Identity

Pointing at brain scans

Nature vs nurture debate is 'totally dead in science,' says neuroscientist

Unlike smartphones, our mental hardware is tremendously changeable. Here’s how our remarkably nimble brains rewire themselves.

Nature vs nurture debate is 'totally dead in science,' says neuroscientist
The host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah's new memoir is called Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.

Trevor Noah gets personal

Trevor Noah gets personal
A street with small businesses, young boy on bicycle

What's at stake when you tell the US Census you're Middle Eastern or North African?

What's at stake when you tell the US Census you're Middle Eastern or North African?
Statue of a young boy looking out over school yard

For the last eight years, a 'third culture kid' has been in charge of America

For the last eight years, a 'third culture kid' has been in charge of America
Painting of a bowl of dumplings next to laptop on a desk

What I learned from my grandmother’s hands

What I learned from my grandmother’s hands
immigration rally

'Mexican' isn't a dirty word, and neither is 'Muslim'

With the rise of Donald Trump, professor Teresa Puente says random questions about her origins have become more commonplace, and more unsettling.

'Mexican' isn't a dirty word, and neither is 'Muslim'
Eighth grade teachers and students at the Putnam Avenue Upper School in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Here's what eighth graders can teach us about perpetuating stereotypes

Many students from immigrant families go to diverse schools. But diversity itself doesn't guarantee understanding. Self-segregation and stereotypes persist, even in communities that pride themselves on their multiculturalism. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, middle-school teachers build empathy among classmates by teaching "the danger of a single story."

Here's what eighth graders can teach us about perpetuating stereotypes
Men on the street

This conference on 'masculinity' has everything to do with women as well

At a masculinity conference, researchers found that even men who are defying gender stereotypes are still trapped in gender roles.

This conference on 'masculinity' has everything to do with women as well
The World

Are African immigrants African American?

An upcoming documentary sheds light on the identities of African immigrants and African Americans — and the tensions between them.

Are African immigrants African American?
Los Rakas, a California-based hip hop duo led by two cousins with Panamanian roots, is elbowing their way into the mainstream.

This Afro-Latino hip hop duo takes a hard look at the sueño americano

Two cousins, with roots in Panama, take on complicated questions of race, identity and immigration.

This Afro-Latino hip hop duo takes a hard look at the sueño americano
Oyeyemi book Boy, Snow, Bird

Helen Oyeyemi rewrites Snow White as a tale about race and identity in America

Novelist Helen Oyeyemi didn’t expect to be alive at age 30. Now, at 29, she has just published her fifth novel.

Helen Oyeyemi rewrites Snow White as a tale about race and identity in America