Essays
Talking of Terror
While the world’s media have retreated from using the word "terrorism," governments have applied it ever more broadly, with vast implications for law and society. How does this simultaneous avoidance and expansion of the use of the word affect how we understand and address the phenomenon of violence committed in the name of an ideal?
A Monastery in Turmoil
Sinai’s ancient Monastery of St. Catherine was recently stormed by force by its own abbot. After 15 centuries, its fate may be more uncertain than ever amid a spiraling dispute over landownership that has divided the monks and pitched them against the governments of Greece and Egypt.
From Caravan Traders to Corporate Boardrooms
Why does one area — Qassim — dominate the export trade in Saudi Arabia’s world-famous khalas dates? The answer lies in a historic merchant culture whose influence still shapes the Saudi economy today.
How a Legendary Chinese Daughter Avenged Her Family’s Murder
When her family was brutally murdered, a young woman in Tang-era China exacted bloody revenge. The legend of Xie Xiao-e is still remembered 1,200 years later.
The Sacred Convictions That Preserve the Profane Red Lines of Partition
On the 79th anniversary of Partition, a veteran journalist argues that the tragedy is not just that India and Pakistan’s borders were drawn badly, but that they were defended well.
The Tumultuous History Behind Chicago’s Transformation Into a Quantum Metropolis
Chicago’s transformation from a frontier outpost to a modern metropolis was shaped by dramatic human and environmental ruptures. Three books retelling different aspects of the city’s history can help us grapple with its tense present, and its future in the emerging “quantum” economy.
How Nam Cao’s Short Stories Captured a Revolution
While little known in the West, Nam Cao’s short stories remain widely read in Vietnam. They dissect a society and people undergoing dramatic upheaval, and are inseparable from the political consciousness that led him, via the Communist Party and the fight for independence, to his death in 1951.