Katherine Bergeron: 2 books

Language, education, politics, and music come together in Katherine Bergeron's Voice Lessons, a study of the French mélodie in the Belle Epoque. Close readings of songs by Fauré, Debussy, and Ravel, along with poems, sound recordings, and other historical documents, seek to uncovers the cultural meanings of this art: why it emerged, why it mattered, and why it eventually disappeared.

Dystopias are never precisely the opposite of utopias--they are closer to being failed “perfected” societies than evil empires by design. And one of the first orders of business for a fledgling dystopia is to figure out what to do about sex. Ban its non-reproductive forms like <I>1984</I>?...