From a Russian poster from 1920

The Birth of the Soviet Union and the Death of the Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution promised—and for a time delivered—freedom to the peoples of the Tsarist Empire. That freedom ended with the creation of the USSR.
A 1914 postcard featuring Santa Claus in Japan

Christmastime in 1960s Japan

In the years following World War II, the Japanese people looked to Santa Claus as a symbol of not just kindness and beneficence, but of modernity.
Japanese swordswoman in a duel, 1845

Onna-Bugeisha, the Female Samurai Warriors of Feudal Japan

In 1868 a group of female samurai took part in the fierce Battle of Aizu for the very soul of Japan.
A painting of John Donne

John Donne’s Listicle For the Well-Prepped Courtier

“The Courtier’s Library” is a list of books every courtier should know about, a cheat sheet for name-dropping in society. The trouble? Its books are imaginary.
College students work with archaeologists at "Koster Dig" in East Saint Louis

Grave Matters: Conflict in Reburial and Repatriation

The public is placing pressure on institutions to respect the concerns of Native peoples regarding the repatriation of human remains and grave-associated artifacts.
The cover page of The Introduction of Mesmerism into the Public Hospitals of India

The Mesmeric Dr. James Esdaile

The acceptance of mesmerism in colonial Bengal depended on the public performance of Western medicine couched in the wonders of a supposed “native” magic.
A Zabbal on a Cairo street

Cairo’s Zabbaleen and Secret Life of Trash

In Egypt's capital, members of an impoverished Coptic population strengthen community ties while making a living as ragpickers.
The Mirabal sisters

Remembering the Mirabal Sisters

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women honors three sisters who were murdered by the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
Pictorial Map of the American Continent Following the Pan American Highway, c. 1930

The Pan-American Highway and the Darién Gap

The Pan-American Highway began a century ago with a vision of unfettered motor-vehicle access between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego. What happened to the dream?
The death mask of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, circa 1960

The Discovery of King Tut’s Tomb

A century ago, a lost tomb was uncovered on the west bank of the Nile River. The scarcely studied Pharaoh Tutankhamun immediately became an icon.