Philip C. Almond

World map identifying Asia with Shem, Europe with Japheth, and Africa with Ham. From Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae, printed in Augsburg, 1472. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Austin, Texas. Public Domain.

Noah’s Ark and the Slave Trade

After the Flood, Noah’s sons were repurposed to support a new worldview justifying racial hierarchy and slavery.

The Buddha seated cross legged on a lotus throne, surrounded by scenes from his life. Tibet, 18th century. Photograph © 2023 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All rights reserved. / Denman Waldo Ross Collection / Bridgeman Images.

The Search for the Historical Buddha

Arriving in the West in the 19th century, the Buddha of legend was stripped of supernatural myth and recast as a historical figure. What do we really know about him?