---
title: "Best of 2017: culture"
date: "2017-12-19T14:26:14+00:00"
modified: "2017-12-19T14:26:14+00:00"
url: "https://newhumanist.org.uk/2017/12/19/best-of-2017-culture/"
post_id: 6719
categories: ["Uncategorised"]
---

# Best of 2017: culture

![maths](https://newhumanist.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Maths-and-beauty1.jpg)

[  
What makes maths beautiful?](/articles/5208/what-makes-maths-beautiful)

For an experienced mathematician, the greatest equations are beautiful as well as useful, says Cal Flyn. Can the rest of us see what they see?

[  
The myth of humanism’s Christian roots](/articles/5223/the-myth-of-humanisms-christian-roots)

Andrew Copson warns that it’s a dangerous folly to believe that the values of tolerance and equality are exclusively Christian in origin.

[  
The real consequences of misogyny on-screen](/articles/5198/the-real-consequences-of-misogyny-on-screen)

Sexual violence against women has become a staple of mainstream entertainment. Sally Feldman warns that it’s a worrying trend.

[  
How we invented nature](/articles/5173/how-we-invented-nature)

Today we take it for granted that something called “nature” exists, says Jonathan Rée. But the concept owes much to a Prussian adventurer.

[  
Does literature help or hinder the fight for equality?](/articles/5209/does-literature-help-or-hinder-the-fight-for-equality)

Today, the concept of human rights is being dangerously undermined, says Lyndsey Stonebridge. Does literature offer us a way back from the brink?

[  
Through the hard times and the good](/articles/5212/through-the-hard-times-and-the-good)

We might not realise it, writes Owen Hatherley, but our image of modern Britain owes a debt to the propaganda arm of empire.

[  
The art of the diary](/articles/5242/the-art-of-the-diary)

People have kept diaries for centuries – and now they’re being reinvented for the era of social media. Caroline Crampton asks what purpose they serve.

[  
Why country singers are the chroniclers of our age](/articles/5177/why-country-singers-are-the-chroniclers-of-our-age)

A new generation of female singers are rejecting patriotic tub-thumping and documenting the dark heart of rural America, writes Alex Macpherson.

[  
Searching for an English identity](/articles/5260/searching-for-an-english-identity)

In our uncertain times, there is a new demand for stories of England – but, writes Niki Seth-Smith this search is desperate and confused.

[  
Better than all that conceptual bollocks](/articles/5227/better-than-all-that-conceptual-bollocks)

Grayson Perry uses craft forms to signify his authenticity. But is he really so different from the rest, asks Huw Lemmey?

*[  
Read our top 10 interviews and columns](/articles/5271/best-of-2017-interviews-and-columns)*

[*Read our top 10 long reads*](/articles/5269/best-of-2017-long-reads)