Economics in Ancient Greece
The modern term “economics” comes from the Greek word “oikonomia,” but the ancient Greeks had a very different way of thinking about material life.
Policing the Holocaust in Paris
Unlike in the rest of Nazi-occupied Europe, the arrest of Jewish people was largely in the hands of ordinary policemen in France, especially in Paris.
Writing Online Fiction in China
Many amateur “fan fiction” writers on the Chinese internet use real history as a canvas for time-travel stories that often break the fourth wall.
Hi, Jai Alai
Once popular across the United States, jai alai lives on in American sport culture mostly thanks to its history as a legal option for gambling.
Biking While Black in DC
Because of its political structure, Washington became a test case in federally mandated laws that enabled racially discriminatory policing of public space.
When French Citrus Colonized Algeria
The citrus industry in Algeria honed French imperial apparatuses and provided a means for France to define and shape the behavior of its colonial subjects.
How Jazz Albums Visualized a Changing America
In the 1950s, the covers of most jazz records featured abstract designs. By the late 1960s, album aesthetics better reflected the times and the musicians.
Women Warriors Make Great Propaganda
The presence of female fighters gives legitimacy to armed rebellions and increases the chances of support from international NGOS and other external actors.
Nella Larsen’s Lessons in Library School
Larsen’s novels were influenced by her training in the New York Public Library system, where she faced rigid ideas about the racial classification of knowledge.
Taiping: China’s Nineteenth-Century Civil War
Partially coinciding with the American Civil War, the Taiping “Rebellion” in China was one of the most destructive conflicts in history.