Saint Jean de Brebeuf Confronts the Huron Indian Council

Making Scents of Jesuit Missionary Work

The use of sensory stimulants like incense gave Jesuits a common framework with the North American nations they encountered on missionary trips.
An illustration of a thanksgiving table

Thanksgiving Stories

Turkey or Tofurkey? Stuffing or dressing? Whatever the controversy, these Thanksgiving stories will slake your appetite!
Posters urging people to report sex trafficking are seen at a metromover rail stop on November 06, 2019 in Miami, Florida.

The Anti-Sex-Trafficking Vigilantes Next Door

A fear of rampant sex-trafficking in American cities sparked a new wave of civilian vigilante activity in the early twenty-first century. 
Preah Vihear Temple

A Postcolonial Preah Vihear

The debate over who “owns” Preah Vihear dates to the early twentieth century, when the French government drew the border between Cambodia and Siam (Thailand).
Soeur Jeanne by Charles Emmanuel Patas after Charles Monnet

A Mother Superior’s Demons

What does it mean when an entire convent of Urusline nuns appears to be possessed by demons? Many things, as it turns out.
Ludicrum chiromanticum Praetorii engraved title page emblematizes chiromancy's practical and philosophical components. In the center of the page a pair of hands flank a face; planetary symbols adorn their key features.

In the Palm of Your Hand

Palm reading, also known as palmistry or chiromancy, has fascinated us as a practice and a party trick for centuries.
Woman lighting the candles for Diwali in India

A History of Diwali

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is observed across the length and breadth of India as well as among the large Indian diaspora around the world.
Rabbis Chant On Capitol Steps, Washington, D.C., 1945

Jews vs. the “Judeo-Christian Tradition”

Since the 1930s, the idea of a “Judeo-Christian tradition” has been used in American politics, but some Jews have always taken issue with the entire concept.
freelance working at train station before travel. work and travel concept

All Travelers are Infiltrators: An Introduction to the Study of Travel Writing

Travel writing as a genre has arguably been around for centuries, but it didn’t emerge as a distinct field of academic study until the 1980s.
A group of children, among them are some dressed in Highland regalia with others wearing sailor suits, during League of Nations Rally in Hyde Park London, England, June 1921. The children, all of Hampstead, hold small signs reading 'Peace' and 'No War' and are gathered before a large banner reading 'We Revel in Peace'.

Teaching Peace Between the Wars

In the years between the world wars, the League of Nations attempted to change how history was taught to emphasize commonalities across national lines.