Sex and the Single Witch
On witch-hunting and the pursuit of sexual knowledge in early-modern England.
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.
The Woman Famous for Not Sleeping With a King
As a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of England, Frances Stuart was known as much for her ability to fend off the advances of King Charles II as for her beauty.
How Veterans Created PTSD
Now a cultural staple, PTSD is a newer diagnosis. How have conceptions of trauma morphed and what does it mean for US institutions and society?
The Soap Bubble Trope
Throughout the history of philosophy, literature, art, and science, people have been fascinated with the shimmering surfaces of soap bubbles.
Sor Juana, Founding Mother of Mexican Literature
How a 17th-century nun wrote poetry, dramas, and comedies that took on the inequities and double standards women faced in society.
The Restoration’s Filthiest Poet (and Why We Need Him)
Creature of the court, royalist and fop, dandy and dilettante, John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, knew how to scandalize with verse.
Rags, Riches, and Cross-Class Dressing in Elizabethan England
In Elizabethan England, strict sumptuary regulations made sure that people dressed according to their rank in life, but many transgressed.
