Category Archives: War, Culture, and Society

Search for Meaning in a Post-Osama World

People around the world are now reacting to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, which is being seen as a significant world historical event. The military intelligence and special forces operations that led to bin Laden’s death … Continue reading →

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

Osama bin Laden is Dead

President Barack Obama announced a few minutes ago that U.S. forces have killed Osama bin Laden at a compound in Pakistan. The video of President Obama’s speech is available at the Washington Post.  The full text of President Obama’s remarks … Continue reading →

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

Historian Eric Foner Wins Pulitzer Prize

Historian Eric Foner has won a Pulitzer Prize for his The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (Norton, 2010). The American Historical Association has a brief story about the prize on its website. NIU students interested in the history … Continue reading →

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Review of Warrior Pursuits

The first review of Warrior Pursuits: Noble Culture and Civil Conflict in Early Modern France has been published.  Professor Phillip John Usher, of Barnard College, reviews my monograph in Renaissance Quarterly. I am happy that book reviews of Warrior Pursuits … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Research, Early Modern Europe, French Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Afghan War in Film

A new documentary, Where Soldiers Come From, tells the story of a group of young men from Michigan who enlist in the National Guard and serve in the Afghan War.  The film was screened at the South by Southwest (SXSW) … Continue reading →

Posted in Empires and Imperialism, History of Violence, War in Film, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

The Princess of Montpensier

Bertrand Tavernier’s The Princess of Montpensier has been released.  The film focuses on the life of a young noblewoman at the Valois court during the French Wars of Religion. The film is an adaptation of a classic early French novel … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, French History, French Wars of Religion, Gender and Warfare, Historical Film, Religious Violence, War in Film, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History | Leave a comment

“Books as Bombs”

The potential of books to shape ideas and policies is often debated, but a new piece on “books as bombs” in the Independent offers a short introduction to the issue—using Catch-22 as a key example. Check out the piece on … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Humanities, History in the Media, History of the Book, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

New Book on La Grande Illusion

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

New French Military Policy

Nicolas Sarkozy has suddenly developed a new French foreign policy that stresses aggressive military intervention.  The French Armée de l’Air has intervened powerfully in the Libyan civil war and French ground forces are on the ground in the Ivory Coast … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Empires and Imperialism, French History, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Warrior Pursuits in Libraries

Warrior Pursuits is now available at a library near you. I am pleased to see that Warrior Pursuits has now been cataloged in 144 libraries worldwide. WorldCat online catalog allows you to search for books in libraries near you.  Try … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Research, French Wars of Religion, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment