The Ainu, native to the region of Hokkaido, are one of the oldest indigenous people in Japan. Their unique culture, language, and history predate the creation of modern Japan and set them apart from the rest of the country.   Located in northern Honshu, Hokkaido, and parts of the Sakhalin and Kuril Islands, the […]

From the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1070 BCE) to the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305-30 BCE), the bond between the Egyptian pharaoh and the god Amon-Ra was celebrated at the Temple of Luxor (Thebes). Once a year, Amon-Ra traveled from his principal Karnak Temple (ipet-sut, “the most revered place”) to the Luxor Temple (ipet-resyt, “the southern sanctuary”). […]

The dawn of the 15th century marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Age of Exploration. In this century, the Portuguese would expand their reach beyond Europe and North Africa thanks to explorers like Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama. A great trade in spices and other valuable goods […]

Christian history has seen many Church councils where matters of doctrinal concern have been discussed and clarified. Some, like the First Vatican Council which established the doctrine of Papal Infallibility when speaking ex-cathedra, have little bearing on Christianity as a whole. They speak to Catholic Theology specifically. Other councils, however, have become the backbone […]

In her magnum opus, The Second Sex, 20th-century philosopher Simone de Beauvoir famously proclaimed that “one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. At a time when female identity was exclusively determined on biological grounds, she sought to redefine gender away from biological determinism and reinterpret embodiment within an existentialist framework. Her contributions […]