Cassava

The Taínos Refused to Grow Food. The Spanish Starved.

Rebellion against invasion triggered a series of events that would take a "swift and violent toll" on a Caribbean island's native biodiversity.
Two women hugging in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

When It Comes to Coming Out, Location Matters

Two scholars compared coming out experiences in the U.S. and France. The differences may speak to shifts in everyday life for LGBTQ people.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Two_African_American_women,_three-quarter_length_portrait,_seated,_facing_each_other_LCCN99472087.tif

And a Fabulous LGBTQ History Month to You, Too!

Queer people have always had a particular relationship with history. It's only lately that archival silences have been challenged, and overcome.
An 18th century casta painting

The Paintings That Tried (and Failed) to Codify Race

Casta paintings of the eighteenth century tried to show who was who in New Spain. But reality was much more complicated.
A poster advertising the IV Review of Polish Short Films, organized by the Zygzakiem Cinema Club in Warsaw, January 11-14, 1976.

Polish Posters in the RISD Library Collection

Posters are part of a tradition of object-based learning at the Rhode Island School of Design.
An early nineteenth century wheelchair

The Rise of Disability Stigma

Religion once held sway over how people thought about disability. How did that change with the rise of secularism?
The New Perfume by John William Godward, 1914

When Royals Perfumed Themselves with the Excretions of Musk Deer and Civet Cats

In the era of Louis XV, it was fashionable to drench oneself in “animal scents.”
Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Lon Chaney’s Movie Monsters

You might know him from Phantom of the Opera or The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Workers at the offices of the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, 1946. At the time the Courier was one of the top-selling African-American newspapers in the United States.

The Black Press and Disinformation on Facebook

The Black Press historically has countered disinformation that targeted Black voters, but now it is financially connected to Facebook itself.
A poster with the famous words 'Big Brother is Watching You' from a BBC TV production of George Orwell's classic novel '1984'.

Is the Authoritarian Personality a Legitimate Concept?

A group of thinkers who fled Europe wanted to explain the rise of Nazism, but their ideas haven't withstood scrutiny.