Category Archives: History

June 04

Medieval Lord of The Rings Illustrations

By: Terra Clarke Olsen There are times I’m really thankful for the Internet and Social Media. Yesterday was one of those times; io9 published an article featuring these fantastic Russian Orthodox illustrations depicting scenes from The Lord of the Rings. Created by Ukranian artist Sergei Iukhimov, the images’ medieval style elicit the magical wonder that surrounds that period, […]

March 05

History Lessons from the Tokugawa Matriarchy

History Lessons from the Tokugawa Matriarchy: Ôoku: The Inner Chambers By: Leah Zoller In 1716, Tokugawa Yoshimune, the great-granddaughter of the first Tokugawa shogun, become shogun herself, despite being the third daughter of a branch family and having a low-ranking concubine as a father. During her reign as Shogun, Yoshimune enacted a number of reforms, […]

July 26

The Evolution of the Social Networking Site

The Evolution of the Social Networking Site By: Andrea Cole In the beginning there was the Internet, a vast and lonely space occupied only by computer science majors and Trekkies.  Then came IRC, ICQ, instant messaging, and email. And AOL saw that it was good. But man and woman were lonely and needed to interact […]

March 14

The Story of Gilles de Rais in Non-Academic-Speak

The Story of Gilles de Rais in Non-Academic-Speak By: Alexis Fabricius So, I’m a nerd. This is a long-established and well-known fact. So are you; that’s why you’re reading this blog. Now that we’re best friends, it’s time to get to the nitty gritty – what kind of nerd am I? Good question. I’m a […]

February 06

A Classicist’s Reading of the Mass Effect Trilogy

A Classicist’s Reading of the Mass Effect Trilogy By: Madison Abshire As a nerd for classics and history, as well as Sci-Fi and videogames, I am always excited to see those passions intersect.  I am lucky that, in the process of effective world building within a game, templates from the past are often the starting […]

January 09

History of Gaming: Dice

History of Gaming: Dice By: Terra Clarke Olsen Gaming is a natural human pursuit. It fulfills our innate desire to outwit our foes and rewards us with the same victorious feeling of yore. More importantly, though, through gaming we challenge ourselves and improve our cognitive development. So it is both understandable and astounding that as […]

October 17

Happy Birthday, St. Yves

Happy Birthday, St. Yves By: Terra Olsen   This has been quite the year for me, but the absolute highlight was marrying my better half, followed by a trip of a lifetime to Brittany, France. It was during our time in France that I experienced a moment in my life that will stay with me […]

October 01

History of “Nerd”

History of “Nerd” By: Terra Olsen   To kick-start Have You Nerd, it is only appropriate to look into the origin of “nerd”- the inspiration for this Blog. The word “nerd” has had an interesting evolution in pop culture. Many have credited Dr.Seuss for creating the term ‘nerd,’ since it first appeared published in If […]