Pasts Imperfect (4.2.26)

This week, Nandini Pandey, Niek Janssen, and Christopher Londa discuss writing, labor, and enslavement in Roman antiquity. Then, a new book on Venice and the Mongols, how ancient Maya communities made good use of local wetlands, Ancient Mediterranean astrological practices, democracy's global origins, introducing Latin to Massachusetts middle

Pasts Imperfect (3.19.26)

This week, scholar of late antique Judaism and Angelologist Mika Ahuvia discusses the shared vocabulary of angels in antiquity. Then, ancient graffiti written in South Asian languages are discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Yvonne Chireau discusses the religious history in Sinners, putting a price on Egyptian

Pasts Imperfect (3.5.26)

Across the world—from the United States to Canada to Australia—departments and museums within higher education are closing. This week, ancient historian Geoffrey Greatrex discusses the suspension of the honors program in Greek and Roman studies at the University of Ottawa, Morag Kersel examines the closing of the DePaul

Pasts Imperfect (2.19.26)

This week, classicist Curtis Dozier discusses new books—including his own—that critique Classics and the ways it is instrumentalized. Then, the role of Blackness in the imagery of the Middle Ages, an important new Edmonia Lewis retrospective, repatriating the Benin Bronzes, the pre-Inca Chincha Kingdom's use

Pasts Imperfect (2.5.26)

This week, medievalist and historian of race Cord J. Whitaker discusses the National Park Service's removal of an exhibit on American slavery at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park. Then, a new digital humanities project examines the ancient and modern artifacts of refugees, an open access Latin reader

Pasts Imperfect (1.22.26)

This week, intellectual historian and classicist Inger N.I. Kuin discusses her new book on Diogenes and ruminates on the controversy in Texas surrounding teaching Plato. Then, a new edited, open access volume on the Material Dimensions of Ancient Philosophy and another on the joy of Chinese philosophy, a novel

Pasts Imperfect (1.8.26)

This week, we are back from holiday break with a deep dive into the ethics, big business, and myth-peddling of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education. Then, bees in ancient jawbones within the Dominican Republic, Roman camels in Basel, protecting buildings from earthquakes during the Tang and Song Dynasties,

Pasts Imperfect (12.4.25)

This week, the one and only Tori Lee returns with her annual ancient world gift guide. Then, racing to preserve Sudan's cultural heritage, a new study on domestic cats assesses the leopard cats of ancient China and the impact of the Roman road system on spreading them to

Pasts Imperfect (11.20.25)

This week, media psychology and classical reception specialist Kristen Leer discusses Ancient Egypt in horror movies and the problems surrounding "Egyptomania." Then, mapping the thousands of miles of Roman roads, protests hold up the opening of the MOWAA, tarot cards and Platonic philosophy, opium in Ancient Egypt, stone

Pasts Imperfect (11.6.25)

This week, historian of early Islamic material culture Rhiannon Garth Jones breaks down the reception of Roman antiquity during the Ottoman Empire. Then, dispelling myths about the Black Death; archaeologists discover wampum beads at a 17th century colony in Canada; celebrating Native American Heritage Month; open access books on Aristotle,

Pasts Imperfect (10.23.25)

It is almost Halloween! Spooky season means that the internet is full of creepy content, but your editors are here to sort through the chaff and get you the best of the best from the ancient world. 🎃 In public humanities, a digital project allows people to read cuneiform and many

Pasts Imperfect (10.9.25)

This week, art historian and AAR Classical Summer School attendee Lachelle Oglesby discusses obelisks, Roman colonialism, and lived experiences in ancient Rome. Then, a new video game allows you to "reloot" African cultural heritage from museums, bronze mirror-making in the Western Han dynasty, the Nubian ivory trade