Animal Teachers and Marie de France
The twelfth century poet Marie de France used animals to teach lessons of courtly love.
Julian of Norwich, Anchoress and Mystic
A religious recluse, mystic and author, Julian of Norwich wrote of Jesus Christ as a nurturing mother and teacher to the faithful.
How an Incan Nobleman Contested Spanish History
Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala left behind a one-of-a-kind object that undermines the crónicas de Indias.
How Social Upheaval Gave Rise to the Picaresque Novel
How did the arcadian shepherd and chivalric knight-errant, centuries-old fixtures of European literature, give way to this witty rascal, the pícaro?
The Power of Sibling Bonds in The Brothers Karamazov
In the year of Dostoevsky's bicentennial, a revisiting of familial relationships in one of his most popular works.
The Ghosts of Slavery in Charles Chesnutt’s Fiction
What begins as a magical escape from the horrors of plantation life soon turns into a spine-chilling testament to slavery’s dehumanizing effects.
Science and Slavery in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko
In one of the first novels written in English, a West African prince, fascinated with navigation, boards a ship for a fateful journey.