Tag: history

Talking History

What’s on my Cherry Blossom Playlist?

A personal exploration of the music history behind my favorite songs for spring! Sareena Dubey Set to the backdrop of billowing cherry blossom petals and a Tidal Basin burgeoning with people, Masayoshi Takanaka’s song “Beleza Pula” interrupts the peace with the sharply spoken phrase “Beleza Pula, Malandro!” The distinct birdlike sound of the cuica contrasts with the soft background vocals which trail the upbeat melody … Continue reading What’s on my Cherry Blossom Playlist?

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Writing History

Scalpel and Prism: Social Science and the Humanities in the Historian’s Toolkit

Zhenhao (Oscar) Yu Historian Marc Bloch argues that young colleagues should not pigeonhole themselves in the category of either social science or humanities. In his view, historians are quintessential scientists because they collaborate with scientists in other fields and incorporate new methodologies into their studies. They use science as a scalpel to dissect dramatic themes such as geological or linguistic changes. In their role as … Continue reading Scalpel and Prism: Social Science and the Humanities in the Historian’s Toolkit

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Talking History

Neo-Tsarist Foreign Policy: From Tsardom to Stardom

Krystel von Kumberg It is important to consider how international security has evolved since Russian Tsardom (1547-1721) and the Russian Empire (1721-1917). Logic would dictate that as new dynamic threats emerge, Russia’s national and foreign security objectives would change, as national and foreign policy largely depend on the staging of the international landscape. However, despite new developments, Putin’s stardom suggests that, on the surface, not … Continue reading Neo-Tsarist Foreign Policy: From Tsardom to Stardom

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Talking History

The Anthropocene Comes to an End: Humans and Nature 

 Zhenhao Yu The Anthropocene is the period of time when humans influence their natural environment in many ways, such as prehistoric agriculture, the Columbian Exchange, the Industrial Revolution, and nuclear power. Although many scholars are debating which historical event marks the beginning of the Anthropocene, I argue that the term Anthropocene itself is problematic in understanding global history, and essentially, the relationship between humans and … Continue reading The Anthropocene Comes to an End: Humans and Nature 

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Talking History

Historia y Guerra en la Niebla: Historical Vagueness in Disney’s Encanto

Miguel Ángel Torres Yunda Encanto (2021) details the lives of the Madrigal family and the struggle to heal from generational trauma. From the beginning of Encanto, the film focuses on setting the location of Encanto as a Colombian town by displaying items such as arepas, sombreros vueltiaos, mochilas Wayuu, ajiaco soup, or with Colombia written on maps or painted on the side of a house. … Continue reading Historia y Guerra en la Niebla: Historical Vagueness in Disney’s Encanto

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Talking History

A Triangle of Impossibilities: The Israeli Lebanese Maritime Border

Rawan Chaker Globalization, advances in technology, and intensifying economic competition between states have amplified oceans’ importance in international affairs. Access to maritime spaces means access to natural resources and foreign direct investment. While clearly defined borders are one of the foundations for national sovereignty, these borders become much more ambiguous in maritime spaces. The unique cultural and geopolitical history of the Arab-Israeli conflict has produced … Continue reading A Triangle of Impossibilities: The Israeli Lebanese Maritime Border

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Talking History

Reckoning with the Past: Nazi-Looted Art Restitution in Austria

Kathleen Walsh In 2015, the Austrian Commission for Provenance Research announced that a painting by the famous Austrian artist Gustav Klimt had been restituted to the wrong family. The initial research confused two Klimt paintings that Nazis stole from Jewish families during World War II: “Apple Tree II” and “Roses Under the Trees.” While the heirs of Nora Stiasny–an Austrian Jewish art collector killed in … Continue reading Reckoning with the Past: Nazi-Looted Art Restitution in Austria

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Writing History

A Conversation with Michael Kazin

Mariam Aiyad Michael Kazin is a historian of US History, writer, and professor in the History Department at Georgetown University. Journalism has always been a key factor in Michael Kazin’s life. Throughout middle school, high school, and college, Kazin wrote and edited for his school newspaper. Later in his early career, he wrote for Leftist underground newspapers. As a member of the Democratic Socialists of … Continue reading A Conversation with Michael Kazin

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Making History

What is Liberia to a US Historian? Bicentennial Reflections Part II

Casey Donahue Few nations’ founding loom so large in the American imagination. In US historiography, the pursuit of the Liberian Republic—begun in the early 1820s and realized in 1847—is perhaps the most highly symbolized origin story of any nation that is not the United States. It appears in our national narratives not as a critical study of African state-building, but as a palimpsest, on which … Continue reading What is Liberia to a US Historian? Bicentennial Reflections Part II

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Making History

An Agreeable Liberian History: Bicentennial Reflections Part I

Casey Donahue Liberia is putting a new spin on an old story. A bicentennial marking the arrival of the republic’s first American settlers has elicited proud nostalgia for the civic values they brought with them; but it also conjures painful memories of the unequal and ethnically stratified society they launched. In their quest to reconcile the anniversary’s contentious dual meanings, Liberian leaders have promoted a … Continue reading An Agreeable Liberian History: Bicentennial Reflections Part I

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