Be True?

The outdoor recreation economy (ORE) is where land, labor, and leisure collide. Mara MacDonell explores the complexities and complications behind the apparent rise of ORE, including housing insecurity, economic inequality, and environmental degradation.

an artwork showing a red building on the left, and a yellow wild animal on the right.

The City Through More-Than-Human Eyes

Indian artist Jagannath Panda is known for his play imagination of urban life. Sreyashi Ray explores how it uses rich textiles and figures to highlight the intersection of human and other-than-human issues that resonate with viewers from all around the world.

A brown-color bear catches a fish while with its mouth while standing in a river

Reveling in the Gluttony and Glee of Fat Bear Week

Once a fringe event, Fat Bear Week has recently come to the attention of mainstream media. Margaret McGuirk argues that this seemingly frivolous program in fact gives us an opportunity to revel in a queered view of nature.

A copper statue sits atop a large rotunda against a blue sky.

(Dis)Placement of German Heritage in New Ulm, Minnesota

From the high vantage point of the “Hermann the German” statue in New Ulm, Minnesota, Ryan Hellenbrand and Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand explore the settler stories inscribed on stolen Dakota homeland, casting a thought-provoking spotlight on the intricate tapestry of history and belonging in the region.

A Call For Humanities at the Seabed

Inspired by recent debates about deep sea mining, Killian Quigley, Charne Lavery, Laurence Publicover discuss the urgency of what they call a “critical seabed studies.”

Photo of a lake with mountains, white clouds, and blue sky in the background.

Who Breathes in the Andes?

Climatotherapy was a popular treatment for respiratory disease in 20th century Peru, but José Ignacio Mogrovejo shows how its history reveals structural inequalities in the country’s healthcare system.