By Cassie Grosh The Harry Potter series has touched people around the world. From encouraging literacy to creating friendships among fans, the Harry Potter franchise has had many positive effects on popular culture today. While the novels highlight lifelong friendships, cover the timeless coming of age process, include stories of love and triumph, and show […]

By Olivia Germann When the word “geek” is mentioned, most people instantly imagine nerds and calculators. The term has become a label for those who are socially inept, mathematically inclined, or low on the totem pole of popularity. But a “geek” in the world of the freak show was a performer who delighted audiences with […]

By Sarah Keck In freak shows, people with physical differences–such as conjoined twins, those with fewer limbs than the norm, and those who can perform unusual actions–are displayed for the public to gawk and stare at. Because their differences from the “normal” concept of the human are emphasized, they are made to seem inhuman to […]

By: Kathryn Hampshire “There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his […]

By: Lauren Seitz In 1906, Ota Benga, a four-foot-eleven-inch “African pygmy,” began his nearly three-week long exhibition at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. The exhibit, which was viewed by thousands of people per day, encouraged viewers to see Benga in primitive and animalistic terms;  zoo officials clothed him in animal skins and kept […]

By: Bryce Longenberger During the past century, fat people exhibits featured prominently in the American freak show. Although today the freak show has largely died out, the fat body continues to be on display in modern American pop culture. The issues surrounding the contemporary display of fatness can be seen when one examines CBS’s number-one-ranked […]

The Digital Literature Review is back, and we are eager to receive your submissions for our upcoming issue on Freak Shows and Human Zoos! Last year we researched slavery, but this year we’ve been studying the cultural significance and lasting impact of freak shows and other forms of human exhibits in our society and culture […]

Hello readers. The staff of this year’s journal would like to thank you for all your support for our theme, Slavery Now. We are announcing the official transition to next year’s theme, Freak Shows and Human Zoos, as well as a small hiatus to prepare for new content. The blog will resume in August. We […]

Hello and welcome to the third installment of The Making of the Digital Literature Review. The Digital Literature Review is created through the hard work and contributions of all of its individual undergraduate members. These members are divided into three teams (Design, Editorial, and Publicity) at the start of each issue, and collectively work throughout […]

Hello and welcome to the second installment of The Making of the Digital Literature Review. The Digital Literature Review is created though the hard work and contributions of all of its individual undergraduate members. These members are divided into three teams (Design, Editorial, and Publicity) at the start of each issue, and they collectively work […]