In this episode of the critical edition podcast, we are discussing James Baldwin's most well known piece of short fiction, Sonny's Blues. We'll talk about Baldwin's non-fiction work, historical context, and finally provide our analysis of the work.

CW: racism, drug use

In this episode Jasmine and Soha share their favorite books. Stay tuned until the end to learn about Jasmine's wildcard favorite book - not even Soha could see it coming.

CW: racism, slavery, intimate partner violence, violence against women, suicide, homophobia.

In our final episode of our Monster Mini Series, we'll be exploring The Creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. But before we set off on stitching together this episode - we want to wish you a very Happy Halloween!

CW racism, xenophobia, colonization, slavery, misogyny, sexual violence, religious trauma, homophobia, transphobia

Works Cited

Burkhart, Emily. “Lessons from Monsters: A Postcolonial Feminist Analysis of Frankenstein The 1818 Text.” Hohonu: A Journal of Academic Writing, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, vol. 11, 2013, https://hilo.hawaii.edu/campuscenter/hohonu/volumes/documents/LessonsfromMonstersPostcolonialFeministAnalysisofFrankensteinThe1818Text.pdf

Zonana, Joyce. “They Will Prove the Truth of My Tale": Safie's Letters as the Feminist Core of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.” Journal of Narrative Technique, 21:2 (Spring 1991), 170-84, https://knarf.english.upenn.edu/Articles/zonana.html

Rammahi, Reyam Kareem. “Can Safie Speak? Language and Representation of the Oriental Woman in Frankenstein.” Nineteenth Century Gender Studies, Issue 18.1 (Spring 2022), http://ww.w.ncgsjournal.com/issue181/rammahi.html

Gilbert, Sandra M. “Horror’s Twin: Mary Shelley’s Monstrous Eve.” Feminist Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, 1978, pp. 48–73. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3177447

Pagan, Amanda. “A Brief History of Gothic Horror.” The New York Public Library, 18 Oct. 2018, https://www.nypl.org/blog/2018/10/18/brief-history-gothic-horror

Stryker, Susan. “My Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix: Performing Transgender Rage.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 1994, pp. 237–254.GLQ https://doi.org/10.1215/10642684-1-3-237

Ungar, Rami. “Gothic Fiction: What Is It, and Why Is It So Popular?” Rami Ungar the Writer, WordPress, 12 July 2018, https://ramiungarthewriter.com/2018/07/12/gothic-fiction-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-so-popular/

“Mary Shelley.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley

“April 10, 1815: Mount Tambora Blows Up!” Skulls in the Stars, 10 April 2013, https://skullsinthestars.com/2013/04/10/april-10-1815-mount-tambora-blows-up/

Final Girl Digital. “Frankenstein's Lobotomized Mistress: Dissecting the Poor Things Discourse.” YouTube, 16 April 2024, https://youtu.be/NTRLRpgZtSc?si=nuAh-8SoHPt5nP6b

Books ‘n’ Cats“What can Frankenstein teach us about prejudice?” YouTube, 22 May 2024, https://youtu.be/Qa6144Ctl0E?si=b8hUIWYkYD9L-AAq

Books ‘n’ Cats. “How Mary Shelley wrote the world's most iconic monster.” YouTube, 23 March 2025, https://youtu.be/_BUFnW_z8ho?si=s0zb754dfQdCd3Ab

Department of English, Arizona State University. ““Mothering Monsters: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” by Anne K. Mellor” YouTube, 14 January 2019, https://youtu.be/Rd-eKRRQzcQ?si=e02LaE7TtIt-uAO8

In our second episode of our Monster Mini Series, we'll be exploring the witch. Join us as we traverse the spellbinding transformation of these magical beings.

CW racism, xenophobia, colonization, slavery, misogyny, sexual violence, religious trauma, homophobia, transphobia

Works Cited

Federici, Silvia. Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women. PM Press, 2018.

Federici, Silvia. Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation. Autonomedia, 2004. 

Doyle, Jude Ellison Sady. “How Capitalism Turned Women Into Witches.” In These Times, 31 Jan. 2019, inthesetimes.com/article/capitalism-witches-women-witch-hunting-sylvia-federici-caliban.

Bieler, Andreas. “Witch-Hunts and the Birth of Capitalism: Reflections on Caliban and the Witch.” Political Economy at Sydney, 7 Mar. 2019, www.ppesydney.net/witch-hunts-and-the-birth-of-capitalism-reflections-on-caliban-and-the-witch/

Heenan, Natasha. “Women and Capitalism: Revisiting Silvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch.” Hampton Think, republished from Progress in Political Economy, Hampton Institute, www.hamptonthink.org/read/women-and-capitalism-revisiting-silvia-federicis-caliban-and-the-witch/

Lyons, Sarah. “Silvia Federici on Witch Hunts, Body Politics, and Rituals of Resistance.” PM Press Blog, 15 Sept. 2019, blog.pmpress.org/2019/09/15/silvia-federici-on-witch-hunts-body-politics-rituals-of-resistance/. 

“Caliban and the Witch.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliban_and_the_Witch.

Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of witch.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/witch

Billington, Michael. “Abuse, Witch-Hunts and Hangings: Why Arthur Miller’s Masterpiece the Crucible Still Haunts Us.” The Guardian, 6 May 2025, www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/may/06/abuse-witch-hunts-hangings-arthur-millers-the-crucible.

Cohen, Alina. “Why Artists Have Been Enchanted by Witchcraft for Centuries.” Artsy, 25 Oct. 2019, www.artsy.net/article/alina-cohen-artists-enchanted-witchcraft-centuries.

Franklin, Ruth. “Shirley Jackson Wasn’t Actually a Witch.” Literary Hub, 28 Sept. 2016, lithub.com/shirley-jackson-wasnt-actually-a-witch/#.

Gerely, Grace. “Troubling the Witch: Issues of Class and Morality in Modern Depictions of Witches | the Classic Journal.” Theclassicjournal.uga.edu, 7 Apr. 2021, theclassicjournal.uga.edu/index.php/2021/04/07/troubling-the-witch/.

Heller, Zoe. “The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson.” The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2016, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/the-haunted-mind-of-shirley-jackson.

National Geographic. “The Witch Hunts Begin (Full Episode) | Witches: Truth behind the Trials.” YouTube, 31 Oct. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9TzC0EGyr4.

Philosophy Tube. “Witchcraft, Gender, & Marxism | Philosophy Tube.” YouTube, 26 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmk47kh7fiE.

In Praise of Shadows. “Witches in Literature and Art | the History of Witches Part 2.” YouTube, 28 Sept. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9gPaZYgL-U.

“Silvia Federici Presents Caliban and the Witch.” YouTube, 3 June 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2KjabftIvE.

The Book Leo. “How the Witch Became a Feminist Icon (and How It Failed).” YouTube, 12 Nov. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=41xsfut3mIM.

Washington and Lee University. ““The Faces of Evil: Contexts and Personae” with Mikki Brock.” YouTube, 6 Aug. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl2kLz3WhUU.

Whitcomb, Rosie. “The Real-Life Horror of Shirley Jackson’s Fiction.” YouTube, Books “n” Cats, 14 Dec. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXqrs_z6XYY.

Willow Talks Books. “15 Mind-Blowing Things I Learned from Caliban and the Witch.” YouTube, 22 Feb. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd9N9DueMHs.

WIRED. “Historian Answers Witchcraft Questions | Tech Support | WIRED.” YouTube, 31 Oct. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbPH9TcrRl4.

In our first episode of our Monster Mini Series, we'll be exploring the vampire. Stay tuned to see how we make sense of and unpack the bloodsuckers themselves.

CW confederates, racism, xenophobia, colonization, slavery, misogyny, sexual violence, religious trauma, homophobia, transphobia, anti-immigration, HIV/AIDS

Works Cited

Auerbach, Nina. Our Vampires, Ourselves. University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Gelder, Ken. Reading the Vampire. Routledge, 1994.

McFadden, Mary. “A History of Vampires and Their Transformation from Solely Monsters to Monstrous, Tragic, and Romantic Figures.” Curiosity: Interdisciplinary Journal of Research and Innovation, vol. 2, 2021, doi:10.36898/001c.22205.

Timelost. “Vampires and Other Foreigners.” On Books, Streets & Migrant Footprints, 20 Nov. 2019, abeautifulbook.wordpress.com/2019/11/20/vampires-and-other-foreigners/.

Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. Carmilla. Project Gutenberg, 2001, www.gutenberg.org/files/10007/10007-h/10007-h.htm

“Carmilla.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmilla.

Marx, Karl. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Bibbins Aveling, edited by Friedrich Engels and Ernest Untermann. 1st ed., Progress Publishers, 1887.

Whitcomb, Rosie. “What Can Frankenstein Teach Us about Prejudice?” YouTube, uploaded by Books ‘n’ Cats, 22 May. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6144Ctl0E

“Vampires; a Thematic Analysis.” Reddit, 25 Apr. 2013, r/fantasywriters, https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasywriters/comments/1evw47q/vampires_a_thematic_analysis/

Vincent, Christina. “Dreaming of Dracula: A Jungian Analysis of Bram Stoker’s Novel.” M.A. thesis, University at Albany, 2012. ScholarsArchive, scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1794&context=legacy-etd.

Kimberley, Steven. “A Psychological Analysis of the Vampire Myth.” Essex Student Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, 2009, doi:10.5526/esj154.

Khan, Rajja. “Fangs of Temptation: The Psychological Depths of Vampire Fascination.” Storm of Unsaid Words, 25 Oct. 2024, medium.com/the-storm-of-words-un-said/fangs-of-temptation-the-psychological-depths-of-vampire-fascination-10e20fa4e450.

Bast, Florian. “‘I Won’t Always Ask’: Complicating Agency in Octavia Butler’s Fledgling.” Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies, no. 8, 2007, copas.uni-regensburg.de/article/view/128/152.

Beebe, Jessica. “Dracula 1992: Every Way Coppola’s Movie Deviates From Bram Stoker’s Novel.” Screenrant, 18 Sep. 2020, screenrant.com/dracula-1992-movie-differences-bram-stoker-novel/.

Dean, Tyler. “Fangs for the Memories.” Artforum, www.artforum.com/columns/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-vampire-immigration-1234725633/