By Patricia Meyer Spacks (Trustee; NHC Fellow, 1982–83; 1988–89) Explores the nature, morality, and aesthetics of gossip; examines gossip in history and the psychology of gossip; and analyzes gossip–as subject and literary technique–in plays, letters, biographies, and novels.
By Bart D. Ehrman (NHC Fellow, 2009–10; 2018–19) What happens when we die? A recent Pew Research poll showed that 72% of Americans believe in a literal heaven, 58% in a literal hell. Most people who hold these beliefs are Christian and assume they are the age-old teachings of the Bible. But eternal rewards and … Continued
By Elizabeth A. Clark (NHC Fellow, 1988–89; 2001–02) In this work of sweeping erudition, one of our foremost historians of early Christianity considers a variety of theoretical critiques to examine the problems and opportunities posed by the ways in which history is written. Elizabeth Clark argues forcefully for a renewal of the study of premodern Western history … Continued
Edited by Louise McReynolds (NHC Fellow, 1995–96; 1999–00) and Joan Neuberger Imitations of Life views Russian melodrama from the eighteenth century to today as an unexpectedly hospitable forum for considering social issues. The contributors follow the evolution of the genre through a variety of cultural practices and changing political scenarios. They argue that Russian audiences have … Continued
By Orin Starn (NHC Fellow, 2001–02) After the Yahi were massacred in the mid-nineteenth century, Ishi survived alone for decades in the mountains of northern California, wearing skins and hunting with bow and arrow. His capture in 1911 made him a national sensation; anthropologist Alfred Kroeber declared him the world's most "uncivilized" man and made … Continued
By Luis Nicolau Parés (NHC Fellow, 2010–11) By combining oral traditions and rituals with handwritten and printed documents, Luis Nicolau Parés wrote a remarkable story of the slaves brought to Brazil, originaores from the region where the powerful kingdom of Dahomey was located, in the present Republic of Benin.
By Linda Dégh (NHC Fellow, 1990–91) Legend and Belief is a descriptive and analytical study of the legend, the most prolific and characteristic form of folklore in contemporary Western civilization. Not that the legend does not have ancient roots; like the tale, the joke, the ballad, the proverb, and mummery, it was also a part … Continued
By Ginger S. Frost (NHC Fellow, 2002–03) Living in sin is the first book-length study of cohabitation in nineteenth-century England, based on research into the lives of hundreds of couples. 'Common-law' marriages did not have any legal basis, so the Victorian courts had to wrestle with unions that resembled marriage in every way, yet did … Continued
By Anthony W. Marx (NHC Fellow, 1997–98) In this bold, original and persuasive book, Anthony W. Marx provocatively links the construction of nations to the construction of racial identity. Using a comparative historical approach, Marx analyzes the connection between race as a cultural and political category rooted in the history of slavery and colonialism, and … Continued
By Reinhard Bernbeck (NHC Fellow, 2015–16) Only a few contemporary witnesses can provide information about the conditions in the camps of the National Socialist tyranny. The archive material is often unproductive, especially in the case of smaller facilities such as sub-concentration camps and forced labor camps. But their traces can be found everywhere in Central … Continued