This November, American families will gather around the dinner table to feast on stuffed turkey before celebrating a timeless Thanksgiving tradition: Thursday Night Football. Thanksgiving as we know it bears little resemblance to historical events. Once upon a time, Native Americans shared stores of food with English settlers—strangers from across the Atlantic—who would have starved…
Currently Viewing: Humanities
“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure …” — Gandalf in “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien Adventure calls and a hero answers. Along the way, they encounter unlikely allies, formidable foes, and trials that will test their resolve. Against all odds, they prevail, and the world will never be the same. Sound…
The Boston Tea Party is one of those historical events that most Americans know about, though for many the details are somewhat sketchy. (Spoiler alert: It wasn’t a party, and no tea was consumed, though it was the focus of the event.) The Boston Tea Party was actually a revolutionary statement to Parliament and the…
You stuck around through the movie credits in the hope of seeing an extra scene at the end. Just before that scene, “MMXXIII” appears on the screen. Why? Depending upon when you went to school, you may have never learned that those letters represent “2023,” but there was a time when countless schoolkids had to. …
We’re back with five more feminist writers who changed history. If you didn’t catch our first list, you can find it here. History is replete with authors and poets who turned pain into prose, giving voice to the women of their time. There are so many feminist writers worth mentioning (and reading); we couldn’t possibly…
Language is ever-evolving, as exemplified by the latest updates to the Oxford English Dictionary. Additions like “blousette,” “gatekeep,” and “pumpkin spice” may seem inappropriate to traditionalists but are quaint in comparison to the words and phrases of Old English, the earliest form of the English language. The history of the English language is punctuated by…
The American continent before European contact was home to around 60 million people, with up to 18 million living in North America and divided into more than 500 diverse nations and tribes. The westward expansion of incoming European settlers who coveted the rich resources and fertile land in North America resulted in a purge of…
Harlem, New York, became an African American cultural mecca in the 1920s and the birth city of the most defining literary, art, and musical movement in African American history: the Harlem Renaissance. After World War I ended in 1918, racial tensions were at an all-time high. Soldiers returned to their homes weary of segregation, prejudice,…
More than 21 million dead, most of them civilians. The map of Europe redrawn. World War I—a conflict associated with the introduction of tanks, bombers, advanced artillery, chemical weapons, and trench warfare—left an indelible mark on civilization and the collective human psyche. History might’ve played out very differently, however, had a driver not made a…
If you’re considering a degree program as an entry point to a rewarding new career or greater earning potential, you have many choices. One path to higher earning potential may surprise you, however. You may have heard from well-intentioned family members or advisors that English is a degree to avoid if future employability and earning…
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