Category Archives: Cultural History

NIU Undergraduate Researcher Publishes Research

I want to highlight the accomplishments of one of our undergraduate students in the Department of History at Northern Illinois University, whose research experiences reminded me of my own experiences conducting research as an undergraduate History Major at the University … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Publishing, Civil Conflict, Cultural History, History in the Media, History of Violence, Illinois History and Society, Material Culture, Museums and Historical Memory, Northern Illinois University, Undergraduate Work in History, United States History and Society, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Italian Renaissance Armor Restored to the Louvre

Two magnificent pieces of Italian Renaissance armor have been restored to the Musée du Louvre in Paris, after being recovered by French police. The prestige armor had originally been donated to the Museée du Louvre by the Rothschild family in … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Court Studies, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, History in the Media, History of Violence, Material Culture, Museums and Historical Memory, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Paris History, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

New Digital Humanities Techniques Open Locked Letters

Early modern writers sometimes employed letterlocking in order to close letters securely using complex practices of folding, cutting, inserting tabs, and sewing. The New York Times reports: “In an era before sealed envelopes, this technique, now called letterlocking, was as … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, Cultural History, Digital Humanities, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History in the Media, Information Management, Manuscript Studies, Material Culture, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture | Leave a comment

Franco-American Culture Wars

American multiculturalism and intellectual influences are increasingly threatening French identity, according to French President Macron and his ministers. The New York Times reports on the developing Franco-American Culture Wars: “Stepping up its attacks on social science theories that it says … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Cultural History, European History, European Union, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, French Wars of Religion, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Political Culture, Women and Gender History | 1 Comment

The World in the Book: 1300-1800

The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library is offering an undergraduate seminar on The World in the Book: 1300-1800 in Fall 2021. Northern Illinois University undergraduate students interested in medieval, renaissance, and early modern studies are encouraged to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History of the Book, History of the Western World, Information Management, Lectures and Seminars, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History, Undergraduate Work in History, World History | Leave a comment

Confronting Whiteness in Ancient History

Students in my History of the Western World I course confront racial constructs in the idea of the West from the first day of classes. We consider the concepts of Europe, the West, and Western Civilization, critically throughout the semester, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient History, Conferences, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Globalization, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, History of the Western World, Humanities Education, Idea of Europe, Intellectual History, Medieval History, Renaissance Art and History, The Past Alive: Teaching History, World History | Leave a comment

Newberry Graduate Student Conference in Premodern Studies

The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library will be holding its annual Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference in Premodern Studies as a virtual conference on 8-13 February 2021. Graduate students in History, English, and World Languages and Cultures at Northern … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient History, Art History, Atlantic World, Conferences, Court Studies, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Graduate Work in History, History of Science, History of the Book, Medieval History, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History, Women and Gender History, World History | 1 Comment

Digital Humanities Confronts Cubism

Digital Humanities methods are increasingly used in humanities research, teaching, and presentation through a myriad of techniques. Digital tools and methods offer possibilities of analyzing texts, images, objects, and artifacts in different ways and from multiple perspectives. Although these methods … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Cultural History, Digital Humanities, European History, French History, History in the Media, Material Culture, Museums and Historical Memory, Paris History, Political Culture, Urban History | Leave a comment

Medieval Architecture, Early Modern Music, and Covid Vaccinations

Salisbury Cathedral is currently serving as a Covid-19 vaccination site in the United Kingdom. The soaring medieval architecture provides a vast, airy space for health care providers and British citizens getting vaccinated. According to The New York Times, “patients have … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Cultural History, European History, History of Medicine, History of the Western World, Medieval History, Music History, Religious History | Leave a comment

A Violin and the Mechanisms of Peace and Reconciliation

A violin constructed by Giuseppe Guarneri, an eighteenth-century violin maker from Cremona known as del Gesù (of Jesus), has become the center of a controversy over the legacies of Nazi coercion and looting of artworks belonging to Jewish victims of … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, Art History, Atrocities, Contemporary Art, Cultural History, European History, European Union, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, History of Violence, Human Rights, Manuscript Studies, Material Culture, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Activism and Protest Culture | 1 Comment