History | Yale University Press Blog

July 14, 2011
in Humanities, Medieval & Renaissance History

The Invention of France: Happy Bastille Day!

July 14, 2011
in Humanities, Medieval & Renaissance History

Before the trois-couleurs, before the Eiffel Tower, before the Larousse Gastronomique, a 15th-century artist named Jean Fouquet was at work creating images that were utterly and exclusively French – though, at that time, saying “That is so… French!” might not have been very meaningful to many people. In a new book entitled Jean Fouquet and the Invention of France: Art and Nation after the Hundred Years War, Erik Inglis shows us that Fouquet was, in fact, shaping a national identity through his court painting for Charles VII and Louis XI.

July 13, 2011
in Current Affairs, History, Middle East Studies, Political Science, Social Science

Lost in Afghanistan

July 13, 2011
in Current Affairs, History, Middle East Studies, Political Science, Social Science

According to Taliban author, Ahmed Rashid, in this morning’s New York Times: “Afghanistan just got more dangerous and unpredictable.” Tim Bird and Alex Marshall’s Afghanistan: How the West Lost Its Way not only chronicles the United States’ longest war but also addresses the questions that have plagued the West since the early years.

July 11, 2011
in Current Affairs, History, Middle East Studies, Political Science, Religion, Social Science

Yemen: A Disturbing Prediction

July 11, 2011
in Current Affairs, History, Middle East Studies, Political Science, Religion, Social Science

With the Arab Spring affecting up to twenty nations, depending on the source, it is hard to know which warrants the most interest or concern. Victoria Clark, author of Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes, argues that the United States needs to make understanding Yemen a priority or risk the cultivation of more terrorists.

July 11, 2011
in Current Affairs, History, Middle East Studies, Religion, Social Science

Choosing the Veil, Quietly

July 11, 2011
in Current Affairs, History, Middle East Studies, Religion, Social Science

What symbols do you wear every day? Does your haircut symbolize your gender? Are you wearing a ring to tell the world you’re married, you graduated from a certain college, or just that you can afford it? In A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America, Leila Ahmed explores the trend of Muslim women embracing the veil since the 1970s after at least four decades of going bareheaded.

July 6, 2011
in East Asian Studies, History, Religion, Social Science

Happy Birthday to the Dalai Lama

July 6, 2011
in East Asian Studies, History, Religion, Social Science

His Holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama turns 76 today, according to the best estimates. His role in Tibet is described by Sam van Schaik in Tibet: A History, which examines Tibetan history and politics from 600 C.E. to the present.

July 5, 2011
in History, Middle East Studies, Religion, Social Science

The End of Three Worlds

July 5, 2011
in History, Middle East Studies, Religion, Social Science

Wondering if the world is going to end soon? We don’t blame you. Tsunamis and floods, earthquakes and nuclear melt-downs, Arctic iceberg melt-downs and tornados—and it’s not even 2012 yet. Just remember, people have been expecting the end of the world almost since it began. It’s all in how you

July 4, 2011
in American History, History, Humanities

Mr. Marilyn Monroe

July 4, 2011
in American History, History, Humanities

With Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe not only overshadowed the other women in his life; in their short years together, she overwhelmed the famous Yankees player himself. Jerome Charyn recounts the dark, riveting affair in Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil, better than the stories in films that made Monroe famous.

July 1, 2011
in American History, Humanities

Profitable Art in Modernist America

July 1, 2011
in American History, Humanities

The Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago was a giant in the world of shopping. Standing in the middle of the building in the central court, you looked up several stories to a huge, gorgeous Tiffany’s Favrile glass ceiling. You kept circling around back for another free sample of Frango

June 29, 2011
in History, Humanities

A Little Less Unknown: Bob Dylan

June 29, 2011
in History, Humanities

Bob Dylan does not want us to know who he is. He recently turned seventy, and if no one has figured him out by now, nobody probably ever will. The Andy Warhol Factory’s Screen Test of Bob Dylan, filmed in 1965 attempts to get close to him, figure out what

June 28, 2011
in History, Medieval & Renaissance History, Religion

To London, with Love: Bloody Mary Summer

June 28, 2011
in History, Medieval & Renaissance History, Religion

Ivan Lett– When Emperor Charles V was elected Holy Roman Emperor in June 1519, his influential position became incredibly important for the strength of his family. Only three years before, he had inherited the vast lands of the Spanish Empire, which already spanned the far ends of the globe, and