by Kristin Du Mez. It was the fall of 2008. The stock market was tumbling, bird flu was spreading, and fear continued to mount over the threat Islamic extremists posed to America and to “the American way of life.” It was in light of these uncertainties that I paused to reflect on how Christians were …
Continue reading Christianity in a time of terror: An Advent reflection
by Anna Lindner. (Excerpt from the Service-Learning at Calvin College blog.) The history department, by virtue of its nature, could and, I believe, should have a close relationship with the Service-Learning Center. History is not merely the study of the past; it is also an investigation of humans, the way they perceive and then try …
Continue reading Service-learning for the history student
by Karin Maag. Anyone who has studied the Reformation in a history class has undoubtedly heard the story of Martin Luther nailing his ninety-five theses on indulgences to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg in 1517. Historians have subsequently debated whether or not he did nail the theses up, and have argued back …
Continue reading Commemoration, Celebration, Remembrance? How to mark historical anniversaries
by Jenna Hunt. My Museum Studies masters’ thesis focused on museums of communism, and as part of my research I traveled to Central and Eastern Europe and analyzed several museums as case studies. One of these was the Perm-36 Gulag Museum, located on the western edge of the Ural Mountains. I arrived in the city …
Continue reading The Politics of Memory in Russia
by William Van Vugt. Everyone knows about Rosie the Riveter, the iconic woman immortalized in the famous Norman Rockwell painting. She's taking a lunch break, her muscular arm holding a sandwich, her heavy steam-powered riveter resting on her lap, and her foot resting on a copy of Mein Kampf. You didn't mess with Rosie, who …
Continue reading Lucy the Luthier
by Rachel Watson (Excerpt from an article on October 12, 2015 on Calvin's News & Stories.) Tucked safely away in a climate-controlled space in Calvin College’s Meeter Center is a medieval devotional manuscript the college has owned since 1912. It recently became an object of deeper interest to Frans van Liere, professor of history and …
Continue reading Professor Dives Deep Into History of Rare Manuscript
Historical Horizons 