Witch Marks on the wall of a cave at Creswell Crags.

Witches’ Marks Protected Spaces from Evil

Throughout history, people tried to protect spaces from evil with apotropaic marks, ritual concealments, and other charms.
Collage of mugshots

What Violent Acts Get Defined as Terrorism

Why was the Weather Underground group labelled as a terrorist organization, while the KKK was not? A brief look at the history of domestic terrorism.
Shena Mcauliffe

The Wonderland Awaits: Researching The Good Echo

Author Shena McAuliffe describes how she used JSTOR to research her debut novel, The Good Echo.
Lewis & Clark with Sacagawea

How Sacagawea Became More Than A Footnote

A suffragist searching for a heroine found Sacagawea and lifted her out of historical obscurity.
The Oregon Civilian Conservation Corps

The First New Deal Was Green, Too

An integral part of FDR's New Deal was the Civilian Conservation Corps, which focused on environmental conservation work.
Mary Somerset

The Beaufort Botanist and Her “Innocent Diversion”

Despite the twelve volume herbarium she created, this seventeenth-century scientist earned little recognition. 
The Native American village of Secoton

Yes, Americans Owned Land Before Columbus

What you were taught in elementary school about Native Americans not owning land is a myth. The truth is much more complicated.
Honeybee Apis mellifera

Are Honey Bees Bad for Wild Bees?

Recently, the health of the honey bees has been a topic of some concern. But many scientists think we should actually be worrying about wild bees instead.
Me and My Parrots by Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo’s Forgotten Politics

Museum exhibitions of Frida Kahlo's work tend to focus on her personal style and persona. But Kahlo was intensely political, as were her paintings.
Brothel by Joachim Beuckelaer, 1562

Regulating Sex Work in Medieval Europe

When sex work was considered a "necessary evil," legal brothels provided certain protections for the women who worked there.