The saxophone is a globally popular instrument, often closely associated with renowned male players such as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, or more recently, Kenny G. Less well known, however, is the historical presence of female saxophonists in the nineteenth century, shortly after the instrument’s invention. Elise Hall (1853–1924), a prominent wealthy socialite in Boston at the turn of the twentieth century, defied social norms by mastering the saxophone, an unconventional instrument for...

What does it mean to live under occupation? How does it shape the culture and identities of European nations? How does it affect the way we write and read literature? These are fundamental questions that set the stage for an in-depth exploration. Focusing on the literary works of writers from various European countries that were occupied by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union or the Allies during and after World War II, the contributions in this edited volume seek to unravel the complex interplay ...

A smart and witty guide to all you want to know about human genetics.

Human genetics is not the playground of science alone. Genetics concerns all of us, for we all have DNA, genes, genomes, and chromosomes. Our genes determine partly our appearance and our behaviour, our talents and our health risks.

The authors of 'The Human Recipe' use humour to explain what we understand about human genetics. With anecdotes and topical examples, they demonstrate how genetics affects our everyday lives. Wh...

The impact of the Great War and its aftermath on Belgian artistic life.World War I had a major effect on Belgian visual arts. German occupation, the horror at the battlefield and the experience of exile led to multiple narratives and artistic expressions by Belgian artists during and after the war. Belgian interbellum art is extremely vibrant and diverse. 14/18 - Rupture or Continuity takes a look at Belgian artistic life in the years around the First World War and how it was affected by this...

A comprehensive history of the interaction between religion and colonization.

Religion in today's Democratic Republic of Congo has many faces: from the overflowing seminaries, the Marian shrines of the Catholic Church, the Islamic brotherhoods and the Jewish community of Lubumbashi, to the 'African' churches of the Congolese diaspora in Brussels and Paris, the healers of Kimbanguism, the televangelism of the booming Pentecostalist churches in the great cities, the Orthodox communities of Kasai...

Les relations entre la bibliothèque papale à la fin du XIIIe siècle et le célèbre traducteur Guillaume de Moerbeke constituent l’épisode central de la transmission du savoir grec en Occident. Ce livre présente une mise au point définitive de la question, en prenant comme cas d’étude une traduction de Moerbeke dont le modèle grec, actuellement conservé à Florence, faisait partie de la bibliothèque de pape Boniface VIII.

In popular imagination few phenomena are as strongly associated with medieval society as knighthood and chivalry. At the same time, and due to a long tradition of differing national perspectives and ideological assumptions, few phenomena have continued to be the object of so much academic debate. In this volume leading scholars explore various aspects of knightly identity, taking into account both commonalities and particularities across Western Europe. Knighthood and Society in the High Midd...

The development of historical geographical information systems (HGIS) and other methods from the digital humanities have revolutionised historical research on cultural landscapes. One of today’s major challenges, however, concerns the concepts and tools to be deployed for mapping processes of transformation—that is, interpreting and imagining the relational complexity of urban and rural landscapes, both in space and in time, at micro- and macro-scale. The opening up of increasingly divers...

With more than 3,000 titles in almost 14,000 volumes, the 1920s Japanese book donation to the University of Leuven/Louvain is an invaluable time capsule of near-forgotten pre-modern culture and knowledge in Japan. This book combines an attractively illustrated overview of the history of the donation, thus giving the reader fascinating insights into the vibrant 1920s in Japan, its politics, society, and popular culture, with detailed descriptions of a careful selection of 100 pre-modern Japane...

The willingness to migrate in search of employment is in itself insufficient to compel anyone to move. The dynamics of labour mobility are heavily influenced by the opportunities perceived and the imaginaries held by both employers and regulating authorities in relation to migrant labour. This volume offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the structures and imaginaries underlying various forms of mobility. Based on research conducted in different geographical contexts, including ...