By James L. Peacock (NHC Fellow, 2003–04) The world is flat? Maybe not, says this paradigm-shifting study of globalism's impact on a region legendarily resistant to change. The U.S. South, long defined in terms of its differences with the U.S. North, is moving out of this national and oppositional frame of reference into one that … Continued
By Walter E. Kaegi (NHC Fellow, 1996–97) This book evaluates the life and empire of the pivotal yet controversial Byzantine emperor Heraclius (ad. 610-641), a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad. His stormy war-torn reign is critical for understanding the background to fundamental changes in the Balkans and the Middle East, including the emergence of Islam. … Continued
By Joanne Meyerowitz (NHC Fellow, 1999–00) How Sex Changed is a fascinating social, cultural, and medical history of transsexuality in the United States. Joanne Meyerowitz tells a powerful human story about people who had a deep and unshakable desire to transform their bodily sex. In the last century when many challenged the social categories and hierarchies of race, … Continued
By William E. Leuchtenburg (Trustee; NHC Fellow, 1978–79; 1979–80; 1980–81)
By Bettye Collier-Thomas (NHC Fellow, 2001–02; 2014–15) “The Negroes must have Jesus, Jobs, and Justice,” declared Nannie Helen Burroughs, a nationally known figure among black and white leaders and an architect of the Woman’s Convention of the National Baptist Convention. Burroughs made this statement about the black women’s agenda in 1958, as she anticipated the … Continued
By Susan Guettel Cole (NHC Fellow, 1996–97) The division of land and consolidation of territory that created the Greek polis also divided sacred from productive space, sharpened distinctions between purity and pollution, and created a ritual system premised on gender difference. Regional sanctuaries ameliorated competition between city-states, publicized the results of competitive rituals for males, … Continued
By Jerzy Szacki (NHC Fellow, 1992–93) Szacki defines liberalism in an Eastern European context – in terms of its historical background, the lack of a liberal tradition in the region, and its incompatibility with the communist state.
By Andrew Cayton (NHC Fellow, 2012–13) In 1798, English essayist and novelist William Godwin ignited a transatlantic scandal with Memoirs of the Author of "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman." Most controversial were the details of the romantic liaisons of Godwin's wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, with both American Gilbert Imlay and Godwin himself. Wollstonecraft's life and writings … Continued
By Zsuzsanna Gulácsi (NHC Fellow, 2006–07; 2016–17) The founder of Manichaeism, Mani (216-274/277 CE), not only wrote down his teachings to prevent their adulteration, but also created a set of paintings—the Book of Pictures—to be used in the context of oral instruction. That pictorial handscroll and its later editions became canonical art for Mani's followers for … Continued
By Helen Solterer (NHC Fellow, 2002–03) Ranging from France to Russia to America in the throes of world war and revolution, Medieval Roles for Modern Times investigates how critics and creators made medieval culture a part of their modern world through theatrical role-playing. On both the Left and the Right across Europe, partisans used drama to express … Continued