At Harvard University today, professors who teach Western history are history. James Hankins, a specialist in Renaissance thought, was one of the last holdouts. Now Hankins, who has just published a hefty book that teaches what Harvard doesn't -- "The Golden Thread: A History of the Western ...

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do set goals. I take time to reflect on the previous year to look at what I'd like to build upon, what I'd like to scrap and what could use a tweaking in the new year. My husband does something similar. This year, instead of just setting individual ...

In the course of his losing race with the teleprompter during his Oval Office address on Dec. 17, President Donald Trump returned to a theme that obsesses him -- respect. Even before his entry into politics, Trump was convinced that "weak" leaders including Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Obama were ...

As 2025 comes to an end, I want to thank my readers who have emailed me throughout the year with encouraging and kind words. I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness put into every message. Due to my teaching and grading load, I am not able to respond to every email, but I am deeply moved that ...

After Christmas is over, and the sunrises start getting earlier and the sunsets later in the Northern Hemisphere, there are still two months of scarce daylight and lowering skies ahead. Here's a suggestion for how to fill the gloomy hours with uplift: read. Read some great books, returning ...

The limbo period between Christmas Day and Jan. 1 is objectively, the most depressing seven days out of the year. I call it the Post-Christmas Blues. How ironic it is that a holiday that is marketed as being a joyous, and beautiful time sometimes brings the most emotional distress. The ...