Unruly History in the News #54
Hey everyone,
Hope you’re all doung well this last weekend in March. I know everyone is saying it, but I can’t believe how this year is flying by. I don’t have much personal news this week, but I hope you enjoyed the Mary Carleton episode from Tuesday. I’ll have a fun bonus episode coming up next week.
#44: Mary Carleton
Also, if you’re in LA next Friday, I’ll be doing a reading and signing at Book Soup on Sunset Ave. Come join us!
This week in history acting unruly…
Update on the Sycamore Gap tree, the one cut down near Hadrian’s Wall last September: seeds taken from the tree have sprouted!
In a surprising decision, the conservative Supreme Court of the US just reversed an old decision about reusing artworks if the new piece is “transformative” enough. The new decision centers on copyright and has major ramifications for everyone in the art world.
This philosopher is most often remembered for the brutal way she was murdered. But Hypatia of Alexandria was so much more than that.
How an archaeologist followed her instincts and found a long-lost Jewish synagogue.
Spring cleaning is an ancient practice. How did it start and why do we still do it?
When historical preservation is often a fraught conversation (just look at the erupting opinions around the saving of Notre Dame), it’s helpful to look at how it was done in the 18th century.
St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Source: Naval S/Flickr When ancient Dune-like worms actually crawled the Earth.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was already a beloved author when he published The Litte Prince. But his previous work was wildly different and the story behind the children’s book is one of despair.
The Denver Art Museum is repatriating a ~2,000-year-old dagger to Vietnam after its provenance was called into question.
Earlier this month, nearly 50 artworks by Umberto Mastroianni were stolen from a museum in Italy. The “brazen” theft committed by an “ultra-specialized” gang has raised fears that the works may already be lost forever—melted down for their gold.
In several cities in Europe, satire has been turned into a festival marking art, community, and protest.
In València, Spain, Nit de la Crema is celebrated with ephemeral artworks with (usually) political messages. Source: Roberto Ferrer/EuroNews. For everyone following the #Where’sKate PR debacle and controversy, here is an interesting meditation on the body politic versus the body personal—and why we care so much when leaders (even if they’re only figureheads) are unhealthy.
Speaking of health and history, what do you know about the philosophical history of the anti-natalism movement?
This excerpt from Oathbreakers by the authors of The Bright Ages has me really excited for the book!
Which animals were on Noah’s Ark (if it indeed sailed)? History has theories.
For these two witnesses to Lincoln’s assassination, their lifetime of tragedy was only beginning.
Oscar Wilde once called the US “a nation of lunatics.” He might have had a point.
Artifacts looted from Japan during World War II have been found in an attic in Massachusetts.
The Doctor’s House in Glendale, California is a beautiful Victorian mansion—and a testament to rapid change, not historical stasis.
At the Barbican Centre in London, activists staged a “Guerilla festival” of Palestinian art after a scandal around the Barbican’s censorship of Palestinian artists and voices.
They were stolen nearly 20 years ago because the thief believed they were made of real rubies. Now Judy Garland’s red slippers from The Wizard of Oz are going on a world tour before being auctioned in December.
