Destructive Imagination

Destructive Imagination

Male Fantasies and the Emotional Roots of Russia’s War in Ukraine

Russian soldiers did not go to war with only guns and orders—they went with fantasies that made killing feel meaningful. Drawing on diaries, social media posts, memoirs, poems, and battlefield songs, Maria Kurbak reconstructs the war from below. She shows how Russian combatants turn old wounds—NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia, the collapse of the USSR, personal […]
Trump’s foreign ambitions

Trump’s foreign ambitions

Faculty experts in political science, history and law at Washington University in St. Louis discuss the recent capture of the Venezuelan president and offer context about President Donald Trump’s latest challenges to international order.
Michelangelo and Titian

Michelangelo and Titian

A Tale of Rivalry and Genius

From the acclaimed author of Michelangelo, God’s Architect, a dual biography of two towering artists of the Renaissance, whose decades-long rivalry spurred both to greater heights. In 1529, Michelangelo was in Venice when he first met Titian, Venice’s famed painter of princes, gods, and goddesses. Coming face-to-face with Titian’s drama-infused, richly colored works, the creator of David and […]
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