The Care of the Dead: A Reading List
An interdisciplinary bibliography exploring the care of the dead and how our final choices are shaped by culture, religion, economics, technology, and war.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Annotated
Jonathan Edwards’s sermon reflects the complicated religious culture of eighteenth-century America, influenced not just by Calvinism, but Newtonian physics as well.
Hot Air Balloon Launch Riot!
In the early days of ballooning, launches were prone to failure. When failure looked imminent, the crowd’s mood would begin to turn.
William Dampier, Pirate Scientist
An oft-overlooked explorer who traversed the globe, driven by his thirst for scientific discovery—and a love of piracy.
The Claude Glass Revolutionized the Way People Saw Landscapes
Imagine tourists flocking to a famous beauty spot, only to turn around and fix their eyes on its reflection in a tiny dark mirror.
Plant of the Month: Venus Flytrap
The carnivorous plant, native to the Carolinas, has beguiled botanists and members of the public alike since the eighteenth century.
The French Revolution as Illuminati Conspiracy
The Illuminati was a real secret society. But in the hands of British conservatives during the French Revolution, it became a massive conspiracy.
Vulgarity: An Alternative Language of the People
Was Francis Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue the font of all popular culture studies?
The Man Whose Face Got Stuck Like That
No one could have predicted Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s turn to the bizarre.