Assata Shakur was an important figure during and after the civil rights movement. Being an African American woman, she was disadvantaged both in terms of race and gender. Hence her social activism served a two-fold purpose. But her association with the militant wings of the civil rights movement, such as the Black Panther Party and…
Category: History
Scientific progress according to Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Kuhn was one of the pre-eminent scientific voices of the twentieth century. He made key contributions to physics; but his most important works were about the history and philosophy of science. His most influential work is The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in which Kuhn offers the processes and conditions under which scientific progress takes…
The importance of patriotism (aiguozhuyi) for Chinese intellectuals: A study w.r.t. Confucian values, historical events and the idea of ‘national humiliation’
It is a widely acknowledged fact that Chinese society and its prevailing culture are closely linked to its unique conception of terms such as ‘nation’ and ‘patriotism’. Contributing to this uniqueness is the fact that Imperial China of the last five centuries had evaded attempts by European Imperial powers to fully colonize it. Barring the…
The Ways of Her Household by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Ulrich argues that housekeeping can be a challenging, complex task requiring real skill and intelligence. How so? At the beginning of the essay, Ulrich sets out the details of some of the daily chores that women in Colonial America performed each day. Unlike the electronic amenities and appliances available to women in modern times, the…
History of the eradication of Smallpox
Smallpox has been one of the most fatal infectious diseases to have afflicted humankind in recorded history. From the earliest recorded occurrences of the disease we learn that the disease spread rapidly where ever human population was dense and killed one in five of infected persons. Children were particularly vulnerable, as it claimed one in…
Two Lives of Charlemagne by Einhard and Notker the Stammerer: Summary and Analysis
Charlemagne, translated into English as Charles the Great, was the King of the Franks, who expanded his empire to as further south as Italy. We learn from the two biographies that Charlemagne was instrumental in the spread of culture and arts to all corners of his kingdom. By closely associating himself with the Papacy, he…
‘Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial’ by Peter Eisenman
Without doubt, the Holocaust is the biggest human tragedy of the twentieth century. A combination of circumstances had led to the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews from all across Europe. The importune rise of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party and the flood of propaganda under the Third Reich banner had driven the German population to…
Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War, 1862-1865, by Noah Andre Trudeau
The book titled Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War, written by Noah Andre Trudeau is an important historical book, for it exclusively deals with the experience of African American combatants during the Civil War. While there is copious scholarly literature on the Civil War, this book offers a unique apolitical perspective…
Response to the narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass is one of the most prominent African American heroes in the history of the United States. He was among the small group of pioneers who, through the example of their lives and brave political actions, advocated the abolition of slavery. During his lifetime, he gained popularity as a charismatic and eloquent speaker. He…
Alexander Hamilton’s role in establishing the US Treasury and laying the foundation for the American Economic System
Alexander Hamilton, alongside such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison is rightly considered as a founding father of the United States of America. In the second half of the eighteenth century, when British colonies in America entered a period of fervent political change, intellectuals such as Hamilton played…