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American poet Phillis Wheatley spent the majority of her life embroiled in a clash of cultures. Her poetry revealed much about colonial society in eighteenth century New England and its hierarchal relationships. As a Christian, a slave, a woman, a poet and an African, Wheatley experienced discrimination on several fronts. Her poetry gave insight into… MORE
Thomas W. Laqueur, winner of the Mellon Foundation’s 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award, is the Helen Fawcett Professor of History at U.C. Berkeley. Professor Laqueur earned his Ph.D. in 1973 from Princeton University. His first book, Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud, advanced the two-sex model in sexual history. His most recent… MORE
Modern or Western Civilization is a historical field that is always at odds with itself: What is modern? Where do you start? What is the “Western” civilization and is it superior to the “Eastern”? Who are we including and why? Who are we disregarding and why? How are the events studied linked together? Do they… MORE
The Villain of the Fourth of July On Independence Day, you won’t see Americans toast the United States with mugs of tea. Hot weather aside, tea is the villain of Fourth of July celebrations.While the holiday honors the Declaration of Independence, the Boston Tea Party is one of many revolutionary acts Americans will patriotically reflect on… MORE