Underground ‘extreme’ styles of heavy metal are marked apart by other sub-genres of metal by their adoption of a punk rock ethos and overt rejection of commercialism. In metal culture being ‘true’ is a by-word for a perceived authenticity of the artist(s) in their commitment to the culture and integrity as composers/performers. Authenticity is a…[Read more]

The music of Soundgarden represents a unique blend of heavy metal power and and art-rock sensitivity, this is clearly displayed in the song ‘Outshined’. The unorthodox harmony, use of odd time time signatures and sectional variation seem to blur genre boundaries within rock music and also lend the music a sense of emotional instability that runs…[Read more]

Guitar solos were a defining foundational aspects in the early formative years of what would become known as heavy metal music. Though Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath has been largely credited as the most influential guitarist on the wider genre, this essay argues that it is the style of Ritchie Blackmore that has been of greater importance and…[Read more]

Can the Indian manuscript and manuscript library be art? In what follows, I reflect on this question by examining a set of photographs I created for an art project called Manuscriptistan. I explain what it has meant for me to aestheticise Indian manuscript libraries and manuscripts, and I offer some insights about why it is important for scholars…[Read more]

“Selling Science in the 20th Century” was a public talk delivered as part of the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s Saturday Speakers series. The presentation focused on Beckman Instruments, science advertising, the Beckman Historical Collection, and the digitization component of CHF’s Beckman Legacy Project. Audience members also had the opportunity…[Read more]

When we think we know Fernando Pessoa, a new surprise arises: this time, one related to the genesis of Mensagem, the most established and celebrated book of the Pessoan canon. That book, published in 1934 with a title only finalized at the time of the typographical proofs, was initially called Portugal—an inscription dating from 1910, when P…[Read more]

An introduction to music appreciation and history that emphasizes the political, cultural, and social influences on music from antiquity to the 20th century. Contents include sacred and secular, vocal and instrumental, and folk and art music from across the Western world, including modern popular song. No previous musical experience necessary. All…[Read more]

PDF copy of the syllabus for “Mapping Violence,” an undergraduate course co-taught by Profs. Monica Muñoz Martinez and Jim McGrath with Teaching Assistant Edwin Rodriguez. The course draws on and contributes to work from Mapping Violence, a digital restorative justice initiative focused on acts of state-sanctioned racial violence in Texas and…[Read more]

A somewhat whimsical musing on music videos by Fall Out Boy and Beyoncé, all through the lens of Lucretius by way of John Rahn.

Over the course of the last year the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML) and the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park (Roshan Institute-UMD) have begun collaborating with the Raja of Mahmudabad family on the preservation of their important manuscript collection. The project will help protect the…[Read more]