Plants, animals, and various symbolic objects have been featured in artistic depictions of Christian saints throughout history. Called attributes or emblems, these symbols—often held in the hands of the saints themselves—represent the exemplary nature of the saints’ lives. In the early days of Christianity, when many of the faithful were illiterate, these attributes made religious scenes and saints easily identifiable. Beheaded third century martyr Saint Denis is often depicted carrying what? Discuss
Talcott Parsons (1902)
From 1927 until his retirement in 1974, Parsons, an American sociologist, trained three generations of students at Harvard University. He was known for his attempt to construct a single theoretical framework within which general and specific characteristics of societies could be systematically classified and was largely responsible for introducing the work of Émile Durkheim and Max Weber to American sociologists. Why was Parsons considered one of the most controversial sociologists in the world? Discuss
Automatic Writing
Used as a form of channeling by proponents of Spiritualism and the New Age movement, automatic writing is a writing process that is performed without conscious thought or deliberation, at times, while the writer is in a trancelike state. Practitioners often attribute the resulting message to aliens, the deceased, the subconscious, or even God. Skeptics note, however, that there is no evidence to support such claims. Which books have allegedly been written using this technique? Discuss
Kenya Gains Independence from the United Kingdom (1963)
European settlers began establishing themselves as large-scale farmers in the Kenyan highlands in 1903, taking lands from local tribes like the Kikuyu and Masai. In 1920, the British designated the interior of the region Kenya Colony and a coastal strip the Protectorate of Kenya. Africans began protesting their inferior status, and the Kikuyu staged an armed revolt in the 1950s. Britain eventually put down the rebellion, but Kenya gained its independence soon after. Who was its first president? Discuss
Edvard Munch (1863)
Best known as the painter of The Scream, Munch was a Norwegian artist and an important forerunner of expressionistic art. His early life was marked by the deaths of his mother and favorite sister, and he said about his father: “From him I inherited the seeds of madness.” Aestheticizing his trauma, Munch visually explored primal themes like death, sex, and fear. Reaction to his stark and sometimes fearsome images caused his first major exhibition to be closed. How did he feel about this? Discuss
The English Civil War
The English Civil War, which began in 1642, consisted of a series of conflicts between Parliamentarians and the Royalist supporters of King Charles I and, later, King Charles II. Ending with Parliamentary victory in 1651, the conflicts left England, Scotland, and Ireland without a monarch. After the execution of Charles I and the exile of Charles II, the monarchy was replaced with a republican commonwealth government led by Oliver Cromwell. When was Charles II restored to the throne? Discuss
Hector Berlioz (1803)
Berlioz was a French Romantic composer. He studied music in Paris against his parents’ wishes, and his first great score, Symphonie fantastique, became a landmark of the Romantic era. An impassioned and contentious critic, he was constantly at war with the musical establishment. Although he was the most compelling French musical figure of his time, his distinctive compositional style kept almost all his music out of the repertory until the mid-20th century. What are his most famous works? Discuss
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Makhno was an anarcho-communist Ukrainian revolutionary who refused to align with the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution in 1917. The enormous social experiment in anarchism that he helped create in Ukraine, first by driving out opposing armies and then by organizing the new anarchist system, was cut short by the Bolsheviks in 1921, when he was finally forced into exile. What anarchist work co-written by Makhno remains both influential and controversial today? Discuss
UN General Assembly Adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
Drafted by a committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the world’s most translated document. Among its 30 articles are definitions of civil and political rights, as well as definitions of economic, social, and cultural rights—all of which are owed by UN member states to those under their jurisdiction. Since its adoption, it has acquired more juridical status than originally intended and has been widely used, even by national courts, in what ways? Discuss
Emily Dickinson (1830)
Dickinson is widely considered one of the greatest American poets. After attending Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Seminary, she returned to her family home and spent the rest of her life there, writing. By 1860, she was boldly experimenting with language. Few of her poems were published in her lifetime, but after her death, her cache of poems was discovered, and heavily edited collections were published starting in 1890. It was not until what year that an unaltered collection was published? Discuss