The global history of the Pacific made good progress over the last few years.
David Armitage, Alison Bashford, David Igler, and Matt Matsuda have written important
books bridging events occurring both in the island and littoral Pacific. The attempt to
link the island worlds of Oceania with the continental landmasses of Asia and the
Americas has also been at the center of my research.
The “Spanish Lake” refers to a convenient historical shorthand signaling a period,
during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, of increasing European expansion into the

Several of Pindar's victory odes contain mythical digressions that include a deceptive female character: the Hera-cloud in Pythian 2, Coronis in Pythian 3, and Hippolyta in Nemean 5. These figures reflect a deceptive, seductive female archetype established in earlier traditions (cf. Hesiod's Pandora, Semonides 7, Potiphar's wife), but the Pindaric examples are striking for the degree to which they are shaped to suit their particular generic context.

It has long been observed that there is something comedic in the writings of Plato. Yet Plato’s dialogue with Greek Comedy is not limited to his colorful characters, unusual settings, and witty conversations: it is rather in exposing the pretensions of Athenian public figures that Plato and the writers of Old Comedy have perhaps the most in common. Between around 430 B.C.

To read a good book is like going to a great party. You are aesthetically
entertained, meet new and interesting people and, in an ideal world, witness some
real human drama fueled by the side effects of euphoria and excess. When transformed
into literature, parties are one of the most challenging topics of writing. In the
autonomous zone of celebration, world apart from daily life and routines, a writer,
just like any other guest, has to survey multitudes of synchronized social action to
stay on top of things. His task: to enjoy himself and please the reader at the same

Modern terror began in the late 1870s; its distinctive features are its global character, use of explosives, and emergence and recession in the form of waves. We have experienced four waves, the “Anarchist”, “Anti-Colonial”, “New Left” and “Religious”. Each wave contains a large number of independent groups, special purposes, distinctive tactics, and a distinctive geography and has a different impact on the international state system.

The University of Pittsburgh Department of History presents the 20th annual E.P. Thompson Memorial Lecture. Joe William Trotter Jr. is Giant Eagle Professor of History and Social Justice at Carnegie Mellon University and Director of the Center for African American Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE).

As the world faces unprecedented challenges caused by financial and ecological crises, social movements have been advancing alternatives to the programs and policies of elites. Nevertheless, they remain plagued by persistent challenges to building global solidarity. This conference looks at emerging alternatives to the capitalist world-system and considers their strengths and limitations, uncovering the factors affecting their prospects for realization.

In this month’s installment of our Conversations on Europe virtual roundtable series, a panel of experts and audiences from European Union Centers across the U.S. will engage in a discussion of the upcoming Scottish referendum on independence from Britain scheduled for September of this year and the possibility of a UK referendum on EU membership that could occur as early as 2016. How likely is Scottish independence? What would be the prospects of an independent Scotland in the European Union?

HIV and AIDS have dealt a devastating blow to Africa—socially, economically, politically, spiritually, and on all sectors of African society. The core of indigenous structures and systems—that is, the community and the sacredness of life—has seen an upheaval.

The European Union Center of Excellence/European Studies Center, in cooperation with the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, would like to invite you to a special brownbag lunch with visiting scholar Dr. Maxim Romanov.