What the Barista is Brewing Today
Grab some espresso and dive in for some brewmination
The Pioneering Women of Penn ’64
They were pioneers who didn’t know there was a glass ceiling as that term had not yet been invented. By Anne Sceia Klein Ms. magazine and the Woodstock music festival were still years in the future. Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique only a year before we graduated. Yet, unbeknownst even to us, a small[…]
Lady Hell Cats: Women Marines of World War I
In 1918, the Marine Corps began investigating how the integration of women would take place. By Kenna HowatHistorian Prior to World War I, if a woman wanted to join the military, she would have to join as a nurse or disguise her sex. Some historians estimate that hundreds of women served in the Civil War[…]
Victorian Print Culture
In the 19th century, more people were reading more publications than ever before. This explains how technological, social and educational change made this possible. Introduction The 19th century saw a massive expansion of the printed word. The sheer volume and diversity of printed matter was unprecedented: from moral and instructional works to crime novels and[…]
Victorian Readers
Exploring the way Victorians bought, borrowed and read their books, and the impact of the popular literature of the period. Introduction Victorians were great readers of the novel, and the number of novels available for them to read increased enormously during Victoria’s reign. The activity of reading benefited hugely from wider schooling and increased literacy[…]
The ‘Secret History of the Mongols’
Written from a Mongolian perspective, the work is an invaluable record of their legends as well as oral and written histories. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction The Secret History of the Mongols is a chronicle written in the 13th century CE (with some later additions) and is the most important and oldest medieval Mongolian text. The[…]
Ogedei: Third Son and Unlikely Mongol Successor of Genghis Khan
Ogedei was a surprising choice for khan because he already had a reputation for often being drunk. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction Ogedei Khan (aka Ogodei) ruled the Mongol Empire from 1229 to 1241 CE. The third son of Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1227 CE), the empire’s founder, Ogedei’s accomplishments included creating a new capital at Karakorum,[…]
Bringing Back Aboriginal Languages from Scraps of Paper
Ethnographer Daisy Bates recorded many Aboriginal languages in the early 20th century, which would otherwise be lost today. Introduction In 1904 Daisy Bates, an Irish-Australian journalist and ethnographer, sent out a questionnaire to squatters, police, and other authorities across Western Australia asking them to record examples of the local Aboriginal language. Mrs Bates (1859-1951) was something[…]
Preserving Precious Indigenous Languages in Australia
Linguists are using new technology to return decades-old recordings of near-extinct languages to the communities where they were made. On the bonnet of a dust-covered four-wheel drive, linguists Ian Green and Rachel Nordlinger whip out a laptop to download a sound file onto a memory stick. The Indigenous man beside them is impatient. His family[…]
The Irish Nationalist Rising That Shaped Australia
Examining a pivotal moment in Irish history that unleashed a new, Catholic force on Australian politics. On Easter Monday 1916 nearly 2000 Irish men and women drawn from nationalist and socialist strands seized buildings across Ireland’s capital Dublin and declared an Irish republic. Britain, in the midst of World War One, scrambled to react to[…]
The Emergence of Anarchist Violence in Late-19th Century Italy
Italian nationalists carried out a string of attentats as assassination entered the anarchists’ toolkit. By Eric Laursen After an anarchist and former steel worker named Leon Czolgosz assassinated President William McKinley in September 1901, McKinley’s successor, Theodore Roosevelt, in his first message to Congress, offered his own characterization of “the anarchist.” It ought to sound[…]
Jezebel: Phoenician Princess of Ancient Sidon, Queen of Israel
She was a woman who refused to submit to the religious beliefs and practices of her husband and his culture. Introduction Jezebel was the Phoenician Princess of Sidon (9th century BCE) whose story is told in the Hebrew Tanakh (the Christian Old Testament) in I and II Kings where she is portrayed unfavorably as a[…]
Mesopotamian Effects on Israel during the Iron Age
Archaeology, epigraphy, and literature function in tandem in order to establish a more coherent account. Introduction The Iron Age in the traditional Ancient Near Eastern chronology ranges from somewhere around 1200 BCE to 333 BCE. It begins from the era when it was first thought iron came to be used up to the ascendency of[…]
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Opponents Unified in Founding Principles
They asked voters to sort through mounds of partisan propaganda and do whatever necessary to understand the issues. By Georgiann Baldino Political insults and conspiracy theories are nothing new in American history. One election in particular set a standard for nasty charges and countercharges. In the 1858 Illinois senatorial contest, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas hurled insults and[…]
The Founders’ Furious Impeachment Debate – and Benjamin Franklin’s Modest Proposal
Bitter political partisanship marked eleven previous presidential impeachment inquiries and the 1787 debate in Philadelphia. By Harlow Giles Unger The current clash in Congress over whether to impeach the President has extended to more than two centuries the bitter political partisanship that marked eleven previous presidential impeachment inquiries and the 1787 debate in Philadelphia over how to impeach the[…]
The Mongol Invasion of Europe
With the Mongol invasion of Europe, the world had become a lot more violent and just a bit smaller. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction The Mongol invasions of Russia and Eastern Europe occurred first with a brief sortie in 1223 CE and then again in a much larger campaign between 1237 CE and 1242 CE. The[…]
Medieval Mongol Warfare
Ultimately, the Mongols would establish the largest empire the world had ever seen. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction The Mongols conquered vast swathes of Asia in the 13th and 14th century CE thanks to their fast light cavalry and excellent bowmen, but another significant contribution to their success was the adoption of their enemies’ tactics and[…]
Ancient Mesopotamian Science and Technology
The Sumerians first explored the practice of the scientific hypothesis. Introduction Mesopotamian science and technology developed during the Uruk Period (4100-2900 BCE) and Early Dynastic Period (2900-1750 BCE) of the Sumerian culture of southern Mesopotamia. The foundation of future Mesopotamian advances in scientific/technological progress was laid by the Sumerians who first explored the practice of[…]
The Early Dynastic Period in Ancient Mesopotamia
Examining the three Dynastic Periods from 2900 to 2334 BCE. Introduction The Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia is the modern-day archaeological term for the era in Mesopotamian history – 2900-2334 BCE – during which some of the most significant cultural advances were made including the rise of the cities, the development of writing, and the establishment[…]
Forgiveness for Sale: Indulgences in the Medieval Church
The selling of indulgences was first practiced in the late thirteenth century and was changed after the Protestant Reformation. Introduction An Indulgence, in Roman Catholic theology, is the full or partial remission of punishment for sins. The indulgence is granted by the Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution and involves certain actions[…]
A Brief History of Religious Relics and Their Impacts
Attachment to a notable place, person or item has been at the heart of religious and spiritual belief for millennia. In 2006, a tiny brown pebble, equivalent to a raisin, sold at auction for $25,000. This inconsequential artifact was, in fact, William Shatner’s kidney stone. The US actor had persuaded doctors to return the grisly[…]
Ancient Christian Art and Architecture
Early Christianity used the same artistic media as the surrounding Pagan culture. Introduction Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, identifiably Christian art only survives[…]
A History of Blaming Games for Moral Decline and Addiction since the Ancient World
Worries about game addiction since ancient times have given way to scientific understanding of the benefits of play, rather than its detriments. Introduction Video games are often blamed for unemployment, violence in society and addiction – including by partisan politicians raising moral concerns. Blaming video games for social or moral decline might feel like something[…]
An Introduction to Paleoclimatology
The reconstruction of ancient climate is important to understand natural variation in climate and the evolution of the current climate. Introduction Paleoclimatology is the study of climates for which systematic measurements were not taken.[1] As instrumental records only span a tiny part of Earth history, the reconstruction of ancient climate is important to understand natural[…]
The Meaning of European Upper Paleolithic Rock Art
It has been suggested that there is a correlation between demographic and social patterns and the flourishing of rock art. Introduction Rock art (also known as parietal art) is an umbrella term which refers to several types of creations including finger markings left on soft surfaces, bas-relief sculptures, engraved figures and symbols, and paintings onto[…]
The Right Home in the Wrong Location: Does it Matter?
We’ve always had those situations when we have to do the best trade-offs, especially when buying something that costs an arm and a leg. One of the best examples is purchasing a house. What should you generally consider first? Right, it’s the house itself and its location. You’ll probably be the luckiest homeowner on Earth[…]
The 101 Talk about Caskets that Everybody Needs to Read
Nobody likes to plan a funeral service, especially when it’s for a loved one. You need to go through a carousel of intense emotions, that can be quite exhausting. The last thing you have the energy for is choosing a casket. However, the casket is the focal point of most typical funerals. It sits right[…]
Top Interesting Dissertation Topics on Renaissance
Renaissance is one of the most interesting periods in history. It’s an ever-lasting inspiration for a college paper, since students can choose from countless pieces of art, architecture, and literature to analyze. To understand how a particular point in history was, you’d had to experience it. Publications testify about people and events, but they may[…]
The History of Student Life: 7 Things You Didn’t Know
Memorable and extravagant, today’s student life hardly differs from the experiences students lived through in previous centuries. INTRODUCTION Student life is an unparalleled social phenomenon typically associated with revelry, fun, living in the moment, and yes, studying itself. This remarkable period of human life serves as a bridge from reckless adolescence to conscious adulthood. And,[…]
Art of Conflict: Portraying Native Americans, 1850–1900
How did U.S. and Native American artists portray Indian peoples of the West in the late nineteenth century? Introduction Images of American Indians became widely popular with American and European audiences in the mid-nineteenth century. From watercolor and pencil sketches, to oil paintings, prints, and photographs, visual representations of Indian peoples were increasingly in demand[…]
Native Americans in an Age of Empire and Revolution, 1750-1783
The late eighteenth century was marked by imperial competition, as European powers vied for control of land and resources around the globe. Introduction All North America was Indian country prior to European settlement in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The conventional narrative holds that indigenous peoples were overwhelmed by a wave of European[…]
