Has the age of the encyclopedic excellence passed us by, or can (or should) it be revived? The author praises the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica (1910-11) as "the last great encyclopedia." From the editorial: Its greatness derived not alone from its contributors or its organization but from the spirit infusing it. This spirit [...]
Humanities fed the soul in communist Romania: how the study of the humanities kept people alive, and allowed them to find truth when surrounded by falsehood. From the article: When I heard this story, I understood that the stereotype of the fluffy, useless liberal arts was a lie. If the study of literature or history [...]
Free speech and the humanities: do the humanities foster, or inhibit, freedom of expression? The author decries the "identity politics" and "improper advocacy" among the humanities, which undermine open, rigorous inquiry. From the article: The problem of political correctness is intensified by the increasing fixation of humanities and even history departments on “presentism,” that is, a preoccupation [...]
An encounter with Renaissance art, and its consequence: Boris Pasternak reflects on culture and individual genius. The chief thing that everyone carries away from an encounter with Italian art is the sensation of the tangible unity of our culture, whatever he may have seen this in, and whatever name he may give it. How much [...]
The fight over liberal arts education in Japan. The humanities and liberal arts are under pressure from the government, but have allies in the business community. From the article: the national government wants to focus national resources for higher education on fields that nourish students’ skills that are immediately adaptable to the needs of the labor [...]
A quarrel for the ages: Past Present, and Future are at odds with each other. Past: Can you hear me? Future: I am waiting for your voice, and your counsel. Speak up! Present: What's the fuss? Past: I am trying to speak to the Future. Future: I am trying to hear the Past. Present: You [...]
Computers transform our knowledge of the past. According to the author, computerized quantitative analysis offers insights that traditional historical study cannot. From the article: Huge swathes of our past are slowly but surely getting digitised as old books and scanned and organised. It stands to reason that surely once the historians get to work it [...]
A 1535 Latin Bible, owned by Henry VIII, contains annotations from the "great" English Bible written between 1539 and 1549, and were discovered recently by Dr. Eyal Poleg, a historian at the University of London through 3-D X-Ray imaging. "The book is a unique witness to the course of Henry's Reformation. Printed in 1535 by [...]
Do we need a calendar for the season of love?
Thoughts of Frederick Douglass on finding the trajectory of moral and social justice in the course of history. There is, in the world's government, a force which has in all ages been recognized, sometimes as Nemesis, sometimes as the judgment of God and sometimes as retributive justice; but under whatever name, all history attests the [...]
