History lectures by Samuel Biagetti, a historian (and antique dealer) with a Phd in early American history; my dissertation was on Freemasonry in the 1700s. I focus on the historical myths and distortions, from "the Middle Ages" to "Race," that people use to rationalize the world in which we live. More info at www.historiansplaining.com Please see my Patreon page, https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632, if you want to keep the lectures coming, and to hear the patron-only materials.
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History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 23: The Touro Synagogue Torah Finials
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We examine the tumultuous history--from the Portuguese Inquisition to the American Revolution to modern-day multi-million-dollar legal fights--surrounding a pair of rare colonial Jewish ceremonial artworks called "rimonim" or Torah finials. We consider the unique life and career of the Jewish silversmith who made them, and the symbolism that they e…
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Sign up as a patron at any level to hear this full lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls, on patreon for patrons only: https://www.patreon.com/posts/doorways-in-time-109054869The most massive and momentous manuscript discovery of modern times, the Dead Sea Scrolls blew the lid off of the long-mysterious world of messianic and apocalyptic ferment before t…
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Origins of the First World War, pt. 14 -- Conclusions: Was the Great War Inevitable?
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To conclude our series on the origins of World War I, we trace how combat broke out on three different continents in the late summer and fall of 1914, and then examine the various real and imagined causes of the Great War, from the Anglo-German naval rivalry to French revanchism, and finally consider the deeper transformation in the idea of soverei…
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UNLOCKED: Origins of the First World War, pt. 4 -- Bosnia & the Assassination
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We consider the rich, often mysterious, and fraught history of Bosnia -- a longtime borderland of East and West, disputed between rival empires, religions, and civilizations -- and trace how the politics of this small, mountainous Slavic country set the stage for the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, and in turn, the outbreak o…
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Update & Teaser: Origins of the Frist World War -- The July Crisis & The Outbreak of War
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We review the diplomatic landscape of Europe on the eve of war in the summer of 1914—and then follow the dizzying cascade of events that followed after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. We trace on the ensuing crisis that ricocheted through embassies, banquet halls, and barracks all across Europe, and p…
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Myth of the Month 22: Culture
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Unlocked after one year on Patreon for patrons only:What is "culture"? And how did a metaphor from gardening invade social-science discourse in 19th-century Germany and America and then take the world by storm? We consider the myriad, often contradictory, ways that "culture" is deployed in current rhetoric, usually to sneak in hidden value judgment…
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Audio from video -- "Red White and Royal Blue" pt. 1 -- The Historical Context of RWRB
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This is the audio track of my latest video:"Red, White & Royal Blue: A Historian's Analysis, pt. 1: "We Really Need to Get You a Book on English History" -- The Historical Context of RW&RB"We start our detailed analysis of the recent gay romcom, Red White & Royal Blue, by considering the expansive historical background that gives meaning to the fic…
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Origins of the First World War, pt. 12 -- War Planning & Strategy
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We examine the prophetic warnings from scholars and bureaucrats that a great-power war in the twentieth century would lead to bloody stalemate, mass destruction, and a wave of revolutions; and we trace how war strategists and generals reacted to the prophets of doom, formulating new war plans, from Russia’s blundering steamroll, to Germany’s precar…
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Origins of the First World War, pt. 11 -- The 19th-Century Revolution in Warfare
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The scale and horror of the First World War were possible only after the Nineteenth Century's double revolution in the nature of war. Warfare -- including weaponry, strategy, and command -- had remained mostly unchanged for three centuries, from the early integration of firearms in the 1400s until the French Revolution; the campaigns of Napoleon un…
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Article: "In the American Tempest: Democracy, Conspiracy, & Machine"
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In 2022, I was asked to contribute to a symposium at Yale Law School on the question, "How can the humanities inform tech policy and design to promote 'healthier' discourse and democracy online?" The ultimate result was this article, published in the 2023 symposium issue of the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities. A scanned pdf of the article ca…
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A sample from, "Origins of the First World, pt. 10 -- Japan"To hear the entire lecture, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/origins-of-first-99483180We trace the evolution of Japanese society -- including the tensions between its peaceable, Buddhist-inspired aspect and its martial aspect; its extraordinary transformation in the Meiji period…
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Audio track from video -- Red White & Royal Blue: A Historian's Analysis -- Intro
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Audio track from my recent video -- "Red, White & Royal Blue: A Historian's Analysis -- Introduction: 'I Know I Owe You an Explanation'" --We consider the political, literary, and artistic dimensions of the recent movie, "Red, White and Royal Blue" -- a gay romance on the international theme -- beginning with an overview of its origins as an escapi…
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UNLOCKED: The Great Archaeological Discoveries, pt. 6 -- Early Audio Recordings
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Unlocked after 1 year for patrons only: In the second half of the nineteenth century, many of the most brilliant and ambitious minds in both Europe and America were bent upon solving the problem of capturing sound waves from the air and playing them back. Most of their efforts, including the earliest "phonautograms" from more than a decade before E…
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Origins of the First World War, pt. 9 -- Great Britain
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We consider the efforts of the British state, in the Victorian era and in the early 20th century, to maintain its position as the premier naval and imperial power on Earth, and to contain the political and military challenges from the borderlands of the empire, the German challenge from Europe, and the series of internal threats to the British soci…
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2023 in Historical Context: Dividing the Harvest
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In keeping with a Historiansplaining holiday tradition, we try to make sense of the various struggles and conflicts of this yearby uncovering their deeper historical contexts, including:--the roots of the Israel/Palestine conflict in the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire;--the precedents for the bitter House Speakership struggle;--the gradual realign…
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Origins of the First World War, pt. 8 -- France
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In the age of absolutism, France had towered over European life and politics -- the only nation that was a major land power on the Continent and a colonial metropole with an overseas empire at the same time. Yet by 1900, tossed about by repeated revolutions and coups and torn asunder by often petty internal culture wars, France was falling behind i…
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Myth of the Month 23: UFOs
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The UFO has been called a "technological angel" and the central mythic symbol of the modern age; we examine some of the extraordinary stories, from throughout history, of strange lights and objects seen flying through the sky, from medieval Italy to modern New Mexico, and consider carefully the problems that they present -- for historians, as well …
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Unlocked: History of US in 100 Objects #20 -- Silver Beaker with Devil and Pope Figures
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Unlocked after one year for patrons only:A silver beaker engraved with figures of Satan, the Pope, and the "Young Pretender" (also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie") shows how French, Dutch, German, and English colonists in colonial New York united around fear of Catholicism and the Jacobite menace.Special thanks to the Collections Team at Museum of…
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Origins of the First World War, pt. 7 -- Belgium & Luxembourg
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Although more often remembered only as a bloody battleground, Belgium -- along with its smaller neighbor, Luxembourg -- was critical to the strategic landscape of Europe, and played a pivotal role in spreading the war in 1914 beyond the European Continent, making it into a true World War. Both created as independent states in the nineteenth century…
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In an extended lecture for patrons -- We consider the turbulent history and politics of the country most often blamed for the outbreak of the First World War -- Germany. The youngest of all the combatant nations in World War I, The German Reich's deep class, regional, and religious divides drove Kaiser Wilhelm and his inner circle to seek national …
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Survey of Western Architecture, pt. 3 -- audio track
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In the third installment of our Survey of Western Architecture, we will follow the rise of Renaissance geniuses like Alberti, Bramante, & Michelangelo, their efforts to recover Roman grandeur and dignity in the basilica, the church, and the urban palazzo, followed by the outbreak of baroque extravagance from the streets of Palermo to the halls of V…
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History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 22: The Makauwahi Stone Mirror / Kilo Pohaku
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We examine the significance of a kilo pohaku, or "stone mirror" -- a small volcanic stone disk used for viewing reflections -- discovered deep inside the ancient Makauwahi Cave on the island of Kaua'i. This extremely rare specimen encapsulates the great mystery of Hawaiian archaeology, which relies on reconstruction from rare stone, bone, and shell…
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Origins of the First World War, pt. 5 -- Russia
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We examine the geography and history of Russia, from the origins of the Kievan Rus in the Early Middle Ages, to the tumultuous time of industrialization, emancipation, and radical subversion at the start of the Twentieth Century. We try reconstruct the circumstances and mindsets that led the Russian state to back up their allies in Serbia, in order…
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UNLOCKED -- Myth of the Month 20: Conspiracy Theories
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Where do conspiracy theories come from? Why do people believe them? What do they mean? Did the CIA drug people with LSD against their will? Is Queen Elizabeth a reptilian? We consider the merits and pitfalls of conspiracy theories, trace the history and evolution of the conspiratorial tradition from rumors about lepers in the 1300s to Alex Jones an…
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Doorways in Time: The Great Archaeological Finds -- 7: The Antikythera Mechanism
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A stunningly complex piece of mathematical craftsmanship, the world's earliest known analogue computer, and the so-called "scientific wonder of the ancient world" -- the Antikythera mechanism was discovered by chance in 1900, by Greek sponge divers who stumbled upon the wreckage of an ancient ship that foundered on its way from Greece to Rome. An o…
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