Woodcut illustration of chess c. 1480

Knights and Kings: Medieval Chess as Male Bonding

Scholar Jenny Adams examines the homosocial facets of the game through literature of the Middle Ages.
An aerial view of the prehistoric White horse carved into the hillside at Uffington,Berkshire

Whence the White Horse of Uffington?

A white horse of chalk both defines and defies a common understanding of what English heritage is, and is not.
Etching: A wet nurse breast feeding the Duke of Burgundy, grandson of Louis XIV

Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.24839779

How Wet-Nursing Stoked Class Tensions

“[N]o man can justly doubt, that a childs mind is answerable to his nurses milk and manners.”
Man buying garters from a female shop assistant

Sex Panic at the Department Store

Were shopgirls selling more than scents at the perfume counter? Three investigators were determined to find out.
Exploring Biology by Ella Thea Smith

The Hidden History of Biology Textbooks 

American biology textbooks supposedly became less scientific after the Scopes trial. One scholar argues that this isn't the whole story.
Illustration: Head of a man with a severe disease affecting his face by Christopher D' Alton, 1858

Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.24834473

The Ugly History of Chicago’s “Ugly Law”

In the nineteenth century, laws in many parts of the country prohibited "undeserving" disabled people from appearing in public.
Damien Hooper of Australia listens to advice from his corner during the bout with Juan Carlos Carrillo of Colombia in the Boxing Men's Middle 75kg division on day 11 of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympics at the International Convention Centre on August 25, 2010 in Singapore

How Do Indigenous Athletes Fit into the Olympics?

Olympic athletes are divided into teams of nations. To Indigenous competitors, though, that can mean representing oppressive settler-colonial states.
An illustration of a woman experiencing information overload

ADHD: The History of a Diagnosis

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been a controversial diagnosis since it was first described, back in the 1940s.
Studio photograph of Floating gloved hand holding purse on pink background.

Shoplifting, for Fun and Profit

"Hoisting" at the professional level could bring a sense of pride, along with the relief of avoiding grueling domestic work.
1885-86 Cuban Giants

Integrating Baseball, before Jackie Robinson

Black players were banned from Major League Baseball during the Jim Crow era. Other players walked the color line—gently.