For students of the humanities…
The Encyclopedia Britannica's website provides information on a huge variety of topics. In this case, they provide information on the truth of the life of Saint Patrick. It's a more complicated story that one might expect. He is definitely involved in Ireland, but most of the rest of his life and accomplishments are shrouded in… Continue reading Article: Saint Patrick: bishop and patron saint of Ireland
In this article from 2017, ArtNet details the destruction (that was at that time still ongoing) of cultural heritage sites by ISIS. Stories like this show the destructive affect of war on art and culture (in addition to its painful consequences for people's lives and families). link to A Monumental Loss...
Duolingo offers both free and paid online language classes in numerous languages. As such, they know a great deal about how language works and what hidden messages it can contain. In this article from their blog, Duolingo explains the differences between the Ukrainian and Russian languages and talks about how language can be political. This… Continue reading Article: Language matters: What learners need to know about Ukrainian
The British Library is an excellent source in general, and their Middle Ages project gives a good amount of information on the period--primarily though a look at a number of illuminated manuscripts. Links are provided to multiple articles, and you can view a number of interesting items (with descriptions from their collection. This is part… Continue reading Article: British Library-The Middle Ages
Wars destroy people's lives and homes, and they also destroy their art and culture. This article from Architectural Digest provides an insight into how the art world (both inside and out of Ukraine) has tried to respond. link to How the Art World is Responding to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Art allows people to express their feelings, to draw attention to causes, and to promote social justice. The artistic response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine showcases how those artistic aspects manifest within contemporary art. link to Artists Are Expressing Their Support for Ukraine in Emotional Illustrations
The brave men and women of Ukraine have been in the news in ways they never could have imagined over the last few days, but how much do you know about their culture? For those who are interested in finding out more about these brave people, this article gives an excellent overview of their rich… Continue reading Article: Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine’s Featured Topics in Ukrainian Art and Architecture
Fairy tales can be disturbing, they can teach valuable lessons, but can they be true? The authors of this article explore some disturbing possibilities about the truth of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Whatever your opinion on this particular story, this article shows that folk and fairy tales can tell us a surprising amount about… Continue reading Article: The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin
When we study the region of the ancient world known as Mesopotamia, we often focus only on a few major cultures: Sumer, Babylon, Akkad, Assyria, etc. However, there is evidence that there is more to the history of Mesopotamia. This article focusses on the evidence for the possible "Forgotten Kingdom" of Ebla. link to First… Continue reading Article: First Kingdoms: The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Elba
Ancient people produced many of the same things that we use in our modern world. Glass is one of those things, and the Romans were well known for the quality of their glass production. This article provides a wealth of information on the study of the practices of the Roman glass industry. link to Seeing… Continue reading Article: Seeing Through the History of Ancient Roman Glass
Arguably one of the most beautiful art forms, creating illuminated manuscripts was (and is) a time consuming labor of love. Unfortunately many Medieval and Renaissance books have been cut up so that the art could be collected by itself, but fortunately there are a number of complete volumes that still survive. In this article, the… Continue reading Article: Illuminated Manuscripts
Did you know that there were three Catholic martyrs named St. Valentine that are all honored with a feast day on February 14th? This article explains what we know (and what we don't) about each of these men who died for their faith and gave their name to a holiday dedicated to love. link to… Continue reading Article: History of St. Valentine
When most people think about the process of making pottery, they think about a potter using a wheel. While that is a very common way to make a pot, the art of making slab pottery is ancient in its own right. This article gives a good overview of the art form, and it includes links… Continue reading Article: The Basics of Hand-Building Slab Pottery
This article from Smithsonian Magazine gives a great overview of the career of an amazing sculptress who fought to create her career in the white male dominated art world of the 19th Century. As a person of color, Edmonia Lewis had to contend with racism; as a women, she had to work against sexism; and… Continue reading Article: Sculptor Edmonia Lewis Shattered Gender and Race Expectations in 19th-Century America
I recently shared translations of the poetry of the Akkadian author Enheduanna, and in that post, I mentioned that we have an image of the lady in question. This article showcases the relief that represents Enheduanna, and it provides a good amount of information both on that and on her life as well. link to… Continue reading Article: Ur Digitization Project: Item of the Month, June 2012
Humanities Scholars 