Category

Politics & History

JSTOR Daily Politics & History stories encompassing government, politics, social history, and other “quirky” topics, all featuring links to publicly accessible research on JSTOR.

Kenyan Scouting Association

Scouting In Kenya: The Transformation

Colonialism's influence in Kenyan scouting practices.

"Bamn Automat" by User:Nricardo - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bamn_Automat.png#/media/File:Bamn_Automat.png

The Automated Future, and Past, of Fast Food

Automat cafeterias were the precursors of contemporary fast food restaurants.

"Nagasakibomb" by Charles Levy from one of the B-29 Superfortresses used in the attack. <a href="http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/photos/images/ww2-163.jpg" target="_blank">National Archives image (208-N-43888)</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nagasakibomb.jpg#/media/File:Nagasakibomb.jpg" target="_blank">Public Domain via Commons</a>

Politics & Government

The Decision to Drop the A-Bomb

Questioning why the US dropped the A-bomb on Japan.

The water rises due to Hurricane Katrina

Disaster Myths: Katrina Ten Years Later

Looking back on Katrina.

Textured canvas with Buildings of Parliament and Big Ben tower in London UK view from Thames river.

Old Smoke: London’s Famous Fog

The history of "Old Smoke", London's famous fog.

Salt flat Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia at sunrise

Bolivia Plans to Mine the Salar de Uyuni for Lithium

The Salar de Uyuni, which belongs to the Altiplano of the high Andes, is a unique and important ecosystem. It’s also an enormous lithium reserve.

Sister Irene and children at New York Foundling orphanage

"Children at New York Foundling cph.3a23917" by Jacob Riis - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3a23917. Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Children_at_New_York_Foundling_cph.3a23917.jpg#/media/File:Children_at_New_York_Foundling_cph.3a23917.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>

Tracing Orphans in Your Ancestry

Modern-day DNA research is beginning to unlock longstanding mysteries regarding orphans.

A family eating elephant ears at a fair

What State Fairs Used to Mean

The historical significance of state fairs

"Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore 2" by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Politics & Government

Donald Trump: The Id of Republican Politics

If Reagan is the Republican super-ego, the father figure that this latest generation looks up to, then Donald Trump is the id of Republican politics.

A letter puzzle

Tales from the History of Cryptography

The history of cryptography.

Editors' Picks

James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni in Conversation

In 1971, two legends of Black letters discussed Black manhood, white racism, the role of the writer, and the responsibility to teach.

Science & Technology

Can We Build a Better Facebook?

Is it time to turn our back on Facebook? And if so, what social network could possibly replace it?

Science & Technology

The Anatomists of Ancient Alexandria

Cultural forces under the Ptolemaic dynasty briefly allowed scholars like Herophilus to practice dissection—and possibly vivisection—on human subjects.

Politics & History

The Genocide Before the Shoah

For a century, Jews in Turkey have maintained a strategic silence when it comes to recognizing the Armenian genocide. Could that be changing?

Politics & History

Wilhelm Reich: Twice Burned

A psychoanalyst and physician, Reich fled the Nazis only to be detained by the US as an “enemy alien” during World War II. And then came the sexual revolution.