Category Archives: History of Science

Geckos, Environmental History, and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Posted on August 4, 2021 by briansandberg

Historians are collaborating with scientists in new ways these days, especially in the growing field of environmental history. Scholars are making new and fascinating discoveries about the long history of human transformations of environments. Historians of the Columbian Exchange, beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic World, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, Environmental History, Globalization, History of Science, Maritime History, Renaissance Art and History, World History | Leave a comment

Multiracial Ships and Maritime History

Posted on June 28, 2021 by briansandberg

Maritime historians have recognized that premodern ships represented diverse onboard communities, composed of multicultural—and often multiracial—crews. The social spaces of ships brought together officers, navigators, sailors, soldiers, artisans, and slaves recruited or coerced from very different population groups. But, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic World, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History in the Media, History of Medicine, History of Race and Racism, History of Science, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Maritime History, Museums and Historical Memory, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Renaissance Fairs and Pandemics

Posted on June 28, 2021 by briansandberg

En garde ! Renaissance fairs are reopening across the United States this summer, bringing the clanging of arms and armor back to an enthusiastic public. These festivals celebrate late medieval and Renaissance culture through costume displays and historical re-enactments—including jousts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Historical Re-enactment, History in the Media, History of Medicine, Mediterranean World, Renaissance Art and History, Social History | Leave a comment

On the Backs of Tortoises

Posted on February 22, 2021 by briansandberg

The Department of History at Northern Illinois University will be holding a virtual colloquium lecture tomorrow.  All NIU students are invited to participate in this History colloquium event, which will be held virtually on Zoom. Elizabeth Hennessy from the University … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental History, Globalization, History of Science, Lectures and Seminars, Maritime History, World History | Leave a comment

Newberry Graduate Student Conference in Premodern Studies

Posted on February 1, 2021 by briansandberg

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

Medieval Architecture, Early Modern Music, and Covid Vaccinations

Posted on January 26, 2021 by briansandberg

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

Islamic Art History Resource

Posted on October 25, 2020 by briansandberg

A new online resource for Islamic art history has just been launched online. Northern Illinois University students in my HIST 110 History of the Western World I course are studying the expansion of Islam at this point in the semester … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Court Studies, Cultural History, Digital Humanities, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Globalization, History of Medicine, History of Science, History of the Book, Maritime History, Material Culture, Mediterranean World, Museums and Historical Memory, Religious History, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, Renaissance Art and History, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Astrolabes and Armillary Spheres

Posted on October 23, 2020 by briansandberg

The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library is hosting a virtual discussion of scientific instruments and scientific knowledge in the Renaissance. Here is the announcement from the Center for Renaissance Studies: Astrolabes and Armillary Spheres: Scientific Instruments and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Globalization, History in the Media, History of Science, Intellectual History, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

New Research on Vikings

Posted on September 21, 2020 by briansandberg

DNA studies are revealing new information on complicated ethnic backgrounds of Viking warriors and traders in medieval Europe. A research team led by a professor at the University of Copenhagen has analyzed the genomes of 443 bodies buried in Viking … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, European History, History of Medicine, History of Science, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Maritime History, Material Culture, Medieval History, Museums and Historical Memory, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, World History | Leave a comment

Saint Sebastian and the Arrows of the Plague

Posted on September 10, 2020 by briansandberg

The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library has published a new episode of its series on Learning from Premodern Plagues on “Saint Sebastian and the Arrows of the Plague.” Students in my courses on HIST 110 History of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History of Medicine, History of Science, Lectures and Seminars, Religious History, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment