Why We Study Art: Introducing Crash Course Art History

Crash Court Art History Preview (2:26): "Over the next 22 episodes, Sarah Urist Green will explore the hidden stories behind artworks. We’ll make connections across time and space, unlock the secrets of the past, and look ahead to the art of the future." Transcript. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6RJUzuVq4w Key texts cited include: Art History Volume 1, 6th edition …

How to Define Fascism?

"The danger of fascism lies in its ability to coopt legitimate resentments resulting from inequality and refashion them as hostility towards outsiders. Instead of addressing working-class grievances, fascistic regimes offer their followers a different form of reward by redrawing the lines of inclusion and exclusion, mass-producing myth and arms in equal measure. Until moderates and …

Life for Lowest Classes in Roman Empire Was Awful

New archaelogical digging and research at Pompei, Italy, where a volcanic eruption from Mount Vesuvius buried Romans in ash, creating a snapshot of life nearly 2,000 years ago, in 79 A.D. reveals that the lowest class of society lived like and with animals, donkeys. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/world/europe/pompeii-ruins-slaves.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/world/europe/pompeii-ruins-slaves.html

Italian-American School Segregation Ends in Violence

NYTN, a Youtube channel by Danielle Romero who moved from New York to Tennessee, explores Italian heritage. "My great-grandmother Lola left her heritage behind in Louisiana when she moved to NY in the 1930s. Last year, I decided to uncover our family story and begin finding our roots. I'm still on the journey of hidden …

History’s Most Famous Mug Shots

Former President Donald Trump did not actually pose for an arrest mugshot on Tuesday, though fake images have certainly spread around the Internet, according to the Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-mug-shot-fact-check-2a57de9b109fa95f833c62e5509b9e45 The Washington Post examines other famous mugshots since the 1890s, when Vladimir Lenin was arrested in St. Petersburg, Russia for his revolutionary activities. Other famous mugshots …

Best Preserved Buildings From the Roman Empire

Ancient Rome Live: "The Pantheon, Colosseum, Curia, and more, in Rome. Then, we'll travel throughout the Empire: amphitheater in Tunisia, "Trajan's Kiosk" in Egypt, a castrum in Jordan, a sanctuary in Lebanon, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, Odeon in Athens, Diocletian's villa in Split, the emperor's audience hall in Trier! 14 of the best preserved buildings …

The Remarkable Travels of Marco Polo in the 1200s and 1300s

Myth: Venetian blinds were invented in Venice, Italy. (Check it out at History's Myths.) If Marco Polo had traveled North or West instead of East to Persia and China and South to Egypt where he traded things for window blinds, the story goes, "it would have been curtains for all of us." That's a legend, …

Napoleon: Two Powerful Documentary Series

In 2000, PBS released a four-part documentary on Napoleon, which is still used in classrooms to teach students about the enormous impact Bonaparte had on European history and the world. It is still evocative and fascinating. Outline of the four installments on the PBS mini-site. It was produced as part of the Empires series. Here's …

Vatican Documents Show Secret Back Channel Between Pope Pius XII and Adolf Hitler

PBS NewsHour: "A series of recently opened Vatican archives are shedding new light on the relationship between Pope Pius XII and Adolf Hitler as he led Nazi Germany during World War II. A new book takes a deeper look at these revelations. Historian David Kertzer, author of “The Pope At War: The Secret History of …

The Medici – Godfathers of the Renaissance

Tsenka Stoycheva: "From a small Italian community in 15th century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artisitc revolution in Western history- the European Renaissance. But …