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I'm doing research on families who were living in Europe (mostly France, but not only) in the second half of the 19th century, and I have noted a pattern of unmarried people having children together but getting married years after the birth of the child. [more inside]
posted by elgilito on Mar 22, 2020 - 16 answers

If you were a North Indian somewhere in the middle of the social hierarchy in the sixth century, what would your life be like? What would be a reasonable profession for you? What kind of stuff would you eat? Would you be hungry? Beset by disease? Or more or less happy? What would your social life consist of? Looking for information both general and specific.
posted by insteadofapricots on Dec 9, 2017 - 1 answer

I'm a 33 year old white man. I have always been uncomfortable with the word negro, for a bunch of reasons. So my question is: can I sing along with Beyonce's Formation? [more inside]
posted by special agent conrad uno on Feb 17, 2016 - 17 answers

So two books I really love are Heaven to Betsy and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I love how they go into the details of the period they take place, particularly the fashion and food. It was also only recently I realised that they take place roughly around the same era. It really surprised me because they are so completely different to one another. Francie has an alcoholic father and the family can barely get food on the table; Betsy's biggest ordeal is falling in love with a boy that doesn't like her back and not studying for an essay contest. So my question is two-fold and is aimed at requesting book suggestions. [more inside]
posted by like_neon on Jul 25, 2014 - 23 answers

What are some subtle or lesser-known examples of current-day real-world USA being a dystopia? [more inside]
posted by divabat on May 5, 2014 - 51 answers

I recently came upon the work of Noam Chomsky and it opened up a whole new world of information and ways of seeing the world. How can I become more informed about our world's recent history and be accurate about it? [more inside]
posted by drd on Jan 3, 2014 - 28 answers

I know Walter Benjamin treasured a drawing by Paul Klee, Angelus Novus (angel of history).. So much so that he wrote about it in his essay "Theses on the Philosophy of History". [more inside]
posted by Mister Bijou on Sep 27, 2013 - 2 answers

I am looking for fiction or non-fiction books (or movies - documentaries or fiction) about societies that are collapsing or falling apart -- anything from the late Roman Empire to 1990s Yugoslavia. I'm especially interested in books or movies that focus on the lives of regular people while the collapse is happening. I am specifically NOT looking for sci-fi dystopias or fantasy novels, so please don't recommend any.
posted by empath on Sep 9, 2013 - 23 answers

I am looking for examinations of the Internet and World Wide Web that use the structure and/or history of the city as a metaphor. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Apr 12, 2013 - 9 answers

What politically neutral book(s) should I read on multiculturalism and Islam, immigration/integration politics and/or ethnic/religious tensions in Europe? [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jul 25, 2011 - 11 answers

What are some good examples of failing to learn from history? [more inside]
posted by Hargrimm on Jul 1, 2009 - 36 answers

How exactly did Christianity come to dominate the Western world to such an extent? [more inside]
posted by timepiece on Jun 24, 2009 - 42 answers

Can you please recommend some books on daily life, home life, and general society in the UK and the US in the 1840s - 1880s for me? I already have What Jane Austen Ate, and What Charles Dickens Knew and An Elegant Madness. It doesn't have to be specifically on daily life- creative nonfiction like Larson's The Devil in the White City or Johnson's The Ghost Map are awesome, too.
posted by headspace on Feb 16, 2009 - 13 answers

A history of the camera and its' effects on modern society in five paragraphs. [more inside]
posted by Northwest on Jan 22, 2009 - 8 answers

I am looking for good pairs of quotes/articles/other from different points in history, which make the same observation but both think they're identifying a recent or "modern" social change. [more inside]
posted by so_necessary on Apr 15, 2008 - 5 answers

Where can I find a downloadable version of Michael Murphey's classic, "Temple of the Sun" to download? Of course I am willing to pay for the copyrighted, legal, etc. version. But I would rather not have to buy the entire Swans Against the Sun CD to get this one song. Also, HUGE Bonus Points if you can lead me to similar(?) songs which might interest my sons (see inside for more on this challenge). [more inside]
posted by misha on Jan 7, 2008 - 8 answers

Books about Burma? [more inside]
posted by UbuRoivas on Nov 19, 2007 - 17 answers

What were some of the most idyllic communities to have ever existed? I’m not looking for opinions, I’m looking for hard anthropological examples or studies that have been carried out on such cultures. [more inside]
posted by heylight on Aug 29, 2006 - 9 answers

I'm having trouble tracking down information about a movement in Dada-ist Art I heard about a few years ago. From what I remember Dadaist idealism inspired a group of artists to contemplate the organic development of urban environments. Art, using the defined structure of the city, to reflect the chaotic order which arises from nature. Did this century old movement exist or has my brain made it up?
posted by 0bvious on Apr 26, 2006 - 10 answers

Where can I find an extensive list of 'labeled generations'? (i.e. 'X', 'Y', 'The Greatest', 'Baby Boomers', etc.) [more inside]
posted by Wild_Eep on Dec 6, 2005 - 8 answers

I'm over 30 and probably know as much or less about history, politics/ gov, and current events as my 7 year old niece. Now, I want to be aware and don't know where to begin. I've tried just "merging in" but the references, terms, and names are lost on me. I need a starting point that will give me a framework or bird's eye view to start from and build on. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 24, 2005 - 27 answers

In your opinion, what is the most awe-inspiring, amazing invention created in human history? And why?
posted by grefo on Dec 3, 2004 - 72 answers

Can a free people in a democratic country that has grown to such an enormous power remain to its historically told ideals of basic human rights, government from and for the people? Could the desire for control of that power be great enough to collapse a free society? Is humankind enslaved to war?
posted by the fire you left me on Apr 30, 2004 - 22 answers