Outwardly, The Great Gatsby may appear to merely be a novel about the failed relationship between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. However, the major theme of the novel has much less to do with love then with the culture of the 1920s as a whole. In this article, the various cultural elements reflected in The [...]

The Mexican culture is one steeped in legend and myth. Parents pass these myths on to their children as moral advice, threats, or entertainment. The way native Mexicans, as well as Mexican-Americans, view their legends are based on a combination of cultures throughout their history. The legend of la Muerta, death, is no different. To [...]

Numerous essays have been written challenging the view that the interpretation of the mystic experience as well as the experience itself, can not be viewed divorced from the social, historical and cultural configurations out of which it arose. Robert Forman and other essayists that appear in his recent book, The Innate Capacity (1998) are motivated [...]

Primates have captured the hearts and imaginations of researchers and the general public alike. While the physical and behavioral similarities between primates and humans fascinate almost anyone, regardless of scientific background, researchers focus on the intriguing evolutionary importance of primates. Though both reasons represent entirely valid motives for interest in primate species, they are not [...]

Introduction New communication technologies are surely one of the biggest threats for authoritarian regimes. With the emergence of Internet and satellite television for the first time people have the chance to become protagonist of the communication process, to participate directly to the “res publica”, to interact, to see places far away without travelling, to know [...]

Calling Time Warner a media giant is an understatement along the lines of pointing out that Shaquille O’Neal is a large man. Time Warner is the biggest media firm the world has ever known, and much like the afore mentioned NBA superstar, is growing larger everyday. Naturally, Time Warner has not always been a massive [...]

‘They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.’ – Ernest Hemmingway 1 The technological advances of the post-war era in the machinery of [...]

Mexico is a place of many advanced Amerindian civilizations. It is a country rich in history with populations who still hold and cherish the values taught by their ancestors. The modern period began early in the 19th century with a revolt organized by priest Miguel Hidalgo on September 16th 1810 which is now known as [...]

“Exploding Enforced Gender Roles via Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Though usually viewed as a violent play about turbulent marriages, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? should be regarded as an early feminist text. Bonnie Finkelstein writes that the 1962 play portrays and analyzes the damaging effects of traditional, stereotypical gender roles, [...]

Like many of his comedies, William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing involves young couples getting together, or trying to get together, and ends with the happy lovers getting married.  On the surface this appears to be a rather fairy-tale like ending, and both sets of lovers in this play, Claudio with Hero and Beatrice with [...]