Antwerp

Written by Morgan Pitelka, Spectacular Accumulation is a book that centers around material culture in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century Japan, covering the changes and continuities from medieval society to the early modern era through looking into famous objects that essentially shape the period. Illustrated with colorful pictures of objects, including potteries, swords and paintings, instead of utilizing only textual representation, Pitelka emphasizes on the importance of…

There are four important battles that took place between Allied forces and Japanese forces. The first battle is known as the Battle of Midway, and according to the textbook (2014), the battle began when the United States sent ships into the area known as Midway to protect an airfield there. Japan viewed this as a breaking of code, and sent their men to Midway. While the leader of the naval ships, Chester Nimitz, hid his men beyond the horizon, he waited for the Japanese to start the attack. Even…

available at a moment’s notice.”2 Important contributors to Amsterdam’s seemingly endless abundance of goods and capital were indeed immigrants seeking both economic opportunity and asylum. “Among the stream of refugees—French Protestants, [those from Antwerp], Jews from Spain and Portugal—were many merchants, often in possession of substantial capital. The Sephardic Jews in particular contributed to Holland’s fortune.”3 Not only were these immigrants contributing to Dutch society from the…

Much like other displays of power, the same lenses we flaunt to remind ourselves how chic we are, unavoidably expose our hidden shortcomings and insecurities about the world around us (Cohen,2014). The telescope which was one of the central instruments of what had been called the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century revealed the unsuspected phenomena in the heavens. It was not until the completion of the thirteenth that lenses existed as they are today, even though their properties…

The Siege of Bastogne took place in Germany in the year of 1944. Also known as the Battle of the Bulge. The reason it was called the Battle of the Bulge was due to the Germans built a bulge, or a wall to block things, and pushed through the American lines. It was fought between American and German forces. The battle took place in the course of seven days from December 20th to the 27th. The Germans gained access to American lines and began to impersonate them. Which made it difficult for the…

Thomas More is the author of the book Three Early Modern Utopias, he traveled to Antwerp where he met both his friend Peter Giles who helped More to publish the book about Utopia and Raphael Hythlody who is a philosopher and also a world traveler, he lived for almost five years at Utopia. “More” the character of the book is fictional, as well as Utopia and Raphael Hythlody. Hythlody means “talker of nonsense”. After Giles introduced More to Hythlody, Hythlody starts telling them about his…

In short, shredding victims, like Jean Améry and all other “drowned souls” of hope. Originally named Hans Maier, Jean Améry’s essay Torture narrates the harsh torture withstood during his time in Fort Breendonk; a notorious Gestapo prison between Antwerp and Brussels. But upon his “liberation” in 1945, his trauma remained; causing him to commit suicide in 1978 (Langer 119-120). At this point, it is easy to see how Améry’s style of writing is similar to Primo Levi; both have written personal…

hope of seeing their loved ones again they will fight for the opportunity, especially when their family is all they have left. If all of their family is gone they will lose their hope and have nothing to live for. Elie Wiesel’s relative, Stein from Antwerp, hoped that his family was still alive. When he asked Elie if he had heard news of his family, Elie lied and said yes. Stein said that “the only thing that keeps me alive...is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive” (pg. 45).…

Belgium, which is a well- known liberal country, is also well known throughout Europe for their controversy of physician assisted dying. Prior to 2002, Belgium had no legal guidelines in regards to euthanasia. In order to uncover how popular physician assisted dying is in Belgium in comparison to other European countries, a study conducted by Agnes van der Heide (2003), a professor in Decision making and care at the end of life, compared 20 480 deaths throughout six European countries. Of the…

A Vacuum of Death Greg Campbell’s Blood Diamonds is a didactic narrative of the atrocities that have pursued throughout the Sierra Leone over the natural resource of diamonds. Campbell gives vivid detail into the realities behind the beauty of diamonds through the tales of smugglers, RUF victims, and his investigative research on this valued resource. This piece illuminates the key issues of exploitation and corruption that are carried out by smugglers and rebel fighters, and fueled by…