Popular culture often describes scalping − the forceful removing of a person’s scalp − as an indigenous practice. But white settlers accelerated this form of violence against Native Americans.
The Coretta and Martin Luther King Jr. memorial sculpture at Boston Common is called ‘The Embrace.’
Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
A memorial to Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King Jr. has received stinging criticisms, but time will tell whether ‘The Embrace’ will endure as a cherished work of public art.
The Vikings got to the Americas long before Columbus.
vlastas/Shutterstock
Columbus’s was the last of at least seven discoveries of the Americas.
Does a painting from 1400 depict one of Jesus’ torturers as suffering from ‘saddle nose,’ a common effect of syphilis?
Detail of an Austrian painting c. 1400 of the Passion of Christ, The Cleveland Museum of Art
The idea that Europeans brought new diseases to the Americas and returned home with others has been widely accepted. But evidence is mounting that for syphilis this scenario is wrong.
A float featuring Christopher Columbus makes its way down Fifth Avenue during the 75th annual Columbus Day Parade on Oct. 14, 2019, in New York.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Given Italian history, U.S. descendants of Italian immigrants have reason to reject their association with Columbus and stand in solidarity with indigenous groups as they reclaim their histories.
Mats of Sargassum seaweed off the coast of St. Martin in April 2018.
ELY Michel CC BY-SA 4.0,
Huge blooms of brown seaweed have fouled Florida and Caribbean beaches almost every year over the past decade. They originate in Africa and South America. and are fueled by human activities.
Superstition or wishful thinking could trick you into thinking you saw one of these mythical creatures.
AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
Peter C. Mancall, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage was really a journey into the unknown. Centuries of conventional wisdom had conditioned him to believe that bizarre beasts and ‘monstrous men’ would be awaiting him.
Americans have long differed over whether patriotism should be pushed in their nation’s schools.
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As debates over protests during the national anthem continue to rage, two scholars examine how legal and moral battles over the merits of patriotism in public schools have been playing out for years.
Agricultural Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1893.
University of Maryland Digital Collections