Building A Better Democracy?
Metaphors of construction have been popular in American history from the start. How come?
Garlic and Social Class
Immigrants from southern Italy were stereotyped for their use of the aromatic vegetable.
The Self-Styled Sci-Fi Supermen of the 1940s
Way before there were stans, there were slans. Too bad about their fascist utopian daydreams!
And a Fabulous LGBTQ History Month to You, Too!
Queer people have always had a particular relationship with history. It's only lately that archival silences have been challenged, and overcome.
The Rise of Disability Stigma
Religion once held sway over how people thought about disability. How did that change with the rise of secularism?
How the Mercury 13 Fought to Get Women in Space
In 1962, the House of Representatives convened a special subcommittee to determine if women should be admitted into NASA’s space program.
A History of Transphobia in the Medical Establishment
At a time when trans people who wanted surgery needed to trust doctors, transphobia made it difficult.
How Medieval Arabic Literature Viewed Lesbians
As far back as the ninth century, doctors and poets wrote about women who loved women without calling them deviants.
The Anxious “China Hunters” of the Nineteenth Century
After the Civil War, some elite women became obsessed with collecting antique china, the better to connect themselves to illustrious histories.