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Before England was united under the monarchy, kings had to establish their legitimacy to gain and maintain power. Loyalty to the king, and support of his authority, were not yet attached to the crown, but had to be won. To discover how this was done, Matthew Currier '16 is examining royal diplomas, a type of charter specific to the crown.

This summer, Mackenzie Leavenworth ’15 is interning at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It is one of the largest art museums in the country, and houses many famous works including those of Marcel Duchamp, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and Paul Cézanne. The museum’s campus consists of the Perelman Building, the Rodin Museum, two historic houses in Fairmount Park, and the main building, whose steps became world-famous after the debut of the film Rocky.

De Bao Xu, the Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures, gave a keynote speech titled “Classic Reading, Writing Skill, and Critical Thinking” at the 50th International Conference on Elementary Chinese Education (ICECE).

Whether creating or admiring, art is a passion of many people. This summer, Lily Johnston ’16, a studio art major from Leawood, Kansas, is working to promote contemporary artists through her internship at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (EFA) in New York City. EFA is “dedicated to providing artists across all disciplines with space, tools and a cooperative forum for the development of individual practice.”

Although politicians sometimes get a bad rap, many are devoted to combating social injustices, as Matthew Creeden ’16 has discovered this summer. Creeden, an economics and government double major, is interning at EMILY’s List. EMILY’s List is a political action committee (PAC) in Washington, D.C., that helps elect pro-choice Democratic women to office, as Creeden explained.

A History of Religion in 5 1/2 Objects by Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate has continued to generate reviews and interviews. In its July issue, the Utne Reader excerpted the book for its online site under the title of "Drums: The Rhythme of Life"; the website "Spirituality and Practice" named it one of "The Best Spiritual Books of 2014 (so far),” describing it as “an elegant and illuminating book on the spiritual importance of objects in the religious life.”

Associate Professor of Africana Studies Nigel Westmaas spoke on Radio Atlanta WRFG on the significance of the August 1st Emancipation Day which is celebrated in the Anglophone Caribbean.

Although the newspaper is still a viable source for news, social media and other online outlets have become prevalent information hubs. Perhaps no group is more aware of this phenomenon than the millennial generation, young adults currently in their 20s and 30s. This summer, Emily Kaplan ’15 is observing the shift from printed to digital news firsthand  as a social media intern at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

While terrorism is typically thought of as a foreign attack, its roots can just as easily be domestic. Combatting terrorism requires diligence, proactiveness and positive detection, major goals for the Department of Homeland Security. This summer Vince DiCindio ’15, a world politics major with a concentration in international security, is an intern with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), with support from the Eckman Fund.

The fourth edition of Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport by Robert Simon, the Walcott-Bartlett Professor of Philosophy, was published in July by Westview Press of Perseus Books.