Customs
A Greeting Is More Than Its Words
A greeting is more than its words: notice timing, gesture and setting to read the moment with care, without assuming…
All the pieces
Journal
Read the Journal by theme: customs, symbols, traditions, language and the objects through which people make meaning together.
Symbols
Pattern, Motif or Emblem? Three Ways to Read a Repeated Image
Learn to tell a pattern from a motif or emblem by noticing what repeats, where it appears and whether a shared meaning…
Traditions
When a Tradition Changes Hands
When a tradition changes hands, see how a family can adapt a spring meal while preserving its shared purpose, familiar…
Language
How English borrowed the word “bungalow” and gave it a new meaning
See how English adapted the borrowed word “bungalow”, and learn to describe a word’s changing use without erasing its…
Objects
The Keepsake Is Not the Memory
A keepsake is not the memory itself. Learn to read an object’s material history separately from the changing stories…