The colonial history of Australia is a small chunk of time in the history of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. European settlement brought many changes to their lives, some of them irreversible. In many cases, the colonial attack on Aboriginal bodies was also an attack on their culture and on aboriginal languages. Before 1788, different Aboriginal tribes spoke at least 300 languages (some believe the number goes up to 700). Some were extremely different from each other, as shown by the dissimilarities between the so-called Pama-Nyungan (PN) and non-Pama-Nyungan languages. Today many Aboriginal Australians are active speakers of Aboriginal English, a colonial product originating from the contact between English and Indigenous languages.   Aboriginal Languages: Pama-Nyungan (PN) and non-Pama-Nyungan (PN)  Map of Aboriginal Languages. Source: National Museum of Australia   For Indigenous communities across what is now Australia, language is a vehicle of culture, identity, allegiance, tribal unity, and belonging. It represents a millennia-long relationship to a specific tribal territory.   Indigenous languages are also a vehicle for history, as linguists believe that relatively small differences among two or more Aboriginal languages are often due to tribal splits or mergers that occurred at some point in the past. Tribal names often derive from the name of a language. In certain parts of Australia, for instance, even among those languages conventionally called dialects, the smallest differences are extremely meaningful because they point to the tribal specificity of their speakers. In this framework, the colonial attack on Indigenous languages represents an attack on the very core of Indigenous identity.   The Blue Mountains in Australia, photo by Jacques Bopp. Source: Unsplash   At the end of the 18th century, when the first settlers and explorers crossed the Blue Mountains, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders spoke between 300 and 700 distinct languages. The exact number is unknown for obvious reasons, but we owe much of what we know to Norman Tindale (1990-1993), an Australian anthropologist from Perth who spent years mapping the various Aboriginal groups and the languages they spoke across the continent.   Between 160 and 250 of these languages are still spoken today, despite numerous 20th-century government policies that prevented children in missions from speaking the language of their parents and ancestors. According to AIATSIS, in the Torres Strait alone, Indigenous people speak three main languages: Kala Lagaw Ya, Meriam Mir, and Yumplatok (or Torres Strait Creole). They have various dialects, are as varied as European languages can be, and are as different from each other as Italian, French, Hindi, Arabic, and Bengali.   Despite their many differences, as well as the influences from the Macassan and Dravidian languages of southern India, Indigenous languages in Australia can all be traced back to a common source, an ancestral Aboriginal language called proto-Australian. Today linguists differentiate between Pama-Nyungan (PN) languages and non-Pama-Nyungan languages.   Non-Pama-Nyungan languages were (and are) spoken mainly in the northern regions of Australia, in the Top End and the Kimberley, the areas that remained untouched by the spreading of proto-Australian. They use prefixes that give rise to long compound words and tend to have more elaborate verbal structures.   The Pama-Nyungan languages, on the contrary, were spoken in the lands where Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, and Brisbane were built. They essentially cover most of the continent. Grammatically, they are characterized by the use of suffixes to indicate grammatical functions. Over the centuries, they have changed as people moved across the continent, crossing deserts, or following waterways or coastlines.   What Is Aboriginal English? A group of South Sea Islanders working as cane cutters in Queensland, 1863. Source: National Museum Australia   The language that linguists call Aboriginal English is a product of Australia’s history of colonization. Aboriginal English (and its many varieties) originated upon contact with Europeans in the late 18th century. However, it can by no means be described as a simplified or random deviation from an expected norm.   For many Aboriginal people today, it is in effect a mother tongue, as well as an expression of Aboriginal identity. It is a distinct language whose phonology, terminology, and grammatical structures reflect the patterns and constraints of both Australian Aboriginal languages and Standard Australian English.   Noongar Australian writer Kim Scott, photo by Gnangarra. Source: Wikimedia Commons   This is evident in the following extract from Taboo (2017), a novel written by Noongar writer and scholar Kim Scott, and a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Australia and Aboriginal culture. Here, two characters, Gerald and Gerrard, discuss their encounter with Tilly, a girl of mixed descent, long estranged from the community of her Aboriginal father, Jim.   “Boy still on holiday?” “Do him good in a way” A prison was named. “Yeah. They still doing those classes, Jim was showing them?” “Dunno” “Jim was teaching them?” […] “What we doing today?” “Stuff.” “Better get everybody up” “He up, himself?” “Oh yeah, he up himself alright” “Ha. I mean awake, out of bed.” “Well, this one is.” “She Jim’s girl?” “Yeah” “She know about her mum and dad?” “Just met her dad. Only ever known him inside” “Shame” (Taboo, 123-4)   Map of Noongar groups in Australia, by John D. Croft, several Noongar dialects are spoken in south-eastern Western Australia. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In this short dialogue, we find many distinctive features and non-standard patterns of Aboriginal English. In Aboriginal English, connecting verbs (to be in this case) tend to be omitted. This occurs in the present tense and continuous-aspect forms, such as in “He up, himself?” and “What we doing today?” They are never omitted in the past form (as in “They still doing those classes, Jim was showing them?”) or the meaning would not be clear.   Aboriginal English is, in fact, a rational language with its own set of rational rules. Its features are never arbitrary. Questions of the yes/no type are formed simply by adding a question mark at the end (“Jim was teaching them?”; “She Jim’s girl?”). If the question mark had been omitted, the sentence would have functioned as an affirmative clause and would have been identical to a statement.   This feature, namely the construction of interrogative clauses as statements, is one of the most persistent grammatical features of Aboriginal English, as its speakers commonly ask questions using the structure of an affirmative clause with a rising intonation (signaled in literary texts by the question mark at the end). Linguists believe it originates from the Aboriginal customs of resorting to a range of indirect means to obtain information.   In addition, Aboriginal English contains many vocabulary items and terminology not commonly found in Standard Australian English. Despite some local differences, they are unique to Aboriginal English speakers.   The Australian Aboriginal Flag. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The novel Taboo abounds with Aboriginal English terms. The most common is lingo, which means “Aboriginal language” (“You reckon that’s our lingo?”). Readers will also find wadjela, indicating “a white man” and the term mob, which translates to “group” (“You’re that Wirlomin mob”).   The Western Australian question-tag “unna” is also very common. It is used as “inna” in South Australia, and “eh?” in much of the country (“We’re on time so far, Wally, but for how long, unna?”).   Although typical of Aboriginal English, mob is also used today by non-Aboriginal English speakers: indeed, big mob is often used as a substitute for much, many, a lot, especially in the Kimberley region of far northern Western Australia. Furthermore, in some Australian languages words cannot end with stop consonants, that is, /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, and /g/: to conform to this pattern, in Aboriginal English English words will have their final sound dropped or another letter added (“Musta been bushfire not far”).   Language Switching  Group of Yolngu people, preparing for a festival, by Wayne Quilliam Photography / Yothu Yindi Foundation. Source: Flickr   Language switching, that is, changing register according to the social situation one is in, is a common practice among Aboriginal people. In many Aboriginal languages special “respect” speech varieties are required when the speaker is addressing someone who stands in the kinship relation of a potential mother-, son-, or father-in-law. Similarly, a speech variety with distinct phonetical and grammar rules is employed when talking to children under a certain age.   Honoring and respecting registers is crucial to maintaining peaceful relations, to the point that in a creative context such as that of storytelling, failure to respect such registers is often used to create irony and misunderstandings. Linguistic switching is particularly important when considered in the context of the Australian judiciary system. For a long time in Australia, Aboriginal evidence was not allowed in court.   Peter Weir’s film The Last Wave is a good example of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians when it comes to the judicial system. Source: New Zealand International Film Festival   Aboriginal voices were silenced and events were twisted and wrapped in euphemism by white men in newspaper reports and official documents. The use of language in courts, as Michael Christie notes in his interesting essay The Language of Oppression, was particularly important, since Aboriginal actions were “usually termed ‘attacks, incursions, atrocities, outrages, crimes, murders, or depredations,’” whereas the activities of the squatters and border police are referred to as “‘incidents, clearing operations, self-defense, punitive expeditions or police actions.’”   While retaining their unique language, the Aboriginal characters in Taboo are aware of the importance of using a mutually understandable language in particularly important situations where no room can be left for misunderstandings. Language not only serves the purpose of communication, but it also maintains a kind of separateness in language use that allows for privacy and reinforces a sense of separate identity. The endless subtleties of Aboriginal English are often invisible to non-Indigenous speakers.   Dormant Languages? Invasion Day rally, Melbourne, by Johan Mouchet. Source: Unsplash   For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, English has been (and sometimes still is) the language of oppression. Because of its strong connection with the bodies of its speakers, language is also a fragile tool, always hovering between life and death, between survival and forgetfulness. Today, reconciliation with non-Indigenous Australians and community survival also depend on language retention and the possibility of language revitalization.   Many of the Aboriginal languages spoken before 1788 are now extinct. Nonetheless, some of them are experiencing a renaissance. Arrernte in the Red Centre or the Yolŋgu language of Arnhem Land are regularly spoken by both young and old. AIATSIS reports that “in Port Headland, Western Australia, the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre preserves, promotes, and maintains around 31 Aboriginal languages across the Pilbara. Today it holds a unique and diverse cultural collection including 5000 recordings of Pilbara languages in its archives.”    In a country with a history of colonialism, “the oppression of the Aborigines began with words,” as Michael Christie notes. It is with words and languages that Indigenous peoples around the world are finally able to reclaim the value of their cultures, the importance of their ancestral languages, and their place in society.

If you’re tired of hearing about Paris or the French Riviera every time France comes up, you’re reading the right article. Here, I will tell you about a part of the Land of Lights that doesn’t always make it onto your Instagram feed, and it’s hiding some of the most captivating corners in the southwest.   Sure, you’ve probably heard of Bordeaux’s wines or maybe even Lourdes with its legendary pilgrimage site. But the real gems are hidden in the historic towns where ancient architecture, cobblestone streets, and vibrant local markets invite you to slow down and soak in the authentic French experience.   Ready for something a little off the beaten path? Here’s your ticket to 10 historic towns in Southwest France that bring the charm, the history, and a serious dose of joie de vivre.   1. Sarlat-la-Canéda Aerial shot of Sarlat la Caneda, France. Source: Wikimedia Commons   This captivating medieval town is located in the heart of the Dordogne region in France. Originating around a Benedictine abbey in the 9th century, Sarlat flourished during the Middle Ages. This allowed the town to become a significant center of commerce and culture. You’ll be enchanted by Sarlat’s narrow, cobblestone streets lined with impeccably restored stone buildings that’ll take you back to 14th-century France.   A must-see is the Saint-Sacerdos Cathedral, a blend of Romanesque and Gothic styles. This cathedral reflects centuries of architectural evolution. Nearby, the Lanterne des Morts (Lantern of the Dead) stands as a unique 12th-century monument with intriguing shell-shaped architecture.   As for the Place de la Liberté, the town’s central square, it is surrounded by traditional 16th and 17th-century houses and hosts vibrant markets where local delicacies like foie gras and truffles are abundant.   Sarlat’s commitment to preserving its heritage has earned it a place on France’s Tentative List for future UNESCO World Heritage nomination. This makes the town a perfect place to visit for both history enthusiasts and cultural travelers.   2. Saint-Émilion View of Saint-Émilion and its church. Source: Wikimedia Commons   You can find this town in the Bordeaux wine region of France. Saint-Émilion is a UNESCO World Heritage site celebrated for its rich history and exceptional wines. Its origins date back to the 8th century when a Breton monk named Émilion settled in a hermitage carved into the limestone. He attracted followers and established a monastic community.   You can explore the remarkable Monolithic Church, Europe’s largest underground church, hewn entirely from limestone. The town’s medieval architecture is evident in its narrow, cobblestone streets and historic buildings, including the King’s Tower and the Collegiate Church.   Surrounded by rolling vineyards, Saint-Émilion is renowned for its prestigious wineries and wine cellars, where you can taste world-class wines.   3. Cahors Cahors town, France. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Established as Divona Cadurcorum during the Roman era, Cahors was a significant center of commerce and culture. You can find this town in the Lot Valley of southwestern France, and visiting it offers a journey through time. The Pont Valentré, a 14th-century fortified bridge, stands as a testament to medieval engineering and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.   You also have the Saint-Étienne Cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century. This iconic site showcases a blend of Romanesque and Gothic architecture through its impressive domes and intricate carvings.   Strolling through the old town reveals narrow streets lined with half-timbered houses and hidden courtyards. The Maison Henri IV, a 15th-century building, exemplifies the Renaissance influence in the region.   Cahors is also renowned for its Malbec wines, offering numerous vineyards and cellars where visitors can indulge in tastings. Its vibrant markets, particularly the Marché de Cahors, provide a sensory experience with local produce, cheeses, and truffles.   4. Rocamadour Rocamadour, Lot department, southwestern France. Source: Flickr   Perched dramatically on a limestone cliff in southwestern France, Rocamadour is a medieval village renowned for its historical significance and breathtaking vistas. Established in the 12th century, it swiftly became a pivotal pilgrimage site. Devotees were flocking to its revered Sanctuary of the Black Madonna.   One of the most interesting things you’ll enjoy doing in Rocamadour is ascending the Grand Escalier, a staircase of 216 steps traditionally climbed by pilgrims on their knees, leading to the sacred complex of chapels and the Basilica of Saint-Sauveur, a UNESCO World Heritage site.   You’ll see stone houses, artisan shops, and quaint cafés lining the narrow and winding streets of the village. All of these cling to the cliffside, which provides you with a unique medieval ambiance.   5. Lourdes Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old girl, reported 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary at the Grotto of Massabielle. This was what made Lourdes one of the world’s most important pilgrimage sites.   Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees, this famous town in southwestern France provides you with the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, which encompasses the revered grotto, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, and also the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. The sanctuary attracts millions annually. It’s a place for prayer, reflection, and participation in the nightly candlelit processions.   Apart from the religious landmarks, Lourdes offers attractions like the Château Fort, a medieval fortress housing the Pyrenean Museum, and the Pic du Jer, accessible by funicular. The latter offers panoramic views of the town and surrounding mountains.   6. Auch Sainte-Marie Cathedral, Auch, France. Source: Wikimedia Commons   As the ancient capital of the Celtiberian tribe of Ausci, Auch evolved into a significant center during Roman Gaul, known then as Elimberris. When you visit Auch, you’ll be embarking on a journey through time. The town is located in the heart of Gascony, and one of its most notable historic sites includes the Sainte-Marie Cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic and Renaissance architecture found in the town center. Its intricate stained-glass windows and meticulously carved choir stalls are particularly noteworthy.   Adjacent to the cathedral, the Monumental Staircase descends to the lower town. It features a statue of D’Artagnan, the famed Musketeer born in the region. Wandering through Auch’s narrow streets will allow you to witness half-timbered houses and hidden courtyards that showcase the medieval heritage of the town.   The rich history of this unique French area is further showcased in the Musée des Amériques – Auch, which houses France’s second-largest collection of pre-Columbian art outside Paris. Auch’s lively markets, offering local specialties like foie gras and Armagnac, provide a taste of Gascon gastronomy.   7. Brossac Town of Brossac, France. Wikimedia Commons   Brossac’s history dates back to ancient times, with evidence of human presence from the Neolithic era, including dolmens and megaliths. Nestled in the Charente department of southwestern France, this picturesque village provides you with a tranquil retreat as you’ll be surrounded by rolling hills and lush landscapes.   A notable historical site near Brossac is the Villa Gallo-Romaine de la Coue d’Auzenat, a must-visit ancient Roman villa. The village itself is characterized by traditional stone houses, narrow lanes, and a serene atmosphere that reflects its rich heritage.   For visitors, Brossac offers a range of activities. The Étang Vallier Resort features a leisure lake ideal for swimming, paddleboarding, and lakeside relaxation. The surrounding countryside is perfect for hiking, cycling, and exploring the natural beauty of the region.   As for the local markets and eateries, they provide a taste of Charente’s culinary delights, including regional wines and cheeses. If you’re looking for an authentic French countryside experience, then, for sure, Brossac is a great destination combining historical significance with natural beauty and recreational opportunities.   8. Jonzac Jonzac castle, Jonzac, France. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Also located in the Charente-Maritime department of southwestern France, this town’s origins trace back to the medieval period, with the Château de Jonzac standing as a testament to its rich past. This 15th-century castle, perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the Seugne River, has withstood numerous historical events, including the Hundred Years’ War.   You’ll get the chance to explore the castle’s impressive architecture and enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding area. The town center features narrow streets lined with traditional stone houses leading to the Église Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, a Romanesque church dating back to the 12th century.   Jonzac is also renowned for its thermal springs, making it a popular destination for wellness tourism. The Les Antilles de Jonzac is a tropical-themed aquatic center that offers a variety of relaxation and recreational facilities, including pools, spas, and fitness areas.   The town hosts vibrant markets where visitors can sample local specialties such as cognac and regional cheeses.   9. Aubeterre-Sur-Dronne Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, Charente, France. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Charente department is actually home to plenty of interesting historic towns and villages that I personally had the unique chance of visiting. Aubeterre is one such destination, celebrated as one of the “Plus Beaux Villages de France“ (Most Beautiful Villages of France). The village’s history dates back to Roman times, with its name derived from “Alba Terra,“ meaning “white land,“ referencing the local limestone cliffs.   Aubeterre is renowned for its Église Saint-Jean, a monolithic church carved directly into the cliffside during the 12th century. This subterranean church features a 20-meter-high nave and is among the largest of its kind in Europe.   The streets are lined with white stone houses adorned with wooden balconies and vibrant flowers. The central square, Place Ludovic Trarieux, is a lively hub with cafés and artisan shops, which will allow you to learn about the local culture.   I recommend that you explore the Église Saint-Jacques, notable for its intricate Romanesque façade, and enjoy recreational activities along the Dronne River, such as canoeing and swimming.   10. Guizengeard Lac de Guizengeard, Guizengeard, France. Source: Gabriel Kirellos   This tranquil commune, again in France’s Charente department, is renowned for its striking Lac Bleu de Guizengeard. This artificial lake, formed in a former kaolin (white clay) quarry, is celebrated for its vibrant turquoise waters, a result of the mineral composition and absence of aquatic life.   The village itself offers a peaceful retreat characterized by its rural charm and proximity to natural landscapes. Visitors can explore the surrounding forests. This will allow them to enjoy hiking trails while marveling at the scenic views of the lake and its unique geological features.   While Guizengeard may not have a bustling town center, its allure lies in the serene environment and the captivating beauty of the Lac Bleu, making it a noteworthy destination for nature enthusiasts and those seeking tranquility.

  When we talk about the history of Christianity in China, most people tend to think about the Jesuit missionaries from the Early Modern Era. However, almost a thousand years before them, the Christian community thrived in medieval China during the rule of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). These Christians belonged to the Church of the East, an ancient church that arose in the Sasanian Empire.   The Christian community in Tang China managed to survive for as long as the emperors were tolerant of other religions. That changed during the rule of the emperor Wuzong (841-846 CE), who banned all foreign religions.   The Tang Dynasty: China’s Golden Age Map of the Tang Dynasty’s Empire. Source: Wikimedia Commons   After a long period of disunity and civil war between northern and southern states, China was reunified into a single state once again during the Sui Dynasty Period (581-617). Emperor Wendi (581-604) managed to restore the kingdom’s bureaucratic apparatus and centralize the state that he ruled from the rebuilt city of Cnag’an. The construction of the Great Canal from 605 to 609 CE united the Empire economically.   Although the Sui Dynasty ruled for a short period of time, it laid the foundation for the power and prosperity that China experienced during the Tang Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty’s rule came to an end with the revolt against the emperor Yangdi (604-617) because of his unpopular and unsuccessful wars against Korea. General Li Yuan, who led the revolt, took the throne and ruled by the name of Emperor Gaozu (618-626). With his rule, the Tang Era began.   Portrait of Emperor Wendi of Sui dynasty, by Yan Li-Pen, 7th century. Source: Boston Fine Arts Museum   During the reigns of his successors, Taizong (626-649) and Gaozong (649-683), China’s territory was greatly expanded. Through a series of successful wars against Turkic tribes to the east, they established control over the Silk Road.   Trade with other Asian countries expanded through both land and maritime routes. Thanks to this expansion of trade, during the early Tang Period, China entered an era of economic, social, and cultural prosperity. A great number of foreigners came to China, mostly from neighboring countries but also from other parts of Asia. They settled in big trading cities and towns and were mostly engaged in business, but they also influenced China’s cultural life during this period.   Various forms of cultural activity bloomed during this period of peace and prosperity, such as art, poetry, and fashion. The capital city of Cnang’an became the residence of many artists, such as Zhang Xuan (c. 713-755). Tang China also served as a model for other Asian countries and their dynasties, such as Korea and Japan. They looked to Tang Dynasty rulers in order to use their experiences to strengthen their states.   Portrait of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, 14th–17th century. Source: National Palace Museum   Early Tang emperors, like their Sui predecessors, promoted Buddhism, which became an integral part of the Chinese state and society. A great number of Buddhist temples flourished throughout the country, which positively affected the development of both the culture and the economy. However, the promotion of Buddhism did not mean rejection of traditional Chinese religions, such as Confucianism and Taoism, which still played an important role in society.   In times of peace, emperors tolerated other religions that found their way into China during this period. In the capital city of Chang’an, members of various other religious groups lived and thrived, such as Zoroastrians, Muslims, and Manichaeans. Under the early Tang emperors, China became a multicultural and cosmopolitan empire. Such circumstances enabled Christians to find their place among other religions in China at that time.   The Church of the East: Early History and Expansion Seated Buddha Vairocana, early 8th century. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art   In order to better understand the history of Christians in China, we need to look at the history of the church to which those Christians belonged. To do that, we need to look back a few centuries. The Church of the East is an ancient church that has its origins in ancient Persia. Christianity appeared in Persia in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, during the Parthian Empire. It is not known exactly how Christianity spread into Persia. One possibility is that it was done by Greek-speaking refugees from the Roman Empire who fled persecution.   According to Medieval Historian, Wilhelm Baum, the earliest Christians emerged from Jewish communities in Persia. Aside from them, early Christians in Persia included local Persians, Arab tribes, and the Aramaic-speaking population, who made up the majority of Christians in that period.   In the second half of the 3rd century CE, Persian Christians had developed an episcopal structure of their own. At the beginning of the 4th century CE, the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon managed to impose supremacy over all other bishops. This marked the beginning of the Church of the East.   Inside an ancient Mar Toma Church in Urmia, Iran, photo by Mar Sharb. Source: Flickr   With the rise of the Sasanian Empire during the 3rd century CE, Zoroastrianism was declared the official state religion. Because of that, Christians faced persecution from time to time during the 4th century CE. The situation changed again during the rule of the Yazdegerd I (399-424).   In the first half of the 5th century CE, the Church of the East established its organization, headed by the Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. It gradually distanced itself from the Church of the Roman Empire and declared its independence in 424. However, at the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 410, the Church of the East accepted the teachings proclaimed at the First Ecumenical Council in 325. The decisions of the Council of Ephesus in 431, which condemned the Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, were not accepted. Nestorius thought that the title “Theotokos” (Mother of God), given to the Virgin Mary, was not appropriate and that only the title “Christotokos” (Mother of Christ) could be applied. The Church of the East did not participate in any other ecumenical councils after this.   Because of this, the Church of the East was, and still is, wrongly described as “Nestorian.” The Christology of the Church of the East was created under the influence of Theodore of Mopsuestia, a representative of the Antiochian school. Members of this school of thought considered that there were two separate natures in Jesus Christ. This was different from the official dogma of the Church in the Roman Empire, according to which the two natures of Jesus Christ were united.   Rabban Hormizd Monastery in Iraq, 7th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons   During the 5th and 6th centuries CE, the Church of the East spread throughout the lands controlled by the Sasanian Empire and Christians became a significant religious minority. During the 6th century CE, monasticism spread, and many new monasteries were built.   When Byzantine-Sasanian wars broke out, Christians in Persia faced persecution again. However, thanks to capable patriarchs such as Mar Abba I the Great (540-552), the Church of the East managed to survive and thrive.   During this period, the Church of the East spread beyond the borders of the Sasanian Empire, among the Arab tribes, in Central Asia, and even as far away as India and Sri Lanka. The church even survived the Arab conquests of the 7th century CE. During the rule of the Muslim Caliphs, the Church of the East belonged to the ahl-al-dhimma, that is, religious groups that, in exchange for religious freedom, paid tribute to the state.   A Golden Age of Christianity in China Map of the expansion of the Church of the East. Source: Wikimedia Commons   For many years, very little was known about the history of Christianity in China until the arrival of missionaries from Europe. That changed with the discovery of the so-called “Nestorian Stele” in the city of Xian in the early 17th century. This stele, 2.79 meters high (9 ft 2 inches) and 99 centimeters (39 inches) wide, was erected in 781 CE and is inscribed in Chinese script with a few lines at the end written in Syriac.   The author of the text was the monk Adam, with the Chinese name Qing-Qing. The Xian Stele tells us about the arrival of Christian missionaries from Syria to China during the reign of Emperor Taizong (626-649). At the head of this mission was the Syrian monk Alopen (or Olopen), who came to Chang’an in 635 and presented the Christian holy books to the emperor. This was followed by the imperial edict of 638, which allowed Christian missionary activity in the country. A Christian monastery was immediately built in Chang’an where 21 monks could live.   According to the emperor’s orders, the Christian holy books presented to him by Alopen were translated and stored in the imperial library. Alopen was most likely part of an official mission from the Sasanian Empire as an official representative of the last Sasanian ruler, Yazdegerd III (632-651). His son, Peroz III, was in exile in China after the Arab conquests. Peroz was responsible for the construction of another Christian monastery in 677 CE. In Chinese documents, Christian monasteries are called “Ta-qin monasteries.” “Ta-qin” was the Chinese name for the Roman Empire or the Middle East, depending on the context.   Xian Stele, erected in 781. Source: Art Gallery of New South Wales   During the decades that followed, Christianity continued to flourish in China. It enjoyed the support of Taizong’s successor, Gaozong (649-683), and many important people in the empire. According to the Xian Stele, Gaozong allowed Christian churches and monasteries to be built in every province of the empire. This does not necessarily mean that monasteries were built in every province, but it is a good indicator of the spread of Christianity in China during that period.   In addition to the central parts of China, Christianity spread to the surrounding countries, to Tibet, and among the Uyghurs. The Church in China was officially organized as the Metropolitan Province of Beth Sinaye under the patriarch Saliba (714-728).   Some Christian priests managed to reach important positions and served as advisors or even generals. For example, general Issu was the right hand of Lord Guo Ziyi. Issu was a priest of Iranian origin. His real name was Yazdebod, and he served as a general, who protected the northern borders of the empire. He was a great benefactor of Christian communities, and his name stands out on the Xian Stele.   Art and Literature Nestorian Hymn from the Book of Praise, 8th century. Source: Bibliothèque Nationale de France   The history of Christianity in Tang China spans two centuries, and a small number of Christian texts in Chinese have survived to this day. Christian monks and priests carried out a great deal of effort in the translation of Christian texts into Chinese. During the 780s CE, an Indian scholar named Pradschna resided in China. He helped a monk named Adam, whose Chinese name was Qinq-Qing, translate Christian texts. By the end of the 10th century, around 500 texts had been translated into Chinese, including the complete New Testament and part of the Old Testament.   Out of these 500 texts, only a handful have survived to this day. Among them, the oldest ones are the Book of Jesus, the Messiah, and On the One God. They were written in 635-638, and 641 CE, possibly by Alopen. A memorial pillar from Luoyang, erected in 814/815 CE, contains the text titled Teaching on the Origin of Origins of the Da Qin Luminous Religion. Aside from that, another pillar contains the epitaph of a Sogdian Christian woman, and it is decorated with pictures of a cross and winged angels.   Some other Chinese Christian texts that have survived to this day include the Book of Praise (presumably written by Qing-Qing in the late 8th century), the Book of Venerable Men and Sacred Books (written in c. 906-1036), and the Book of the Origin of the Enlightening Religion of Ta Qin (written before 1036).   Restoration of the silk painting of a Christian figure from Mogao Caves, 9th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In addition to these texts, some remnants of Chinese Christian art have survived. A silk painting of a haloed Christian figure, dating from the 9th century, was found in the Mogao Caves. A painted male figure is represented with a halo and a winged crown containing a cross. The position of his right hand is taken from Buddhism, and it symbolizes the explanation of a doctrine. The silk painting depicts either Jesus Christ or a saint.   At the beginning of the 20th century, three frescoes were found in the remains of the Christian temple in Kocho, two of which have been preserved. The first one possibly depicts a celebration of Palm Sunday. The fresco depicts a man of Middle Eastern origin, most likely a deacon or priest, in front of three believers. According to another interpretation, it depicts a ceremonial greeting inspired by Buddhism. The second fresco depicts the Repentance and is smaller than the previous one. The third fresco, lost today, once depicted the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.   Persecutions and Demise Christian fresco from the Mogao Caves, 7th–9th centuries. Source: Discovery of Civilizations of Central Asia   At the end of the 8th century, the Christian community in China reached its zenith. However, most believers came from foreign populations: Iranians, Sogdians, Turks, and Uyghurs. Very few Chinese converted to Christianity because it was still a foreign religion to them.   According to Baum, during the middle of the 9th century, there were about 260,000 Christians in China. The survival of Christians in China depended too much on the goodwill of emperors and local rulers. While peace reigned and the emperors promoted religious tolerance, Christians lived in peace. In turbulent times, however, rulers often turned against foreigners and foreign religions.   Christians experienced the first persecutions in China during the reign of Empress Wu (683-705). As a fanatical Buddhist, she elevated Buddhism to the level of the state religion in 691 and turned on members of other religions, including Christians. During her domination of the state, several monasteries were looted and burned. The persecutions ended during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong I (713-756).   Cross on a lotus flanked by two Angels, Detail from the Pillar of Luoyang, 814/815. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Christians experienced their final downfall during the reign of Wuzong (841-846). He was a traditional Taoist and turned against all religions that he considered foreign. First, in 843, he banned the practice of Manichaeism, and later his persecutions were extended to other religions, even Buddhism. His edict from 845 banned “Persian religions,” namely Zoroastrianism and Christianity. All members of these religious groups were ordered to leave China.   During the next century, Christians perished in China completely. With the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907, China once again entered a period of civil war and internal instability. Because of this, trade routes with the West collapsed, and the remaining Christians lost contact with their patriarch.   Around 980, patriarch Abdisho I sent six monks to China to examine the situation. They reported that Christianity had completely disappeared in China. Churches and monasteries were destroyed, and there was only one Christian left. This, however, did not mark the end of Christianity in China. It would be revived in the 13th century, during the reign of the Yuan dynasty.

  The Vikings were one of the most dominant forces in Western Europe from the 9th until the 11th centuries. They were able to dominate their neighbors in large part due to the superior technology of their longships. They were able to move fast, sail in shallow waters, and even take their ships over land, giving them a strategic advantage. But at the same time, their unusual ship design makes it almost unbelievable that they were able to safely sail to the Americas and back.   How exactly were Viking ships designed, how were they different from ship designs elsewhere in Europe, and what were the benefits and disadvantages of their unique approach to seafaring?   Not Just Warships Boat burial of the god Balder, illustration by W.G. Collingwood, 1908. Source: My Norse Digital Image Repository   While we mostly talk about Viking longships, this was only one of the many types of vessels built by the Vikings. They made everything from tiny fishing boats to barge ferries, to transport goods and livestock.   Heavy freight-carrying merchant ships were called Knarr. They were wide, deep, and slow. They could carry up to 40 tons of goods. These were probably used exclusively to transport goods up and down the Scandinavian coast and to colonies in the North Sea. Traders sailing Russian rivers and the Caspian Sea, on the other hand, used lighter Byrding vessels.   But longships stand out because these were what transported Viking raiders to terrorize their Christian neighbors. This was also the type of ship used for Viking ship burials for wealthy and important individuals.   Longship design was different in different regions and across the Viking period. For example, the earliest Viking longships were made from oak, which is strong and excellent for sailing. It would have taken about three oak trunks to make just one ship. Consequently, by the 10th century, while the Danes were still using oak, the Norwegians and Swedes had switched to more available pine.   Nevertheless, most Viking longships share a few distinct features. Despite this consistency, there is no evidence that the Vikings used written diagrams or plans. The art was probably passed down personally from master craftsman to apprentice, usually a son, over years of working together.   Viking Longship Design Construction and oar details from a reconstructed Viking ship. Source: Museum of the Viking Age, Norway   The main characteristic of Viking longships was that they were long and narrow. Exactly how long depended on the number of rowing benches as indicated by holes on each side that allowed for oars to be easily deployed and returned. However, many boats did not have actual benches for the rowers. To save space, rowers would sit on their sea chests.   The smallest surviving longships had only six benches on each side. To be useful in war, a longship needed at least 20 banks. This would mean that it could carry a crew of 41: 40 rowers and the steering cox. These boats, called Snekkja, are the most common surviving ships, measuring an average of 55 feet long and 8 feet wide.   There were also larger ships called Skeid which had 30 rowing benches on each side. The longest of these so far discovered is known as Roskilde 6 and it is one of five ships discovered in Roskilde Fjord in the 1960s. It seems to have been intentionally sunk to form a blockade across the fjord in the early 11th century. The ship was 121 feet long. There are stories in the sagas of even bigger longships, but none have yet been found in the archeological record.   Details of timber construction of the Viking ship known as Roskilde 6, Norway, 11th century. Source: Museum of the Viking Age, Norway   As well as being long, Viking longships were shallow. Most had a maximum draught (the depth a boat sinks under the water) of 0.5-1 meter. This meant that they could sail into shallows and down rivers considered unnavigable by other Europeans. This is how the Vikings arrived at the gates of Paris and how they surprised cities that did not believe they needed river defenses.   The ships were also very lightweight, which meant that the crew could carry them across land between sailable bodies of water. There is also good evidence that they turned their ships upside down and used them as shelters when on land.   According to Norse mythology, the god Freyr owned a ship called Skidlbladnir, which was big enough to carry all the gods and their steeds in full armor, but then folded down like a piece of paper to fit in the god’s pocket. Clearly, a dream vessel.   Oseberg Ship used in an aristocratic burial, Norway, 9th century. Source: Museum of the Viking Age, Norway   The boats were made from long planks of timber, usually oak, that were laid overlapping and nailed together. They were made watertight by filling the spaces between the planks of wood with wool, moss, or animal hair mixed with tar or tallow. This type of construction is known as clinker or lapstrake construction.   Three-inch iron rivets and round iron washers were used as fasteners. Wooden treenails that swelled up when wet were also used. A treenail was essentially a wooden dowel crafted to fit a bored hole like a bolt. The strakes were attached to ribs that were in turn attached to a narrow keel running fore and aft down the centerline of the hull. The strakes of the ship were much thinner than most people realize, often only 0.78-1.18 inches thick (almost paper thin).   Some Viking longships were decorated to look like a dragon or a sea snake, with a vicious head carved at the front of the ship. These were called Drakkar and must have been a fearsome sight on the horizon.   How to Sail Detail of a Viking ship from the Stora Hammars Runestone, Sweden, 7th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Viking longships had wind sails. Most used one large, square sail made from wool that was crisscrossed with leather strips so that it would retain its shape when wet. When there was no wind, the Vikings would take to the oars. And no, slaves weren’t normally used as there simply wasn’t space.   Oars weren’t all the same length. On one ship, oars were found to range from 17-19 feet in length. This was to accommodate the slight bulge in the middle of the ship.   It is also true that the Vikings hung their shields on the side of the boat next to their rowing stations. They could act as protection against arrows while rowing up to a conflict. It was probably also a useful place to store them.   In addition to not leaving behind any ship designs, there is also no evidence that the Vikings used navigational tools such as astrolabes, sextants, or star charts known in other parts of the world. If the sagas are to be believed, Leif Erikson was told how to reach North America by another Viking who had been there, over a mug of ale.   In the early days, the Vikings probably sailed close to the shore and used the physical terrain, the depth of the ocean, and the presence of birds and other sea creatures to determine their location. But this would not have been effective when sailing to England and Ireland, let alone further afield to Iceland, Greenland, and the Americas.   A modern speculative replica of the Uunartoq Disc, the remains of which were found in the ruins of a Norse Greenland homestead. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Nevertheless, the sagas indicate that the Vikings used the sun for navigation, as there are several mentions of sunstones. These devices allowed sailors to locate the sun on overcast days. In one famous story, King Olaf of Norway asks the hero Sigurd to determine the position of the sun behind dark clouds with no instrumentation. Sigurd does so, and the king uses a sunstone to determine if he is correct. No examples of sunstones survive in the archeological record.   If the Vikings did use the sun to navigate, then they probably used a sun compass. This is a simple vertical pointer on a horizontal surface that is engraved with a curved line. The shadow cast by the pointer is different at different latitudes, but also at different times of year. This is why other European sailors who used sextants, which functioned in a similar way, also had a nautical almanac to interpret their readings on different days of the year.   But the Vikings had a sailing season, usually the summer, and they would have been aware of where the sun was supposed to be during those months. The Vikings were known to raid year-round, but in the colder months, they would have attacked nearby targets.   Excavations of a Viking age farm in Greenland have revealed the remains of part of a circular disk with carvings, which could have been a sun compass. On the Faroe Islands, people used to use an instrument called the Solskyggafjol, which is very similar to the sun compass. This may have been a technology that the locals adopted from the Vikings that settled there.   Built for Raiding Viking-style longships depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry, England, 11th century. Source: Museum of the Viking Age, Norway   But how exactly were Viking longships different from the ships sailed by other Europeans at the time?   While there were many different ship designs across the continent, most other Europeans were making ships with bluff bows. This means that the bottom of the ship looked like a barn door curved into a semicircle. This made for much slower ships, since the bluff bow resists the water, rather than cutting through it, like Viking ships and modern ships.   Other European ships also tended to be tall, with superstructures ascending from the stern and bow. Having so much hull above the waterline meant that there was a lot of windage to be battered around.   When it comes to draught, the portion of the ship below the water, other European ships had deep holds and round bilges, and extended far beneath the water. This prevented these ships from entering the same shallow waters as the Vikings.   Why was their design so different? These slower ships had a lot more space, were much safer, and were less likely to be inundated by waves during a storm. Viking ships were vulnerable to flooding during storms, and while they could navigate shallower waters, it took an expert to avoid underwater hazards that could damage the ship’s hull.   Reconstruction of a Viking ship. Source: Picryl   In addition, the design of Viking ships meant that they had minimal storage and no protected places to sleep. The evidence suggests that when sailing close to the shore, the Vikings parked up and camped on land. When they couldn’t go ashore, they had to sleep exposed on the deck under animal skins. This makes the fact that the Vikings sailed between Greenland and North America even more impressive. It would have meant between two and six weeks on the open sea.   The Vikings, of course, knew about other European ship technology because they had seen it. Yet they seem to have preferred their faster and more versatile ships, even if they were more dangerous.   A Viking Armada Viking raiders arriving at Lindisfarne from Manuscript MS M.736 fol. 9v, England, 12th century. Source: The Morgan Library and Museum   At the start of the Viking Age, most Viking ships were owned by coastal farmers who used them to transport goods. But when local military leaders called their loyal men to fight, they would bring their boats to contribute to the force. As time passed, wealthy Viking leaders could also construct fleets for themselves, but these would always be augmented by boats owned by their allies.   If the sources are to be believed, the Vikings did manage to gather together some rather large fleets. We are told that when the Vikings attacked the Franks in 845, they sailed up the Seine with 129 ships. It is reported that Canute the Great had 1,200 ships when he was fighting in Norway in 1028. That is a significant armada, even by modern standards.   In many ways, Viking longships reflected Viking society and values. They prioritized the potential for victory and success over safety and security.

  The term “hipster” is elusive and frequently wielded as an insult, yet it has a rich history. The first hipsters were young Black jazz aficionados in 1940s Harlem. Their hipster culture was appropriated in the 1950s by young middle-class whites of the Beat Generation. By the late 1990s, “hipster” had acquired almost wholly negative connotations, describing affluent, coffee-drinking middle-class whites living in gentrified urban neighborhoods.   From its roots in the Harlem jazz scene to the Beat Generation and its contemporary manifestations, the trajectory of hipster culture underscores a wider shift from a radical revolt against the mainstream to the triumph of consumer culture.   The Original Harlem Hipsters Bebop pioneer, jazz trumpet virtuoso, and hipster style icon, John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, c.1947. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Following the peak of jazz during the 1920s and 1930s, 1940s Harlem witnessed the birth of the Bebop Revolution. Often known simply as “bop,” this new avant-garde form of jazz was characterized by virtuosic technique, rapid tempos, and advanced melodies, harmonies, and chord progressions. Unlike its previous iterations, bebop was the first style of jazz to distance itself from the lure of mass appeal, catering instead to a niche audience of fellow musicians.   Many pioneers of bebop honed their craft in the big bands of the swing era. The great John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (1917-1993) played trumpet for Cab Calloway; Charlie “Bird” Parker (1920-1955), the unquestioned genius of modern jazz, found his feet in Jay McShann’s band; Charlie Christian, jazz guitar revolutionary, played for Benny Goodman “The King of Swing.”   Bop symbolized a rejection of the vapid caricatures of Black minstrelsy and “jazz hands” showmanship of the commercial big bands. It stood as a musical revolt against the mainstream: against the big bands, the arrangers, vertical harmonies, soggy rhythms — and commercial music in general.   Moreover, bebop carried distinct political undertones. Fueled by a desire to protect their artistry from white appropriation, the likes of Parker, Gillespie, and Thelonius Monk (1917-1982), openly spoke of crafting music so difficult that “they” (whites) “would not be able to steal it.”   For Langston Hughes, the essence of bebop stemmed from the oppressive sound of violence. Every time that a cop hits a black man over the head with a billy club, it makes the same sound: “BOP! BOP!… BE-BOP!…MOP!…BOP!” Bebop was: “beaten right out some Negro’s head into them horns and saxophones and piano keys that plays it.”   Hipster icons: saxophone virtuoso Charlie Parker (left) and the legendary Miles Davis (right). Source: Wikimedia Commons   Bebop was invented in the late-night jam sessions held in the upstairs rooms of Minton’s Playhouse and Monroe’s Uptown House in Harlem, New York City. Monday night jams at Minton’s, with their “cutting sessions” (musical battles) between soloists, played a key role in the evolution from swing to bebop. The essence of this new jazz was thus deeply emotional music, expressionist, not abstract.   However, it was not to everyone’s taste. Some thought bop to be unlistenable. Many of the “traditional” luminaries of jazz were less than impressed. Cab Calloway dismissed bebop as “Chinese music,” while Louis Armstrong lamented the “weird chords” of the style and criticized the boppers as “ young cats [that] want to carve everyone else because they’re full of malice.” Their desire to show up and upstage their predecessors was deeply offensive to the old guard. In response, the boppers dubbed their opponents “moldy figs.”   Howard McGhee, Brick Fleagle, and Miles Davis on piano, 1947. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In contrast to the polished, professional image of the big band and swing players, the bebop players embraced a more laid-back lifestyle, indulged in drugs such as cannabis and heroin, and adopted liberal attitudes towards sex. As “hepcats” or later “hipsters” they forged their own subculture in which language—“jive talk”—played a pivotal role both as a means of cultural expression and insider communication.   Dressed in their trademark zoot suits, and adopting the beret, goatee, and horn-rimmed glasses combination popularized by Dizzy Gillespie, boppers projected an aura of intellectual sophistication and laid-back bohemianism. Bop embraced an ironic detachment from mainstream jazz culture, favoring what came to be known as a “hipster” attitude towards the “preponderance of squares and bad music.”   Despite never attaining the commercial success of the swing era, bebop reshaped jazz into a form of art music, more akin to Western classical music than the popular music of the masses. Nevertheless, the subculture behind it—characterized by a distinct language, fashion, and lifestyle—exerted a profound influence on subsequent waves of American—and global—“hipster” culture.   Hipsters of the Beat Generation The Beat Generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Gregory Corso (left to right). Source: Wikimedia Commons   Bebop, with its distinct subculture, emerged as a reflection of Black experience. Nonetheless, it was soon co-opted by young middle-class whites. The Beat Generation—epitomized by writers such as Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg—were profoundly influenced by the spirit of bebop. They frequented New York jazz clubs and used bop talk such as “square,” “cats,” and “dig” in their writings. Jazz became the central point of reference in their universe.   The term “Beatnik” was coined in 1958 by San Francisco Chronicle journalist Herb Caen to describe members of a burgeoning movement that influenced many aspects of American culture, from art, literature, and music, to fashion and language. The movement influenced many of the biggest artists and figures of the day, including Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles.   Naturally, the use of the Russian suffix “-nik” carried derogatory connotations at the height of Cold War America. Yet the Beat Generation constituted a social and cultural movement rather than a political one. They espoused anti-conservative and anti-materialist views but had no significant ties to communism, or for that matter, any other political movement of note. Howl and Other Poems, by Allan Ginsberg, 1956. Source: Abe Books   In his 1957 essay The White Negro, Norman Mailer, a white middle-class Jew, labeled the Beat Generation and their followers “hipsters.” The crux of Mailer’s piece was to draw parallels between the existential angst of the white American “hipster” and the everyday struggles of the American “negro” — both, he asserted, inhabited worlds fraught with danger, violence, and conflict.   Like the boppers, under the constant threat of (in this case existential) death, the beats sought to detach themselves from conventional society and focus on the present moment. Emulating what they saw to be the carefree, cool lifestyle of the “negro” hipsters, the Beat Generation sought above all, to spur the social norms and the values of conservative white America, to chase “Saturday night kicks and the obligatory pleasures of the body” (Mailer, 1957).   Beatnik Culture Poetry recitation with saxophone accompaniment in a stereotypical Beatnik coffeehouse, a scene from Bucket of Blood, 1959. Source: Wikimedia Commons   While jazz provided the soundtrack to the Beat Generation various other influences were also significant. In particular, eastern religion was mobilized as a means to challenge the conservative norms and values of middle-class society. Philosophically, beatniks prioritized inner growth over material possessions and worldly pursuits.   The Zen Buddhist teachings of D.T Suzuki were deeply influential. Allen Ginsberg’s spiritual journey took him to India in 1963, after which he began integrating Hindu rhythmic mantras into his poetry. In 1958, Jack Kerouac published The Dharma Bums, a semi-autobiographical attempt to contextualize the contradictions of his life within a “Buddhist context.”   The Beats’ eclectic mix of Western Buddhism and jazz led James Baldwin to dub them the “the Suzuki rhythm boys.” More seriously, Baldwin (1961) accused Jack Kerouac in particular of presenting an image of the “happy smiling negro” within his work, which in the pre-civil rights era was emphatically untrue.   The Beatnik emulation of bop culture was highly romanticized and at worst perpetuated the dangerous white myth of black hyper-sexuality to appear “hip.” Nonetheless, for Kerouac and his contemporaries, “beat” signified “beatitude, not beat up” and a cool sense that transcendence could be found in the spirit of the new jazz.   Accordingly, the Beat Generation gave birth to the figure of the white middle-class hipster, dressed in beret and Dizzy Gillespie glasses, and nestled in the bohemian enclaves of San Francisco and the lower East side of New York City. The stereotypical hipster spent their time in coffee shops, bookstores, and bars, reading poetry and talking philosophy; they “made art, smoked dope, dug the new jazz, and spoke a bastardization of the black argot.” (Di Prima, 1969).   Contemporary Hipster Culture  The stereotypical contemporary hipster, pictured in Sidney, Australia. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The contemporary hipster refers to a late-1990s subcultural figure that first rose to public attention in select gentrified enclaves of major global cities. Brooklyn and the lower East Side of New York, Seattle’s Capitol Hill, San Francisco, Sidney, Cape Town, and East London. Today the hipster lives in all these places and more. The hipster trend is global.   The defining marker of contemporary hipster culture is fashion. The archetypal hipster male sports a beard or ironic mustache, flannel shirts, skinny jeans, and rides a fixed-gear bike. His female counterpart has retro tattoos and a top-knot hairstyle and wears vintage clothes with Converse shoes. These figures appreciate vinyl records, vegan food, slick digital design, artisanal coffee, and mid-century Scandinavian modernism.   Interestingly, unlike their hipster predecessors, there is no discernable soundtrack to contemporary hipsterdom. Instead, obscure noughties indie bands, 1980s electro and synth-pop, minimalist techno, IDM, and hip-hop artists all contribute to the scene.   Yet, a notable similarity persists across time: the value placed on insider knowledge. Just as the Harlem hipster prized the advanced knowledge of bebop, and beatniks turned their noses up at the “square” unenlightened commercial culture of white America, contemporary hipsters take pride in being ahead of the curve and “knowing about exclusive things before anyone else” (Greif, 2010).   How did the hipster burn his tongue? A sign outside a coffee shop in Helsinki, Finland, 2022. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Hipster culture is about taste, fashion, and being in the know. But like any cultural form, it has a material base. In coffee shops, record stores, bicycle repair shops, bars, etc. within gentrified enclaves of major cities and beyond.   Most importantly, hipster culture is intertwined with the material structures that define the global economy. In line with the “neoliberal” turn of the 1980s and the newfound primacy of the individual consumer, contemporary hipster culture is connected above all to an ethos of consumption. Within a global economy that “specializes in the niched mass production of consumer goods that cater to the needs of small, subcultural groups” (Maly & Varis, 2015) hipsterdom becomes primarily about rejection of mainstream “taste.”   For instance, within the popular imagination, hipsters are associated with their taste in coffee and where they drink it. They drink their (expensive) flat whites under industrial lighting, surrounded by wi-fi, white walls, and stripped-back floors. The branding of the coffee shop is low-key and features nice fonts. Young “hip” people sit on vintage or repurposed furniture on laptops. A sense of authenticity and nostalgia mingles with the modern digital economy. The hipster coffee shop looks suspiciously similar to all the other coffee shops of its kind.   The contemporary hipster has morphed into what Thomas Frank (1997) calls the “rebel consumer” — the target subject of the synthesis of business culture and counterculture, where the imagery of youthful rebellion is mobilized to market corporate products.   The contemporary hipster is degrees from the pursuits of avant-garde jazz and beatnik existentialism, focusing instead on the value of entrepreneurial start-up culture, and its potential to disrupt the mainstream. Their interests encompass craft beer, limited edition drops of trainers, and cryptocurrency. Shorn of the countercultural elements of previous generations of hipsters, contemporary hipster culture is in the last instance about niche consumer taste.

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