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Hey folks, Fireside this week! As I noted a couple of weeks ago, things are probably going to get more than a little fireside-y over the next few weeks, simply because of the start of the semester – and a semester in which I am undertaking a set of entire new preps (that is, teaching … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 27, 2025 (On Defending History) →
This is the start of the fourth part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) discussing the structures of life for pre-modern peasants, who made up the majority of all humans who have ever lived. In the last few sections, we’ve looked broadly at how mortality, marriage and childbearing patterns shape the households these folks … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVa: Subsistence and a Little More →
Hey folks, Fireside this week! The new semester is starting up next week, so things may be a little more fireside-y than usual over the next few weeks, but I do promise we will get to the end of “Life, Work, Death and the Peasant” eventually. That said, since I am teaching Latin rather than … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 15, 2025 (On Latin Pronunciation) →
This is the back half of the third part of our series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the patterns of life for the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of humans who lived in the past. Last week, we started looking at family formation through the lens of marriage, this week we’ll consider it … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIb: Children and Childrearing →
This is the first part of the third part of our series (I, II) discussing the patterns of life of the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of all humans who lived in our agrarian past and indeed a majority of all humans who have ever lived. Last week, we looked at death, … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIa: Family Formation →
More in history
The Mesoamerican worldview, cyclical and dualistic, understood the universe as a system in constant renewal. The cosmos was organized into 13 heavens and nine underworlds arranged along a central axis, with the earth in the middle. Mictlan was the place where those who died in any way not associated with war, water, or premature […]
Did It Matter That Elizabeth I Was a Woman? JamesHoare Thu, 09/04/2025 - 08:50
In 1982, BBC Southwest broadcast The Colour Black, a documentary about the colour black (natch.) made by The Stranglers’ Hugh Cornwell and Jet Black. Cornwell says they “were asked to put together a piece about the colour black for an arts programme called RPM“. Presented by Andy Batten-Foster, RPM was short for Rectangular Picture Machine. … Continue reading "The Stranglers Present The Colour Black And Other Worlds, 1982" The post The Stranglers Present The Colour Black And Other Worlds, 1982 appeared first on Flashbak.
Vibia Perpetua was a Roman noblewoman who converted to Christianity early in the 3rd century CE. Her refusal to worship a Roman god resulted in her arrest and, ultimately, her execution in 203 CE. Only 22, with a baby son, she kept a diary chronicling her last days in prison, a diary which represents […]
Playing God: Mossad’s Murder of Achmed Bouchiki JamesHoare Wed, 09/03/2025 - 08:50
