Blog Archives

The 1984 Apple Macintosh: Debunking myths about a tech icon on its 40th birthday

The 1984 Apple Macintosh: Debunking myths about a tech icon on its 40th birthday

Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh in January 1984 as a revolutionary tool designed to bring computing into everyday life. The salvation from a dark future in which IBM ( Big Blue ) would control everything, like “Big Brother” in George Orwell’s novel 1984. This is the idea that inspired the iconic advertisement directed by Ridley Scott for the commercial launch of the Mac: […] … learn more→

Teaching Enlightenment Today: How History Enlightens Young Citizens

Teaching Enlightenment Today: How History Enlightens Young Citizens

The Age of Enlightenment is today an essential reference in public discourse when it comes to discussing living together and the values ​​of the Republic. This makes its teaching an exercise that is both difficult and necessary. Because to understand the spirit of Voltaire and Rousseau, it is important to place it in the complexity […] … learn more→

How does artificial intelligence affect our understanding of history?

How does artificial intelligence affect our understanding of history?

With the development of artificial intelligence and the images generated by said technology that flood the networks, several questions arise. What weight can the increasingly abundant presence of this type of image have on our understanding of history? How is this going to influence the vision that society is building of history? What might be the consequences for […] … learn more→

Florida’s academic standards distort the contributions that enslaved Africans made to American society

Florida’s academic standards distort the contributions that enslaved Africans made to American society

The state of Florida ignited a controversy when it released a set of 2023 academic standards that require fifth graders to be taught that enslaved Black people in the U.S. “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their benefit.” As a researcher specializing in the history of race and racism in the U.S., I – like a growing chorus of […] … learn more→

“The Little Mermaid”: from Andersen to Disney, the real story behind the tale

The new live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid has garnered surprising negative reactions. The trailer for the film, which will be released in 2023, received millions of “dislikes” on YouTube due, apparently, to the mermaid being played by Halle Bailey, a black actress. The Walt Disney cartoon , released in 1989, on which the new film is based, featured a red-haired mermaid named Ariel, […] … learn more→

Politicians seek to control classroom discussions about slavery in the US

Politicians seek to control classroom discussions about slavery in the US

Of all the subjects taught in the nation’s public schools, few have generated as much controversy of late as the subjects of racism and slavery in the United States. The attention has come largely through a flood of legislative bills put forth primarily by Republicans over the past year and a half. Commonly referred to as anti-critical race theory […] … learn more→