What the Barista is Brewing Today
Grab some espresso and dive in for some brewmination
Woodblock Prints of Domestic ‘Westernization’ in Asia, 1868-1912
In the 19th and early-20th centuries, Japan, among the major countries of Asia, escaped colonial or neo-colonial domination by the United States and expansionist nations of Europe. Introduction What does it mean to speak of people, cultures, or nations responding to “the challenge of the Western world”? What does “Westernization” involve in concrete practice? Beginning[…]
Woodblock Prints of the Sino-Japanese War, 1894-1895
The Sino-Japanese War provided something very new—a modern and highly mechanized war against a foreign foe. Prints and Propaganda The Sino-Japanese War began in July 1894 and ended in China’s shattering defeat in April 1895. It involved battles on land and sea; began with fighting in Korea that spilled over the Yalu River into Manchuria;[…]
Life in a Japanese Buddhist Monastery
Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from mainland Asia in the 6th century CE, and monasteries were built from the 7th century CE. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction Buddhist monasteries have been part of the Japanese cultural landscape ever since the 7th century CE, and they remained both powerful and socially important institutions right through the[…]
Yakushiji and Ryoanji: A History of Two Japanese Buddhist Temples
Buddhism in Japan has been practiced since its official introduction by monks in 552 CE. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Yakushiji Overview The Yakushiji temple, located in Nara, Japan, is the headquarters of the Buddhist Hosso sect and one of the most important temples in the country. Originally founded in 680 CE at Fujiwara-kyo but then relocated[…]
The Shōsōin Repository and Its Treasure
Shōsōin repository held nine thousand artifacts from China, Southeast Asia, Iran, and the Middle East—connecting ancient Japan to the cultural trade of the Eurasian continent. Introduction In the Japanese city, Nara, on the northwest rear corner of Tōdai-ji Temple’s Daibutsuden Hall stands a building largely unaltered since the 8th century. Of age-darkened cypress and deceptively plain, its distinctively ribbed[…]
Saving the Secrets of the Jars of Laos
The mysterious Plain of Jars in Laos is giving archaeologists clues to an ancient civilization. Introduction In the mountains and plains of upper Laos sit thousands of stone jars, the only relics of an ancient civilisation possibly 2500 years old. The jars, weighing up to 20 tonnes, appear to be part of a complex burial[…]
Top 5 Student-Athlete Perks You Can Enjoy in College
It’s a rare high school student who doesn’t dream about college. People pursue degrees not only for the sake of prestige and expanded career possibilities. In college, students learn important academic and life lessons, develop crucial skills, and broaden their horizons. Just like high school graduates, athletes apply to colleges to get a coveted degree[…]
The Birth of the Modern American Debt Collector
In the 19th century, farm loans changed from a matter between associates into an impersonal, bureaucratic exchange. By Livia Gershon The consequences for borrowing money and failing to repay it are clear, certain, and often devastating. But historian Tamara Plakins Thornton writes that it wasn’t always this way. Thornton focuses on an early nineteenth-century Massachusetts lending[…]
Making Money Off of Politics in the Gilded Age
Getting rich off politics is an old tradition. When the political leader “Boss” Tweed was arrested in New York on corruption charges in the fall of 1871, among his many assets was a luxury hotel. Located up the road from City Hall, the Metropolitan was a 400-room, five-story building described at its 1852 opening as a site[…]
Talkin’ Like a Pirate? It Be a Linguistic Treasure Trove
No one in history has ever, based on their adopting a sea-going profession, talked like Robert Newton’s Long John Silver in Treasure Island. The people we think of when we talk about “pirates” would’ve talked mostly like the people they grew up around, just like the rest of us do. Many of them wouldn’t have[…]
The Pirate-y Life of Ferdinand Magellan
Magellan’s voyage in search of the “Spice Islands” was marked by storms, sharks, and scurvy—plus multiple attempts at mutiny. By Lorraine Boissoneault From the start, it was hard to know whose side Ferdinand Magellan was on. Born in northern Portugal around 1480, Magellan, an orphaned son of lesser nobles, spent decades serving the Portuguese crown[…]
Entertainment in Georgian Britain, from Pleasure Gardens to Blood Sports
During the Georgian period a host of entertainments were available to those seeking relief from their everyday routines. Theatre The 18th century was the great age of theatre. In London and the provinces, large purpose-built auditoriums were constructed to house the huge crowds that flocked nightly to see plays and musical performances. A variety of[…]
The Hippodrome of Constantinople: Sports and Entertainment in Ancient Byzantium
Many important Roman cities had an arena which hosted thrilling chariot races and more for public entertainment. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction The Hippodrome of Constantinople was an arena used for chariot racing throughout the Byzantine period. First built during the reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus in the early 3rd century CE, the structure was[…]
Modernism and Mexico
When artists painted more than one revolution. The Mexican Revolution of 1910, which ended the 35-year presidency of Porfirio Díaz, is best understood as the first battle of a decade-long civil war that divided the country along economic and geographical lines. The moderate landowner Francisco I. Madero replaced Díaz in Mexico City in 1911—only to[…]
Sor Juana, Founding Mother of Mexican Literature
How a 17th-century nun wrote poetry, dramas, and comedies that took on the inequities and double standards women faced in society. By Matthew Wills From a convent in New Spain, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz became one of the leading lights of the Spanish Baroque’s golden age. A scholar, poet, playwright, philosopher, and composer, in[…]
The Amazonian Travels of Richard Evans Schultes
Richard Evans Schultes – ethnobotanist, taxonomist, writer and photographer – is regarded as one of the most important plant explorers of the 20th century. Originally published by The Amazon Conservation Team, republished with embed permission for educational, non-commercial purposes.
The Yudja: Brazil’s People of the Forest
For decades, they’ve sustainably managed their community forest, relying on it for food, shelter and livelihoods. By Caleb Stevens, Sarah Parsons, Katie Reytar and Bill DuganPhotos by: André D’elia Introduction The Yudja are one of many indigenous groups who call Brazil’s Amazon rainforest home. For decades, they’ve sustainably managed their community forest, relying on it[…]
The Nazca Lines of Ancient Peru: Dr. Maria Reiche and a Life’s Work
For nearly 2,000 uninterrupted years, the region’s ancient inhabitants drew thousands of large-scale zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures and lines on the arid ground. Introduction The lines and geoglyphs of Nazca are one of the most impressive-looking archaeological areas in the world and an extraordinary example of the traditional and millenary magical-religious world of the ancient Pre-Hispanic societies. They[…]
The Mystery of Fort Ancient Culture: The Great Serpent Mound
The 1,000-year-old mound conforms to the natural topography of the site. A Serpent 1300 Feet Long The Great Serpent Mound in rural, southwestern Ohio is the largest serpent effigy in the world. Numerous mounds were made by the ancient Native American cultures that flourished along the fertile valleys of the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri[…]
Entrepreneurship and Copywriting: How Do They Complement Each Other?
Looking to know why you should be entrepreneuring with copywriting? Read how they complement each other in the following extensive guide! Let’s admit that no matter how very wonderful and liberating it might sound, entrepreneurship had never been a cakewalk for anyone. And don’t let us start on the risk factor that is involved in[…]
A Short History of the Idea of ‘Main Street’ in America
From Nathaniel Hawthorne to Disneyland, the concept has represented both the experimental and the conventional. In the United States, Main Street has always been two things—a place and an idea. As both, Main Street has embodied the contradictions of the country itself. It is the self-consciousness of the idea of Main Street—from its origins in[…]
A History of the Texas Cattle Trails
Texas cattle trails, cattle drives, and the people who worked them. Originally published by the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education, Texas State University.
Abolition and Emancipation Were Not the Same Thing
After the Civil War, Rose Herera wanted more than freedom – she wanted justice. Early in 1865, in the city of New Orleans, a newly freed woman named Rose Herera made a startling allegation. She told a local judge that her former owner’s wife, Mary De Hart, had abducted three of her children and was[…]
Harriet Jacobs: “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”
A virtual tour of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Originally published by Lapham’s Quarterly, 04.15.2009, republished with embed permission for educational, non-commercial purposes.
Early Evidence of Cannabis Smoking Found on Chinese Artifacts
The findings are some of the earliest evidence of cannabis used as a drug. People have been smoking pot to get high for at least 2,500 years. Chinese archaeologists found signs of that when they studied the char on a set of wooden bowls from an ancient cemetery in western China. The findings are some[…]
A Brief History of the Cultures of Asia
In Asia, because of its huge land mass and multiple diverse cultures, there are several overlapping timelines. Overview Historians divide history into large and small units in order to make characteristics and changes clear to themselves and to students. It’s important to remember that any historical period is a construction and a simplification. In Asia,[…]
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Personal #Brand
Napoleon didn’t like sitting for portraits, and yet artists and mass market prints helped cement his legendary status. By Matthew Wills Corsican-born Napoleon Bonaparte, known for conquering much of Europe and crowning himself Emperor of the French, knew the importance of good iconography. Portraiture and propaganda were crucial elements of his life story, which began with his[…]
Between Two Republics: American Military Volunteers in Revolutionary France
Most of these Americans left behind little evidence explaining why they took up arms for the French at a time when the official policy of the United States was one of neutrality. Introduction Historians have long recognized the vital contributions of French soldiers and officers to the American colonists during the American Revolution. Without the[…]
Abraham Lincoln in European Popular Culture
Lincoln has generally been absent as a model in European social and public life, rarely emphasized as an essential part of education or in the public forum. By Dr. John DeanMaître de Conférences 9° of Cultural History and American StudiesUniversity of Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines Introduction This article argues that Lincoln is not a universal[…]
Statues and Status: Lincoln in Europe
The exponential growth of his popularity built into a memorial crescendo. Lincoln’s ascension to the status of icon was not smooth and steady. Journalist Horace Greeley predicted in April of 1865 that the sixteenth President’s reputation would grow proportionate to the distance from his own era, and it grew steadily from his death in 1865,[…]
