What is and to what end do we study Universal History?

In 1789, the world was electrified with an idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. If this proposition be true, then the entire paradigm of government practiced since ancient times had to be completely transformed from systems of hereditary power enforcing the rule of might makes…

A Pax Americana or A Republic If You Can Keep It?

By Cynthia Chung “Fortune thus blinds the minds of men when she does not wish them to resist her power.” – Livy It seems quite evident to many that the United States has been consumed by the same ambition and thus fate with that of the Roman Empire. That one of the most notorious periods…

Edgar Allan Poe and the Search for the Supernal

By David Gosselin That little time with lyre and rhymeTo while away—forbidden things!My heart would feel to be a crimeUnless it trembled with the strings. -“Romance,” Edgar Allan Poe Is it possible that much of the world remains captive to a false Poe mythology? Whether in respect to his fiction, prose, or poetry the typical…

Geoffrey Chaucer and Cultural Confidence

By Gerald Therrien Have you ever thought about where the English language, that we speak today, came from? In school, we were told that there was some indigenous Celtic language, and when the Romans invaded, the Celtic got mixed in with the Latin. And when the Romans left, the Angles and Saxons invaded, and some…

How to Conquer Tyranny: A Lesson from Plato

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Plato’s Letter VII Plato to Dion’s associates and friends wishes well-doing. You write to me that I must consider your views the same as those of Dion, and you urge me to aid your cause so far as I can…

Ancient Greece and Africa Share Long History

By Nana Coupeau Africans and Ancient Greeks had long, rich history together often reflected in the depiction of Africa in Ancient Greek art. The first contact between Greeks and Africans was sometime during the Bronze Age. At this time, the Minoan culture on Crete flourished and their shipbuilding skills enabled them to travel to far-flung…

Profiles in Poetry: Friedrich Schiller

By David Gosselin “Trust me, the fountain of youth, it is no fable. It is running Truly and always. Ye ask, where? In poetical art.” – Friedrich Schiller, The Fountain of Youth Friedrich Schiller was born on November 10th, 1759 in Marbach, Württemberg. He was without question one of the greatest poets and dramatists to…

In Defence of King Arthur

Who was the real King Arthur and what did this man do to shape the course of world history during the early years of Rome’s collapse? Speaker bio: Gerald Therrien is a historian and author of a four volume series on Canadian History entitled Canadian History Unveiled and has lectured on topics ranging from poetry,…