Humanities

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales has impacted literature, history, and many other amazing parts of western civilization.

Examples of architecture designed, constructed or renovated with malice by a seriously annoyed and very determined individual. A fun page of quirky buildings!

More and more romance books are getting their film adaptations these days. Here are five of those books with a film adaptation that you should read first before you actually watch the latter:

Apollo was the favorite son of Zeus and one of the second generation of gods and goddesses in Greek myth. His twin sister was Artemis. He was an archer, a lawyer, the Sun God, and played the lute.

In 1897 Anita Hemmings became the first black graduate of Vassar. But because she was passing for white, when her race was discovered she almost wasn’t allowed to graduate.

What does the Mormon church teach about polygamy? What is the LDS policy on domestic abuse? Read this article to learn about the LDS position on this serious issue.

Edwin Booth, the great Shakespearean actor, achieved his fame through tragedy. Ironically, the tragic assassination of President Lincoln by his younger brother nearly undermined his success.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial salutes Veterans who died during the war. The Wall has an interesting history surrounded by controversy. The Three Servicemen Statue and Womens Memorial are also in the park.

Margaret Aylward was a nun who spent 6 months in Prison in Ireland. History of Baby Farms where thousands of babies died. She was the founder and Mother Superior of the Irish Sisters of the Holy Faith

Based on my research of reports written by teachers of language-less people in the deaf community, they have cognitive abilities despite their lack of language.

Noah and Allie met as teenagers in the summer of 1932. She came from wealth and Southern privilege. He was poor and a poet. The Notebook is a classic, powerful love story about the persistence of hope, the pursuit of love, and the presence of miracles across a lifetime, even in one’s twilight days.

Sylvia Plath's poem "Mirror" is a reflection on what it means to be a woman uncertain of the future, haunted by the past. When we look into the mirror, is what we see what we get?

William Wallace is most often associated by many with the movie, Braveheart. William Wallace, however, was very real and this page looks at the truth behind the myths.

The story of Frances Wills, Harriet Pickens, and Mildred McAfee–Three pioneering female officers who helped integrate the US Navy.

The inspiration behind the many pre-Raphaelite paintings of Arthurian lore.

Sister Nazarena was an American Camaldolese nun, who lived like an Egyptian hermit in a Roman convent for forty-five years.

Gutenberg's printing press was a great historical event. Before it, all books had to be laboriously hand copied. His invention sparked a cultural revolution that would change the world forever...

When you want to learn about World War II, hear it from people who were there.

The Roman Baths complex in the city of Bath, England, is a major tourist attraction. It offers a fascinating look at the lives of Ancient Romans in Britain.

A secret coded message to Confederate General Pemberton was finally decoded in 2008.

Sweet Fanny Adams is used by the British to describe anything worthless. It is also the name of a pretty young girl murdered in Victorian England. This is how Fanny's name became slang for worthless.

A line-by-line analysis of the elements used by Robert Frost within his poem "After Apple Picking" that give it depth and meaning.

The artillery personnel in World War II were some of the most skilled soldiers in the US Army and their Battalions were built to fight.

Explore the lives of these six lesbian women in history and answer the question: were they, or weren't they?

This article takes a look at the meaning of bamboo in east Asian art, some of the great Chinese bamboo painters, and a little about Chinese, Japanese, and Korean bamboo paintings.

Practical tips on how to increase your reading speed.

Over 100 great problem solution or proposal paper topic ideas, plus sample essays and links to articles on how to write an excellent paper!

Mary Elizabeth Bowser operated as a Union spy in the household of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Never caught, she was one of the most productive Union operatives of the Civil War.

British propaganda in WW1 accused the Germans of shipping their dead soldiers in a “corpse factory” where they would be rendered into oils, candles, nitroglycerin, and other products.

Emily Dickinson's poem, "The Brain - is wider than the Sky," compares and contrasts the human brain with the sky, the sea, and God.

This is an analytical essay that examines the racial issues in Shakespeare's play, "Othello." The play ponders whether race is a social fabrication or an innate ugliness of human nature.

Everyone loves a royal marriage. King George IV and his bride Princess Caroline was a royal marriage that became a royal disaster very quickly. It would be fair to say they intensely disliked each other from the day they met

In the Civil War, Col. Hiram Berdan’s Sharpshooters were an elite corps in the Union army. Even the Confederates recognized their effectiveness.

Get to know The Wife of Bath, one of the pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales. She is a strong willed woman, married five times and on the look out for number six! Never dull, she wants equality with men.

A look at two of fiction's greatest wizards. Gandalf and Saruman were central characters to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga.

A red herring and a fine or pretty kettle of fish are idioms with an interesting history. Both the literal meanings of the terms and the unexpected ones are fun to explore.

Edward Jenner infected people with cowpox to protect them from smallpox. Mary Montagu gave people a mild case of smallpox to protect them from a serious case.

Did General George Gordon Meade, Union commander at Gettysburg, miss a golden opportunity to end the Civil War in 1863 by failing to cut off Robert E. Lee’s retreat?

Meet some of the characters of Grand Canyon's human history.

In the world of philosophy many different answers to the same problem can be equally valid.

HMS Perseus, a British submarine with 61 souls on board, sank in the Mediterranean in December 1941. One man, John Capes, escaped a watery grave against impossible odds.

Henry "Box" Brown escaped from slavery in Richmond, Virginia by hiding himself inside an express package and sending the box as freight to Philadelphia

Robert Smalls’ capture of a Confederate ship made him a Civil War hero. But during Reconstruction, he fought just as heroically for equal rights for African Americans.

Imprisoned for helping the Jews and aiding the resistance in Nazi-occupied Holland, Cornelia "Corrie" ten Boom survived the Holocaust to found a worldwide ministry based on love and forgiveness.

Some saints traveled to Heaven by way of an illumined path. Others, no less holy, journeyed in darkness. These saints teach us how to bear with doubts.

Before Jackie Robinson wore #42 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was a US Army officer court-martialed after refusing to go to the back of the bus.

Why are there so many similarities in the life story and teachings of Jesus Christ and Buddha? Were the authors of The Holy Bible influenced by Eastern traditions?

Is death the end of consciousness? Why are there so many documented cases in the medical field of people having out-of-body experiences and being conscious of their surroundings while near death?

The Civil War Battle Of Vicksburg gave the North a great strategic advantage, and brought US Grant to the top among Union generals, positioning him to finally win the war.

In 1949, Simon the Cat was promoted to Able Seaman Simon and later received the highest decoration in the animal kingdom for bravery on board HMS Amethyst near the end of the Chinese Civil War.

An oral storytelling performance can be both entertaining and educational. Prose, poems, and songs can all tell a story. Myths and traditional tales are often shared orally.

Charles Bukowski was a prolific writer who produced a lot of poetry books in his lifetime (there are over sixty books currently in publication at the last count). It wasn't easy to choose, but here are what I believe to be the 5 best Charles Bukowski poetry books.

In 1914, military aviation was in its infancy. By the end of World War One, just four years later, Germany had giant bombers larger than those they would use in World War Two.

Feudalism shaped the Middle Ages in Europe and defined the social and economic relationships between people from the 9th through to the 15th century. Here are 15 facts about Feudalism.

There is much debate surrounding the inevitability of the American Civil War. Some scholars believe that the war was caused by an irresponsible generation of politicians, while others believe that it was due to an irreconcilable conflict. This is a brief examination of the issue.

Samuel Upham ran a perfectly legal counterfeiting business during the Civil War that helped destroy the value of Confederate money, and hastened the collapse of the Southern economy.

John Charles Fremont was a great explorer but a poor Civil War general. His attempts to evade being replaced required Lincoln to take extraordinary measures to fire him.

Fells Point, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a waterfront area filled with 18th-century homes. The National Historic Register of Places recognizes Fells Point's historic and architectural significance.

God reveals Himself by many names throughout the scriptures that express a quality of His character that is vital for us to know. One in particular stands out to me lately in reference to the miracle of the five loaves and two fish as told in all four of the Gospels (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-16, and John 6:5-14) - signifying a lesson that applies to every sphere of our life. El Shaddai the "All Sufficient One" is the name that reminds me of the Lord at this event.

Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone revolutionized 19th century communication and was the precursor to the development of of the satellite mobile communications revolution of today...

Is Wikipedia a reliable source of accurate information? Most of the time it is. But there are times when it definitely is not.

It is hard to believe that in the 19th century, a man could have his wife committed to a psychiatric hospital based solely upon his whim. Yet it was the law that made this possible.

In 1968 Peanuts, the most popular comic strip in history, was still all white. But a concerned schoolteacher convinced Charles Schulz to bring a black kid into the cast.

Future time travel might be possible because it doesn’t break any laws of physics, but traveling to the past is doubtful because we can’t change what already occurred. Here’s a full discussion.

An in-depth analysis of William Shakespeare's King Lear. Scrutinizes how Shakespeare used what we know to be as a fool to show wisdom and how even kings can be quite foolish.

Russian literature is known for its great psychological depth and a focus on moral dilemmas.

Evolution is one of the best-supported bodies of knowledge in science. Creationism, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design are religious concepts, not science.

The first sonnet in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese features a speaker who expresses the fruitlessness of dwelling on death and the melancholy such musing will create.

Sufism is explored in the novel "The Forty Rules of Love" and the film "Bab'Aziz." Shafak, the author, and Khemir, the director, both show the peacful and loving side of Islam. This essay includes a brief summary of key plot points and an analysis of Sufism in each piece.

Everybody knows the United States of America. But where do the names of all the states come from? The aim of this page is to chart the origins and meanings of the names of all 50 States of the Union.

For thousands of years leaders have resorted to using walls to protect them from external threats; they almost never work.

Confederate civilians trapped in Vicksburg during General Ulysses Grant’s 1863 Vicksburg campaign dug caves to avoid the shelling, and were reduced to eating dogs, cats, and rats.

The Secret Garden is a story about a seemingly magical garden that has healing powers. The garden has been hidden for ten years when a young girl discovers it.

In the Civil War Robert E. Lee was a defender of slavery, while Ulysses S. Grant did all he could to destroy it. But it was Lee who thought slavery was morally wrong, while Grant seemed not to care one way or the other.

On its way to the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee terrorized black citizens by attempting to capture and transport them south into slavery.

To drive the Germans out of the city of Zwolle in the Netherlands, the Canadian Army was prepared to level it. French-Canadian Private Leo Major had other plans.

The kiss can be an obligatory greeting,  a sign of respect, a personal expression of caring concern, and so much more.

In the past, being a church leader was an occupation that carried with it the prospect of an untimely demise.

One thing that sets humans apart from all other animals is our ability to gain language. Language is such a complex topic and often debated, especially whether it has come from nature or nurture.

The most efficient branch of the U.S. Army in World War II was the artillery. 20 years of innovations between the wars helped make it the best in the world.

There has been a long-standing debate over the true definition of tragedy in dramatic literature. Read this discussion of Aristotle's definition weighed against three tragedies written in different centuries.

Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois both fought in different ways for African American equal rights. But Du Bois accused Washington of counseling blacks to accept second class status.

Stephen Hawking said, “There is no God. I am an atheist.” What is the science that informs his statement, and why are his critics wrong?

Before the Civil War, William T. Sherman a founder of the military academy that became Louisiana State University. He was still loved by Confederate former students even as they fought against him.

Fowler's story is biographical fiction based on the life of Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald told through the voice of Zelda. It portrays Zelda as a suppressed feminist struggling to exist in a man's world. This review will explain the unique nature of this perspective and if it's a worthwhile read.

Sam Patch, a mill worker from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, captivated the American public in the 1820s with his spectacular, death-defying leaps off waterfalls and other high, dangerous places. Patch became known as the "Jersey Jumper" and the "Yankee Leaper," as he conquered the Great Falls in Paterson, New Jersey, Niagara Falls, and the Upper Falls of the Genesee River in Rochester, New York. He died making his second jump at the Genesee falls, but he became an American folk hero.

Every person has a guardian angel. Only the rarest of souls have seen them. Padre Pio saw and spoke regularly with the guardian angels of his spiritual children.

The historians of the 1st and 2nd centuries were barely aware of the Jewish messianic sect of Christianity and wrote nothing about Jesus Christ. The few mentions that exist are forgeries.

Life in the trenches during World War I was a terrifying, grim affair. But amid the horrors of the Great War, how did the soldiers spend their leisure time and enjoy themselves on the Western Front?

This article summarizes the career of legendary explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett, who vanished in Brazil during 1925. The story also provides many theories explaining how and why he disappeared.

Ever since I was a little girl I've had a fascination with fairies. There are so many stories about them in so many cultures and traditions, that I can't help but wonder whether there is some basis in truth for their existence.

False reasoning leads to false conclusions and precludes rational thinking and debate. Learn how to recognize and avoid logical fallacies and how to defend yourself against them.

Magazines, books, art materials, toilet tissue, wall-coverings, tickets, posters, packaging and even money are all made from paper. But where does paper come from, who invented it and how is it made?

A mystic perceives spiritual realities that lay beyond the realm of ordinary human consciousness. Caryll Houselander is a modern mystic.

Throughout history, the English have shamelessly stolen words from other languages as diverse as Arabic and Norwegian.

Overshadowed by the larger and more desperate U-boat war around the British Isles, the successes of the British submarine flotilla in the Baltic is largely forgotten.

Charlie wants to be smart like everyone else at all costs. What he doesn't realize is that intelligence isn't going to fix everything.

A criminal slang known as "Patter Flash" was used among pickpockets and thieves in 19th century London. This criminal slang was used to confuse police and create a secret mode of communication between thieves, who often worked in large gangs known as battalions.

The Salem Witch trials was a horrendous event in American history where women were persecuted for being different. Many events led to the witchhunts, and many that occurred as a result.

Imagine a future where emotions hardly exist, babies are hatched, social destiny is preconditioned and casual sex has displaced violence. Welcome to Huxley's Brave New World, a dystopian novel in which everyone is blissfully happy and never question their place in society. Or do they?