Category Archives: Cultural History

Constructing European Historical Narratives

Posted on August 11, 2025 by briansandberg

Constructing European Historical Narratives in the Early Modern World, edited by Hilary J. Bernstein, Fabien Montcher, and Megan Armstrong, is being published by Iter Press and will be released in paperback in December 2025. I enjoyed contributing an essay on … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, European History, French History, French Wars of Religion, History of the Book, Mediterranean World, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

On the Technocratic and Fascist Ideology of Elon Musk

Posted on April 4, 2025 by briansandberg

Elon Musk may exhibit highly erratic and volatile behavior, but he espouses a coherent Technocratic and Fascist ideology that was articulated in the 1930s. Jill Lepore, Professor of History and Law (Harvard University), traces the history of Elon Musk’s grandfather, … Continue reading →

Posted in Authoritarianism, Civil Rights Issues, Cultural History, Higher Education, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Information Revolutions, Intellectual History, Italian History, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Political Theory, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Renaissance Society of America Conference in Boston

Posted on March 24, 2025 by briansandberg

I participated in the Renaissance Society of America Conference in Boston over the extended weekend. I enjoyed participating in a panel on “Piracy and Privateering in the Early Modern Mediterranean.” I gave a paper on Marseille as a base for … Continue reading →

Posted in Conferences, Cultural History, Current Research, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History of Science, History of the Book, History of Violence, Mediterranean World, Militias and Paramilitaries, Renaissance Art and History, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History | Leave a comment

Considering the Multilingual Mediterranean

Posted on March 1, 2025 by briansandberg

I am enjoying participating in a Mediterranean Seminar Workshop on The Multilingual Mediterranean this weekend at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “The Mediterranean is not only the crossroads among continents, cultures, peoples, and religions; it is also, as Suzanne … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, Languedoc and Southern France, Medieval History, Mediterranean World, Religious History, World History | Leave a comment

Cold War Still Shapes Elections in Germany

Posted on February 26, 2025 by briansandberg

The Cold War continues to shape current German society and its voting patterns over 30 years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the beginning of German Reunification. This past weekend’s German Elections demonstrate that the frontiers … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, European History, European Studies, European Union, History of the Western World, Political Culture, Political Parties and Organizations, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apocalypse Hier et Demain at the BnF in Paris

Posted on February 25, 2025 by briansandberg

The Bibliothèque nationale de France (Paris) has organized an exhibition on Apocalypse Hier et Demain (Apocalypse, Yesterday and Tomorrow), which is on display from February through June 2025. The exhibition explores the Book of Revelation and apocalyptic visions, before turning … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Atrocities, Civilians and Refugees in War, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Italian History, Material Culture, Medieval History, Mediterranean World, Museums and Historical Memory, Reformation History, Religious History, Religious Violence, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History, World History | Leave a comment

The Great War and Modern Memory at 50

Posted on February 15, 2025 by briansandberg

Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory, a classic study of British soldiers’ writings about trench warfare on the Western Front during the First World War, is now 50 years old. Dwight Garner, a book critic at The New … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, European History, European Studies, French History, Historiography and Social Theory, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Museums and Historical Memory, Public History, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society | 1 Comment

The Impending Assault on the Department of Education

Posted on February 3, 2025 by briansandberg

The long-anticipated assault on the Department of Education is now beginning. President Trump and his allies have long wanted to minimize or destroy the Department of Education, as well as broader public education systems in the United States. Educational institutions … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Cultural History, Humanities Education, Legal history, Political Culture, Public History, United States History and Society, Women and Gender History, World History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Would-be King Trump

Posted on January 22, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump’s inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D.C., have been filled with royal rhetoric and regal symbolism, promoting the new President as a would-be king. The New York Times reports that “At a late-night inaugural ball on Monday, President Trump, flush … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Studies, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, French History, History of the Western World, Monarchies and Royal States, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture, Political Theory, Renaissance Art and History, State Development Theory, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Army of God and Religious Politics in the U.S.

Posted on January 9, 2025 by briansandberg

A new report in The Atlantic focuses on the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) in contemporary Christianity and its growing influence in the political culture of the United States. Stephanie McCrummen writes: “A shift is under way, one that scholars have … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, French Wars of Religion, Intellectual History, Political Activism and Protest Culture, Political Culture, Reformation History, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment