The Landlord Asks for a Christmas Rose
Bizarre customs of landholding—from demands for flowers to ritualized flatulence—reflect the philosophy that developed under the feudal system.
Feasting Tips From Ancient Greece
Many of us strive to avoid talking politics at a big holiday feasts. But in Homer's Greece, feasting was all about politics.
Civil Rights and New Deal America, Bruno Latour, and Bad Environmentalism
New books and scholarship from University of North Carolina, Harvard University Press, and University of Minnesota Press.
Gender Studies: Foundations and Key Concepts
Gender studies developed alongside and emerged out of Women’s Studies. This non-exhaustive list introduces readers to scholarship in the field.
How Big Will Canada’s Legal Cannabis Market Be?
With recreational marijuana use now legal across Canada, companies are jockeying for market share while bureaucracies struggle to make estimates.
Why Ancient Egyptians Loved Cats So Much
Ancient Egyptians' love of cats developed from an appreciation of their rodent-catching skills to revering them as sacred creatures.
The Women Who Made Male Astronomers’ Ambitions Possible
In the late 19th century, Elizabeth Campbell helped her astronomer husband run the Lick Observatory and lead scientific eclipse-viewing expeditions.
The Little-Known Nantucket-British Deal of 1814
Remembering a strange chapter of history when Nantucket allied itself with Great Britain.
How Masks of Mutilated WWI Soldiers Haunted Postwar Culture
In the age before plastic surgery, masks were the best option for veterans with faces scarred by war. The end results, however, were somewhat uncanny.
Gender Identity in Weimar Germany
Remembering an early academic effort to define sexual orientation and gender identity as variable natural phenomena, rather than moral matters.