1960s: Confessional poetry is popularized as poets such as Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Lowell, and Anne Sexton write freely and openly about sex, drugs, and their various neuroses.

Today: Confessional poetry is a staple of poetry workshops and literary magazines and journals. Its prose cousin, the literary memoir, is also extremely popular.

1960s: The Women's Movement gathers steam as groups such as the National Organization for Women and the Women's Equity Action League are formed to pursue equal opportunity under the law for women.

Today: The Women's Movement has continued, shifting slightly to become a human rights movement in general, and has spread across national boundaries. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China, and brought women's rights groups from numerous countries together to craft strategy and share resources.

1960s: Approximately 4.5 people per 100,000 commit suicide annually in the United...