Thinking Allowed

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Thinking Allowed: Cool

Cool

BBC Radio 4 - Thinking Allowed, Cool

'Cool' - Laurie Taylor explores its origins and meaning.

'Cool' - Laurie Taylor traces the  trajectory of the notion of ‘cool’ with Joel Dinerstein, Professor of English and American Studies at Tulane University, and author of a study which suggests it originated in American jazz clubs as a stylish defence against racism and cross fertilised with French existentialism and film noir. 

 Also, ‘cool shades’: Vanessa Brown,  Senior Lecturer in the School of Art and Design  at Nottingham Trent University, explores the enduring appeal of sunglasses as the ultimate signifiers of ‘cool’ in mass culture. 

Producer: Jayne Egerton

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