Joel Dinerstein

writer & professor
race, music & cool

CONTACT:

How the Light Gets In

May 24, 2018

I am on my way to the How The Light Gets In festival in Hay-on-Wye (UK) to give a talk on "The Secret History of Cool" and, as well, to serve on a panel debating the meaning of rebellion within consumer capitalism. Nice timing as it follows Tulane's graduation, for which I donned a fedora and shades when I couldn't find my cap. My friend and Tulane photographer Sally Asher caught me congratulating the newly-minted MA Jamal Cuthbertson and I like the look enough that I will probably keep it in the years to come.

And I tip my hat to the HTLGI people: Leonard Cohen possessed a rarefied cool worthy of having a "philosophy and music festival" named after his most hopeful turn-of-phrase.

Joel Dinerstein is the author of three books on cool, including the first history of the concept (The Origins of Cool in Postwar America), the first major exhibit of cool icons (American Cool), and a corporate history, Coach: A Story of NY Cool. My TED Talk, entitled "Why Cool Matters," can be found on YouTube. I am also the author of the award-winning Swinging the Machine, a theory of swing-era jazz and technology, and Jazz: A Quick Immersion, a short history and listening guide.

I am a cultural historian and Professor of English at Tulane University, and hold a Ph.D in American Studies from the University of Texas @ Austin.

In 2014, I curated the exhibit American Cool at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. American Cool featured 100 cool icons and 100 photographs, and it was based on my historical research.