Category Archives: History of Violence

On International Law and Military Intervention

The use of chemical weapons and mass killing of civilians in Syria have escalated calls for the United States and its allies to launch military strikes in Syria. John Kerry (US Secretary of State), Samantha Powers (US Ambassador to the … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Revolts and Revolutions, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Reenacting the War of 1812

The bicentennial of the War of 1812, which lasted from 1812 to 1815, continues to attract attention in parts of the United States and Canada. Naval reenactors recently simulated the battle of Lake Erie, which was fought in September 1813 … Continue reading

Posted in Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, History of Violence, Maritime History, Museums and Historical Memory, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

On Chemical Weapons and Military Intervention

Chemical weapons seem to have been used in the Syrian Civil War last week, probably by Syrian government forces. Médecins sans frontières (MSF), known in English as Doctors Without Borders, has issued a statement confirming that approximately 3,600 Syrian civilians … Continue reading

Posted in Civilians and Refugees in War, European Union, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

Originally posted on Cluster for the Study of Religious Violence:
The Muslim Brotherhood has been an important religious and political organization in Egypt for decades and is one of the major participants in the ongoing Egyptian Revolution. NPR provides a…

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, History of Violence, Mediterranean World, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, Terrorism, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Area 51 Acknowledged

Recently released Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents acknowledge the existence of the Area 51 military base, which has developed experimental aircraft since the 1950s. The U2 spy plane was developed and tested at Area 51, but the base has since … Continue reading

Posted in Graduate Work in History, History of Violence, War in Film, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

H.G. Wells and the History of Wargames

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of H.G. Wells’s Little Wars, which created modern wargaming. Long before shooter and strategic video games, model lead soldiers were used to simulate battles in miniature wargames. In 1913, just before … Continue reading

Posted in History in the Media, History of Violence, Museums and Historical Memory, The Past Alive: Teaching History, Undergraduate Work in History, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Warrior Pursuits on the Radio

A discussion of Warrior Pursuits: Noble Culture and Civil Conflict in Early Modern France (2010) has been broadcast on internet radio on the New Books Network (NBN). Jay Lockenour recently interviewed me about Warrior Pursuits on New Books in Military … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Conflict, Current Research, Early Modern Europe, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, History in the Media, History of Violence, Languedoc and Southern France, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Judith Slaying Holofernes (in Chicago)

Artemesia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes (c. 1620) is coming to Chicago! This famous painting is one of the quintessential images of gender and violence in the early modern period, as well as one of the masterpieces of one of the … Continue reading

Posted in Art History, Early Modern Europe, European History, European Wars of Religion, Gender and Warfare, History of Violence, Reformation History, Religious Violence, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History | 2 Comments

New Review of Warrior Pursuits in French

A new book review by Gregory Champeaud critiques my Warrior Pursuits: Noble Culture and Civil Conflict in Early Modern France (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010. Champeaud’s review was recently published in French in the online journal, Francia-Recencio. The … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Conflict, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Reformation History, Religious Violence, Revolts and Revolutions, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Interviewing War Criminals

What is it like to confront evil in a face-to-face encounter? This is a question that James Dawes poses to himself frequently as he interviews war criminals. Dawes, a professor of English and director of the Program in Human Rights … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Museums and Historical Memory, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment