We follow the rise of civilization and of powerful empires in West Africa before the slave tade, based upon iron-working and the traffic in gold and salt across the Sahara, followed by the spread of wealth and power southward, towards the gold fields and the tropical forests, and finally the reverberating impacts of the arrival of Portuguese traders on the coast, which paved the way for the rise of the Atlantic slave trade.

Suggested further reading: Rodney, “History of the Upper Guinea Coast”; Ajayi, ed., “History of West Africa,” vol. 1

Image: Sculptural head from Ife, bronze & brass, ca. 1300s

Please sign on as a patron to hear patron-only lectures, including upcoming installment on Central AFrica: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632

We read ghost-related poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lola Haskins, & Stanley Plumly, as a thank-you to patrons and a meditation on the field of history.

Please sign on as a patron in order to hear patron-only lectures, and to vote in the current poll on the next archaeological discovery for the series, "Doorways in Time": https://www.patreon.com/posts/announcement-in-142272603

Most of my recent apperance on the Katie Halper show can be seen on youtube, beginning about here: https://youtu.be/aScGDE4CuHk?t=4398

Image: photograph from photobook, "Epitaph," by Brendon Burton

Audio track from the new video, "Red, White & Royal Blue: A Historian's Analysis -- pt. 4: The Political Ideology of RWRB"--

Intro: Why the Politics of RWRB? – 0:00:30

Sec. 1: Idealism vs. Realism – 0:16:21

Sec. 2: The Hidden Agenda – what is left out of RWRB – 0:52:29

Sec. 3: The Trade Wars – 1:28:25

Sec. 4: The Elusive Democratic Majority – 1:40:09

Conclusions: Power & Pride – 1:47:45

We examine Red, White & Royal Blue as a window into the ideology of the Democratic Party and the liberal middle class in the early 21st Century, including its attraction to free trade, the Sun Belt, and particularly Texas, as symbols of the so-called “Emerging Democratic Majority” that would supposedly rule the rest of the century. We question the film’s basic opposition between idealism and realism and all of the implicit value judgments that it carries, and finally consider how the film excludes or avoids discussion of class and material issues, through a comparison with the 2014 British film “Pride.”

View this video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPEb9Zxx9eE

Please become a patron of historiansplaining in order to hear patron-only lectures -- / u5530632 -- and the see this video in its entirety without ads! -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/1420325...

Unlocked after 1 year for patrons only --

We examine the Epic of Gilgamesh as a piece of literature, for its strange dream-like style and form, its points of similarity to Biblical and ancient Greek and European mythology, and finally, its deep levels of psychological and political allegory, ultimately revealing the love between Enkidu and Gilgamesh as a parable of the fraught relationship between civilization and the wild.

Become a patron at any level in order to hear patron-only lectures as soon as they post (https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632), or alternatively, non-patrons can buy the entire playlist of Myths of the Month, including “The Enlightenment,” “Race,” & “Capitalism,” among others: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2031535?view=condensed

Image: Gilgamesh grappling with Enkidu; illustration by Wael Tarabieh.

Our previous lecture on the discovery of the Library of Ashurbanipal, where the Epic of Gilgamesh was rediscovered: Historiansplaining – Unlocked-the-great-archaeological-discoveries-pt-3-the-library-of-ashurbanipal

The SOAS's recordings of scholars reading Akkadian texts: https://www.soas.ac.uk/baplar/recordings

Suggested further reading: George, "The Epic of Gilgamesh"; N.K. Sandars, "The Epic of Gilgamesh"; Heidel, "The Epic of Gilgamesh and Old Testament Parallels"; Stephen Mitchell, "Gilgamesh"; Michael Schmidt, "Gilgamesh: The Life of a Poem"; Rivkah Scharf Kluger, "The Archetypal Significance of Gilgamesh."

Unlocked after 1 year for patrons only:

He is the earliest human being whose name and life story are known to history. We examine the origins and contents of the most ancient narrative ever found anywhere on Earth, and trace how it has been rediscovered, re-used, and re-translated in the modern world, becoming a living and evolving text in a time of anxiety over the fate of civilization.

Become a patron at any level in order to hear patron-only lectures as soon as they post (https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632), or alternatively, non-patrons can buy the entire playlist of Myths of the Month, including “The Enlightenment,” “Race,” & “Capitalism,” among others: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2031535?view=condensed

Image: Sumerian bas-relief sculpture of a man subduing a bull, possibly representing Gilgamesh slaying the Bull of Heaven, 2200s BC.

Our previous lecture on the discovery of the Library of Ashurbanipal, where the Epic of Gilgamesh was rediscovered: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/unlocked-the-great-archaeological-discoveries-pt-3-the-library-of-ashurbanipal

Suggested further reading: George, "The Epic of Gilgamesh"; N.K. Sandars, "The Epic of Gilgamesh"; Heidel, "The Epic of Gilgamesh and Old Testament Parallels"; Stephen Mitchell, "Gilgamesh"; Michael Schmidt, "Gilgamesh: The Life of a Poem."

We follow how a remote landmass on the far western fringe of Europe became the home of a lasting Gaelic civilization and a major center of classical and Christian knowledge, before coming under attack by Viking raiders and Anglo-Norman invaders. We examine the English Crown’s shifting and increasingly desperate strategies to control Ireland, and the long battle over control of land and religion before Ireland was finally subjected to Protestant domination following the Glorious Revolution.

Recommended further reading: Cronin, “A History of Ireland”; Foster, ed., “The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland”; Ranelagh, “A Short History of Ireland”; Roberson, “The Irish Ice Sheet,”

Music: “Danse du Grand Calumet de la Paix” / “Forets Paisibles,” from the opera-ballet “Les Indes Galantes,” by Jean-Philippe Rameau & Louis Fuzelier, 1735, performed by Les Arts Florissants, with vocalists Patricia Petibon & Nicolas Rivenq -- used with the kind authorization of Les Arts Florissants

Image: Lavabo, Mellifont Abbey, Ireland

Sign up as a patron to hear all patron-only lectures: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632

Alternatively, non-patrons may purchase the entire playlist on English royal & dynastic history, including the lecture on “Anglo-Saxon England and the Vikings,” for one low flat fee: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2181996?view=condensed

Nations: What are they? Are they defined by language, by “culture,” by blood, or something else? How do you know if you are part of one? —and is everyone in the world a member of one nation or another?

We follow how the rise of medieval kingdoms and universities and the print revolution made it possible for people in the West to imagine themselves as part of extended kinship groups united by a common language and ancestry, how these abstract “nations” differed from all earlier social groupings, how nations have developed a standard template for national history and mythology, and how since the French Revolution, “nationalism” has inspired the loyalties and fired the passions of millions.

Finally, we consider how scholars and critics have torn the concept of the nation to shreds, and then have tried to account for the profound transformations in consciousness and time made it possible for people to conceive of themselves as belonging to nations in the first place.

Apologies for the osprey squawking in the background of the lecture!

Suggested further reading: B. Anderson, "Imagined Communities"; Ernest Renan, "Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?"; Grosby, "Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction"; Potter, "The Historian's Use of Nationalism and Vice Versa"

Music: “Danse du Grand Calumet de la Paix” / “Forets Paisibles,” from the opera-ballet “Les Indes Galantes,” by Jean-Philippe Rameau & Louis Fuzelier, 1735, performed by Les Arts Florissants, with vocalists Patricia Petibon & Nicolas Rivenq -- used with the kind authorization of Les Arts Florissants

Become a patron at any level in order to hear patron-only lectures as soon as they post (https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632), or alternatively, non-patrons can buy the entire playlist of Myths of the Month, including “The Enlightenment,” “Race,” & “Capitalism,” among others: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2031535?view=condensed

We follow how deportation policy has evolved, expanding massively in the aftermaths of World War One and World War Two, while shifting its main targets -- from political radicals and dissidents, to organized criminals, to "undesirable" racial and ethnic groups including Asians and Mexicans. We examine the changing laws and judicial rulings that have carved out an exception for deportation, allowing the government nearly unlimited and unchecked power, with no recourse to the protections of the Bill of Rights -- and finally, we consider how the Trump administration's recent failed attempts to deport supporters of the Palestinian cause might lead to a small crack in the wall sealing the deportation process off from the courts and the Constitution.

Image: Cartoon of the Buford or "Red Ark" departing from New York, Evening Star, Dec. 22, 1919

Suggested further reading: Kanstroom, "Deportation Nation"; Drinnon, "Rebel in Paradise: A Biiography of Emma Goldman"; Muzaffar Chishti and Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, "Tapping Ancient Wartime and Security Laws," etc., Migration Policy Institute,

Please sign on as a patron to hear all patron-only lectures, including the most recent on the modern history of the Papacy! -- www.patreon.com/c/user?u=5530632

Unlocked after 1 year for patrons only: The 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 the destruction of the Second Temple—yet it took decades of conflict and struggle to bring them to public light. We trace why the scrolls became the object of a long international struggle, what they actually say, and what they reveal about the roots of the Bible, Christianity, and modern Judaism.

Suggested further reading: Lim, “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction”; Collins, “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography”; Shanks, ed., “Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Reader from the Biblical Archaeology Review”; Eisemman & Wise, “The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered”; Wise, Abegg, & Cook, eds., “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation.”

Image: Portion of the Temple Scroll

Please sign up as a patron, at any level, in order to hear patron-only lectures, including the series on the Epic of Gilgamesh! -- https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=5530632

Non-patrons may hear the entire playlist of “Doorways in Time: The Great Archaeological Discoveries,” beginning with pt. 1 on the Sutton Hoo treasure, for one small flat fee: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2127051?view=condensed

We examine the roots of the American practice of "deportation" -- from colonial banishment of heretics, through the political upheaval over Alien & Sedition Acts, to the age of Chinese Exclusion -- which paved the way for the federal government to exercise virtually unlimited & absolute power over aliens, whom they placed outside the protection of the Constitution.

Suggested further reading: Kanstroom, "Deportation Nation: Outsiders in American History"

Image: East Asian women & children in a holding cell, Angel Island immigration station, Calinfornia, ca. 1920

Please sign on as a patron to hear all patron-only lectures, including the most recent on the modern history of the Papacy! -- https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=5530632