Kirstin Ringelberg, associate professor of art history, has a new essay out in the book “Considering David Chase: Essays on The Rockford Files, Northern Exposure, and The Sopranos,” edited by Thomas Fahy, just released on Amazon.com and at McFarland Press. Ringelberg’s chapter, “This Art’s Kind of a Girly Thing”: Art, Status and Gender on “The Sopranos” and “Northern Exposure”, explores the way that artworks are presented and discussed both overtly and subtextually to confirm–and sometimes undermine–the intellectual, social, and cultural status of the characters in those television series. Hidden and not-so-hidden art references abound throughout the episodes; Ringelberg decodes and deconstructs these to better understand the stories David Chase tells about ethnic and gender identities in his popular shows.