Category Archives: European History

Friendship in Premodern Europe

Posted on October 13, 2011 by briansandberg

This weekend, I am participating in a conference on Friendship in Premodern Europe (1300-1700), hosted by the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies (CRRS) at the University of Toronto. This conference has been organized by historian Konrad Eisenbichler and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conferences, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Renaissance Art and History | 2 Comments

What’s a Poor French Noble to Do?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by briansandberg

Poor nobles apparently abound in today’s France. There are still many nobles living in 21st-century France, and supposedly a number of them have fallen on hard times. Luckily for these poor nobles there is a charitable association, the Association d’Entreaide … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, European History, European Union, French History, Languedoc and Southern France, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture | 1 Comment

French Intellectuals in the Media

Posted on October 5, 2011 by briansandberg

France has long had a robust history of public intellectuals—Renaissance essayists  such as Michel de Montaigne, Enlightenment philosophes such as Voltaire, and modern philosophers such as Sartre. Tony Judt and other French historians have traced the developments in modern French … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Publishing, European History, French History, History in the Media, History of the Book, Human Rights | Leave a comment

Dissertation Travels and Archival Research

Posted on September 26, 2011 by briansandberg

Historians are used to traveling for research. Most graduate students and professors of history head to archives and specialized research libraries to consult manuscripts, rare books, and printed documents. Although a some important document collections have been digitized, the vast … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, European History, Graduate Work in History | Leave a comment

Understanding Europe

Posted on September 4, 2011 by briansandberg

American business students often wonder why they should be concerned with learning about European culture, society, and history. Here are a few data points that suggest the importance of Europe for American businesspeople and for the American economy: The American … Continue reading →

Posted in Education Policy, European History, French History, Globalization, Humanities Education, Northern Illinois University | 1 Comment

DNA Evidence of the Black Death

Posted on August 30, 2011 by briansandberg

The Black Death is back in the news. Several teams of scientists have been working over the past decade to extract DNA evidence from bodies of victims of the Black Death in fourteenth-century Europe. The latest findings confirm several other … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History in the Media, History of Medicine, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Medieval Manuscript Stolen from Santiago de Compostela

Posted on July 7, 2011 by briansandberg

The Codex Calixtinus, a twelfth-century manuscript account of the transportation of Saint James’s body, was stolen from Santiago de Compostela this week. Someone broke into the cathedral archive’s safe and took the manuscript. The loss of the manuscript, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, European History, History in the Media | Leave a comment

General Ratko Mladic Captured

Posted on May 26, 2011 by briansandberg

After 16 years as a fugitive, former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic has been captured in Serbia. General Mladic commanded the Bosnian Serb Army during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.  Mladic is accused of orchestrating the Massacre … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, European History, European Union, History of Violence, Religious Violence, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Robespierre’s Manuscripts for Sale

Posted on May 8, 2011 by briansandberg

A collection of Maximilien Robespierre’s manuscripts is being put up for sale by Sotheby’s France.  The collection apparently includes 150 pages of Robespierre’s writings that were in a dossier that has resurfaced over 200 years after the death of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, European History, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, History in the Media | 1 Comment

EU as the “Sick Man of Europe”

Posted on April 22, 2011 by briansandberg

Is the European Union the “sick man of Europe”? This formulation represents an intriguing twist on historical references to the Ottoman Empire as the “sick man of Europe.” Eurozine has published a series of articles entitled “Europe Talks to Europe” … Continue reading →

Posted in Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Union, Mediterranean World | Leave a comment