Edited by Gianna Pomata (NHC Fellow, 2003–04) and Nancy G. Siraisi The early modern genre of historia connected the study of nature and the study of culture from the early Renaissance to the eighteenth century. The ubiquity of historia as a descriptive method across a variety of disciplines—including natural history, medicine, antiquarianism, and philology—indicates how … Continued
By Deborah E. Harkness (NHC Fellow, 2004–05) Bestselling author Deborah Harkness (A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night) explores the streets, shops, back alleys, and gardens of Elizabethan London, where a boisterous and diverse group of men and women shared a keen interest in the study of nature. These assorted merchants, gardeners, barber-surgeons, midwives, instrument … Continued
By Michael Lienesch (NHC Fellow, 1998–99) The current controversy over teaching evolution in the public schools has grabbed front-page headlines and topped news broadcasts all across the United States. In the Beginning investigates the movement that has ignited debate in state legislatures and at school board meetings. Reaching back to the origins of antievolutionism in the 1920s, … Continued
By George Saliba (NHC Fellow, 1997–98)
In the summer of 1962 the prestigious New Yorker magazine published excerpts from a sensational new book by Rachel Carson. In Silent Spring Carson argued that humankind was fatally tampering with nature by its reckless misuse of chemical pesticides, particularly the ubiquitous new wonder chemical DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane). In riveting chapters on the contamination of soil, … Continued
In July of 1925, the Tennessee jury in the Scopes “monkey” trial delivered its verdict, finding high school science teacher John T. Scopes guilty of teaching evolution. In a larger sense, however, the jury is still out. While we await the latest verdict, we can explore some questions that place the famous trial in the … Continued
Thanks to movies, video games, novels, and Elon Musk, Nikola Tesla has, in the past few years, has become a prominent figure in American pop culture. At the same time, his rival Thomas Edison has come to be seen as a greedy villain. In this talk, we will explore both the myth and facts around … Continued
For many, artificial intelligence, or AI, may seem like a new and possibly overwhelming concept. The reality is that AI is already being applied in industry and, for many of us, in our daily lives as well. A better understanding of AI can help you make informed decisions now that will impact the future of … Continued
Artificial intelligence allows us to experience and compare many different methods of making sense of the world. How can universities support this kind of multiplication and polyvalence in relation to the humanities and AI? Is the “human” we in the humanities defend against the machine actually defensible? And is the image of the machine we uphold as the non-human actually reflecting the kinds of machines AI engineers are building today?
Shakespeare’s enduring influence, his facility with language, and his empathic depiction of the human experience contribute not only to our sense of his genius, but make him an irresistible subject for artificial intelligence researchers.