Alexandria, Egypt: The Intellectual Capital of Antiquity

When I and my two sons hopped off a cruise ship to spend a day in Alexandria, Egypt, it was hard to imagine that it was once the "intellectual capital of antiquity," as Thersites the Historian characterizes it. The most enduring image my sons and I have of that city is, because it was Ramadan, …

Ken Burns’ Video Essay on Violent History of US Sparks Meditation on the Meaning of Patriotism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE_Tl9ovDIo In The Washington Post, historian and filmmaker Ken Burns says the violent history of the United States can be difficult to reckon with, perverting the meaning of patriotism. For many, choosing to remember our failings is somehow considered anti-American. But Burns argues the treatment of Native Americans across the country was often brutal, bloody, …

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present

How can we recognize authoritarian personalities and patterns of behavior that have brought ruin to their countries? The last century has been, in some respects, the era of "strongmen," according to Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. In "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present," she reviews the history of …

Is Society About to Fall Apart?

"How do we know when society is about to fall apart?" asked Ben Ehrenreich in the NYT Magazine. "Meet the scholars who study civilizational collapse." Ehrenreich is the author of "Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time." Bringing together climate science, mythologies, nature writing, and personal experiences, he "presents a stunning reckoning …

Mythology and Archetypes Inform Our Historical Understanding

Partisan politics and childish history lessons are full of alluring mythology. We are currently seeing President Trump and former Vice President Biden try to create mythologies about themselves and each other through advertising and news coverage. The election will be decided on which mythologies or "truths" -- at best a mixture of fact and interpretation …

Best Roman Ruins. Where Are the Romans Now?

Throughout Europe and the Middle East, you can find Roman ruins -- more than 40 in Rome, Italy. The 10 best Roman ruins outside Rome that give you a sense of the remarkable geographical span of the Roman Empire are in Merida, Spain; Leptis Magna, Libya; Pula, Croatia; Jerash, Jordan; Caesarea, Israel; Aspendos, Turkey; Baalbek, …

Does Impeachment History Provide Guide for Future? Yes and No

In assessing the first impeachment of President Trump in 2019 and 2020 Senate trial, many observers mainly remembered the impeachment of President Clinton, which backfired politically against Republicans in the short-term. They lost congressional seats in the 1998 midterms. Even John Boehner, one of the leaders of the Clinton impeachment, said decades later in his …

Aristotle and Socrates on the Nature of Governments and Relationships

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote that there are three forms of government: a monarchy, an aristocracy and a polity: governments by the one, the few, and the many. Each becomes corrupt when government seek to advance its own interests rather than the common good. As Jill Lepore explained on page 112 of  These Truths, …

Contrasting Labor Movements in US, England, Europe, Australia

Why are the British and European social safety nets so much more expansive than the US? Why are British and European labor unions so much stronger and labor laws so much stricter than in the US? First of all, the industrial revolution started about 100 years earlier in Britain and Europe. Well before 1820, the …

Why History and Culture Are Relevant to Teenagers

Admittedly, world history or even American history probably doesn't seem very useful or relevant to you if you can never imagine leaving your home state or even your home county. You might well be surprised. Who at 14-15-16-17-18 or even 22 or 30 can accurately predict their own future? No one. Ask most any adult …