Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was a very popular book in the late Russian empire. The first Russian-language edition of the book appeared five years after its English-language original in two different translations (1864: 1. Перевод М. Владимирского. Книга вышла … Read more

When Charles Darwin first published his Origin of Species in 1859 and put forward the theory of evolution by natural selection, I would argue, that it would not be an understatement to state that human society was forced to rethink … Read more

From Pseudoscience to racism With the watershed release of Darwin’s theories on Evolution and Natural Selection came a series of revelations regarding human development and the creation of the world around us. It is currently understood that a series of … Read more

At the Second Zionist Congress in Basel in 1898, the physician Max Nordau proclaimed his concept of a “muscular Jew.” He expressed in his speech the necessity of creating a new type of Jew – strong, sexually potent, morally fit … Read more

While the theories laid out in The Origin of Species generated a great deal of interest in America and Western Europe, they were particularly well received in Russia, and the reason can be traced partly to the promotion of younger … Read more

Throughout his life, Nietzsche openly shared his opinions on religion, especially Christianity. Christianity, to Nietzsche, was a religion of shame. It alienated people from their desires, their drive to have more and their motivation to improve themselves. Christianity was a … Read more

http://museolombroso.unito.it/index.php/en/ So we know that Cesare Lombroso’s theories were disproved and widely discredited, but what legacy, if any, does he have today? I have posted a few links to shed light on this question. First, there is a link to … Read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krDa_onnqQg In this week’s readings, Kanatchikov recalls a number of important events in his life and the history of the Russian Empire in the 1890’s. This post fills in the picture of the events in Chapter 6, “Khodynka.” I have … Read more

The Royal Geographical Society of the United Kingdom, founded in 1830 as the Geographical Society of London (gaining Royal Charter a few years later), was one of the world’s first learned societies for the discipline of Geography. In its early days it … Read more

Max Nordau was an influential Jewish writer, philosopher, and physician in the 19th century.  He came to the forefront as a social critic with his first major published work, The Conventional Lies of Our Civilization, in 1883 which addressed the … Read more