Category Archives: Uncategorized

Interview with Hervé Drévillon

Posted on December 5, 2012 by briansandberg

Historian Hervé Drévillon has launched a new Institut des Études sur la Guerre et la Paix (Institute for the Study of War and Peace) at Université de Paris I. Research centers and institutes at major universities are engines for original research … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Research, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, French History, History of Violence, Paris History, Strategy and International Politics, Uncategorized, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | 1 Comment

Reenactment of Austerlitz

Posted on December 4, 2012 by briansandberg

Austerlitz has been fought once again. The anniversary of the battle of Austerlitz was 2 December and historical reenactors once again took to the battlefield to commemorate one of the most celebrated victories of Napoleon. Emperor Napoleon’s Grand Armée fought … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Empires and Imperialism, European History, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, Uncategorized, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

NIU Huskies Heading to Orange Bowl

Posted on December 4, 2012 by briansandberg

The Northern Illinois University Huskies football team has won the MAC conference championship and is heading to the Orange Bowl. This is the first time that a MAC conference member has been selected for a major post-season bowl game. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Northern Illinois University, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Piazza Fontana and Romanzo di una Strage

Posted on December 2, 2012 by briansandberg

Major historical events often have to wait for years to receive serious treatment in historical film, especially in the case of controversial episodes that produce sharply opposing narratives of those events. For the first time, the bombing in Piazza Fontana … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, European History, European Union, Historical Film, History of Violence, Italian History, Political Culture, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Gout Makes a Comeback

Posted on July 30, 2011 by briansandberg

Gout is making a comeback in the United States.  This disease causes serious inflammation, swelling, and pain—especially in the feet. During the medieval and early modern periods, gout was considered a disease of the nobility.  Manuscript correspondence of European nobles … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Food and Cuisine History, History in the Media, History of Medicine, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Art Attacked in Avignon

Posted on April 18, 2011 by briansandberg

Artist and photographer Andres Serrano’s famous photographic work, Immersion Piss Christ (1987), was attacked today in Avignon.  This photograph created a major controversy in the United States over its perceived criticism of Catholicism and ignited a  debate over the public … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Contemporary Art, French History, Religious Violence, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Book on La Grande Illusion

Posted on April 10, 2011 by briansandberg

Jean Renoir’s film La Grande Illusion (1937) is a brilliant film set in a prisoner-of-war camp during the First World War. A recent book by Martin O’Shaughnessy reexamines this classic film: Martin O’Shaughnessy. La Grande Illusion (London and New York: … Continue reading →

Posted in French History, Historical Film, Uncategorized, War in Film, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Higher Education as an Export?

Posted on April 8, 2011 by briansandberg

A new article by the Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Commerce Department treats Higher Education in the United States as an exportable commodity. Undoubtedly American higher education involves study abroad programs, student exchange programs, international student recruitment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education Policy, Globalization, Humanities Education, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Italy-Libya Arms Deal

Posted on March 7, 2011 by briansandberg

Italy has long had a close (some would argue neocolonial) relationship with Libya.  Recent revelations of a major shipment of small arms from Italy to Libya is disappointing, but hardly surprising.  Those Italian arms are surely now being used in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Revisiting the Military-Industrial Complex

Posted on February 27, 2011 by briansandberg

Andrew J. Bacevich has written a brilliant piece on the Military-Industrial Complex, setting Eisenhower’s famous Farewell Address into a broader perspective on “permanent war.” Bacevich, a Professor of History at Boston University, has emerged as one of the most prominent … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Violence, Uncategorized, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment