Prairie State College Social Sciences Department

06/01/2026

Happy Pride Month from a part of the country that still has Rainbow crosswalks 🌈

Alt text: Multi-colored rainbow crosswalk, Sausalito, CA waterfront.

05/26/2026

The remains of 44 individuals… 42 Continental Army soldiers, most young men in their late teens and early twenties - and a woman and child, possibly camp followers… were recently reinterred in New York.

Veterans of the Revolutionary War’s Quebec Campaign, and victims of smallpox, they were laid to rest with military honors.

Source:

After 250 years, 44 Continental Army soldiers are being buried with honors in Lake George, N.Y., after their remains were found in a construction site.

05/24/2026

Wishing all a meaningful Memorial Day 🇺🇸

Alt text: Left, image of saluting veteran; Right, image of the the Battlefield Cross (or Fallen Soldier's Cross), a solemn military memorial that includes a fallen service member’s helmet, gun, dog tags, and boots.

05/23/2026

If the conversation at your Memorial Day BBQ goes sideways… politics… which Chicago baseball team is better… family drama… just pivot to History. You’re welcome.

Did you know the roots of Memorial Day are found in African American history? Specifically the African American community of Charleston, SC that honored fallen Union soldiers in 1865. 🇺🇸

Historians like the Pulitzer Prize winner David Blight have tried to raise awareness of freed slaves who decorated soldiers' graves in 1865

05/23/2026

But why are lobster rolls still so delicious? 🤷‍♂️🦞🤣🤣🤣

If you’ve seen those eye-wateringly high diesel fuel prices at the pump, $6-7 of late, that’s a big factor in driving the “Market Price” of a popular summer treat to $40 or even $50 😮

Lobster rolls are a staple of summer in New England, but some people can’t believe how expensive they’ve gotten. CNN’s Randi Kaye finds out what’s driving prices up.

05/20/2026

Celebrating all the joy of Prairie State’s 67th Commencement today 🎓💜💚

Alt Text: Dr. Hebert-Johnson, Dean Arts & Sciences, and Prof. Schott (Political Science) helping confer degrees; Prof. Pariseau (History) lead marshal for Associate of Arts degree recipients; some of the many creatively decorated graduation caps seen at the ceremony.

05/20/2026

From all of us in the Social Sciences…Congratulations to all of our graduates! We’re so proud of you, and incredibly honored to have been part of your academic journey at Prairie State College! 🎓💜💚

Alt text: Social Sciences Faculty wearing academic regalia.

05/19/2026

"For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support." - George Washington, to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, 18 August 1790

We are reminded amidst reports of yesterday's targeted attack on a San Diego, CA mosque, a rise in antisemitism across the country, attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, ongoing assaults against our immigrant communities, further gutting of voting rights across the country that could roll back progress achieved by Civil Rights era reforms ... and more... that the past can sometimes offer comfort, and inform a more enlightened view of a better future achievable for ourselves and coming generations of Americans.

For the full transcription of Washington's 1790 letter, visit: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135

Alt Text: Interior view of Touro Synagogue, dedicated in 1763; two men reading a partially unrolled Torah at the bimah - raised reading platform - of the synagogue. Image Credit: National Park Service.

05/18/2026

Fascinating archaeological discovery that sheds new light on the life of a Pompeii victim during their last moments...

“As far back as two thousand years ago, there were those who did not merely practice medicine—confined to specific office hours—but simply were physicians at every moment,” park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said in a statement translated from Italian. “This man brought his tools with him to be ready to rebuild his life elsewhere…but perhaps also to help others.”

Technology is humanizing one of the many victims of the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 CE.

05/17/2026

Article about the psychology behind sea shanties, work, and group coordination….

We’ll give ‘em a pass that they got it wrong on “Wellerman” (Sea Song, not a Shanty) 🤣🤣🤣 🐳 🎼 🎶

https://www.popsci.com/science/sea-shanties-work-psychology/?fbclid=IwdGRleAR17XJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEehr-GtdL_RsKMmkk-FO_yjLGdMkzabYhI8a5NjbxQAX0U-Av9aicR0eUTQ2o_aem_YXdaJH0VHSUq9JMUpF8Qow

Centuries-old work songs still possess real psychological benefits today.