Who was the first person to be cool? What connects the civil rights movement and Albert Camus' 'The Rebel'? How has the coopting of black terminology impacted American society more broadly?

From James Dean to Kate Moss, we know cool when we see it. But its history goes back to jazz music and the civil rights movement. Academic Joel Dinerstein reveals the forgotten history of this elusive concept. "Entertaining and insightful" - New York Times

Joel Dinerstein is the author of The Origins of Cool in Postwar America (University of Chicago, 2017) and Clark Chair of American Civilisation at Tulane University and writes about race, cool, and popular music.

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The secret history of cool | Joel Dinerstein

Philosophy For Our Times

The secret history of cool | Joel Dinerstein