The New York Times Magazine

I've been wondering lately what multiculturalism was. I remember, of course, that it was a cause celebre of the 80's and 90's, a big deal on campus, a hot ticket at the Modern Language Association. I remember all the talk about overthrowing the "dead white males" of the old canon and opening it up to the "subaltern" and the "displaced" and the "other." And I figure that along the way it got some good writers included on reading lists, where… more

Because airline travel has become a matter of tedium or fear for adults, it is easy to forget that for children, it was something magical. For them, it was friendly visits to the cockpit, stick-on wings and half-forbidden sodas given to them by flight attendants, cotton-candy clouds outside and a toy world below. National Airport is one of the few in the country you can fly into and know you are not gliding over some anonymous landscape but are nearly… more

Founded in 1881 in an Atlanta church basement by two Yankee missionaries, Spelman College is America's oldest school for black women. For decades, it turned out a steady stream of Latin-quoting teachers to staff America's segregated classrooms. In the parlance of the day, Spelman women were a credit to their race, lifting as they climbed. But like that of the larger African-American community it served, its vision grew grander over time. By the 1990's, Spelman was rated one of the… more

In the social evolution of a new psychological syndrome, there may be no moment more important than the appearance of its first celebrity victims. A star or maybe a fading star "discloses" a … more

It was not hard to detect some gloating in the coverage of a recent study showing that older fathers are more likely to have children with schizophrenia. Though it was just one study, in … more

With Nasdaq halved and the Dow flirting with bear-market territory, the idea of protecting your portfolio from downside risk may seem a little like buying flood insurance when your living room … more

Last year, a 10-month-old baby boy died in the hospital after a minor operation went wrong. The baby's parents, an American couple, had two other children and probably could have had another … more

When you once believed something that now strikes you as absurd, even unhinged, it can be almost impossible to summon that feeling of credulity again. Maybe that is why it is easier … more

The worst way for a famous person to retain her privacy is to demand it. A celebrated recluse will never be left alone in a celebrity culture; her silence is an… more

The shelves at Spino's Pawn Shop in Waterbury, Conn., brim with mismatched goods: stereos, vacuums, saxophones, crossbows, video games, yellowing packages of Krazy Glue. The brothers… more