Chapter 25 delves into Ana Maria Gonçalves’ 2006 Um defeito de cor. The novel opens with a stark portrayal of the brutal realities of the transatlantic slave trade and the harsh labor endured in nineteenth-century Brazil, evoking deep, collective trauma. Yet Gonçalves’ work defies the typical mold of historical fiction. Instead, Um defeito de cor expands the understanding of history by weaving in Afro-diasporic ritual objects, practices, and belief systems. These cultural elements reshape memory as the story of Kehinde, the protagonist of the novel, unfolds. Through this approach, history becomes both a discovery that feels familiar and a recognition that surprises. This complex interplay is captured, for instance, in the idea of serendipitous encounters, a concept also rooted in African traditions. In the end, the novel carves out a space for the literary assentamento (settlement) of an Afro-Atlantic identity and existence.

Chapter 3 analyzes Social Security legislation from the 1980s through 2009, adding various criminal justice system-involved restrictions on benefit receipt in both the retirement and disability insurance programs. It examines the phenomena of American mass incarceration and the collateral consequences of system-involvement on social security benefit receipts. This includes the damaging impacts on Black and Latino/a families and communities from these benefit restrictions owing to the racially disparate consequences of overcriminalization and mass incarceration from the 1980s to the 2000s. It explores policy justifications for these restrictions, including rationales for a law suspending Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits to incarcerated beneficiaries and the consistency of those rationales with core principles of the Act’s social insurance programs. It also analyzes another provision, permanently excluding consideration of impairments arising in connection with commission of felonies in the Social Security Disability Insurance disability evaluation process. It explores arbitrary and vague/overbroad aspects of this law as well as its racially disparate potential application to Black/Brown Social Security Disability Insurance claimants not only because of racialized policing and mass incarceration but also the racially disproportionate imposition of disabling impairment-producing injuries from police misconduct. It concludes by offering arguments for repeal or reform of these two criminal justice system-based social security benefit-restricting laws.

This chapter explores Aurangzeb’s princely career between his birth in 1618 and his accession to the Mughal throne in 1658. In it, close attention is paid to the decades-long efforts by Prince Aurangzeb to position himself for a successful bid to become the next Mughal emperor. This chapter examines the slow growth of Aurangzeb’s personal household, his networks of support, his efforts to gain military and administrative experience, his attempts to raise money for himself, and his campaign to build his own public image. This chapter draws heavily on his personal letters, a source that has been infrequently used by other historians because it comprises two massive volumes and is in highly stylized Persian.

Chapter 17 offers a close look at contemporary Brazilian literature by focusing on two novels by Evaristo: Ponciá Vicêncio (2003) and Canto para ninar menino grande (2018). It explores the idea of escrevivência, a term Evaristo created by combining “escrever” (to write), “viver” (to live), and “ver-se” (to see oneself), to highlight the return of African cultural influences in Afro-Brazilian writing. The chapter highlights literary techniques like animist realism, syncretism, cyclical time, and polyphony that Evaristo uses to craft a unique narrative style blending autobiography, social critique, and the real-life experiences of Black women and other marginalized groups. For Evaristo, blackness is not just a way to confront racism but also a lens to reveal the deep-rooted African cultural heritage that shapes Brazilian culture, despite being historically overlooked.

This chapter engages with the issue of voice and freedom of expression by interrogating the function of the patient-editor. It explores the stories of the known editors and printers of the unpublished Moon (1882) of the New York City Lunatic Asylum and the first two series of the Gartnavel Gazette (1853–54; 1855), produced and internally circulated in the Glasgow Royal Asylum. The archives associated with these publications offer a glimpse into the relationships that periodical publishing involved. They show that asylum periodicals emerged out of conflict, negotiation, and collaboration – perhaps not unlike other similar publications at the time. This case study reveals that forces other than institutional supervision were at work. The editors’ class-based aesthetics and individual preferences in selecting material for publication, as well as conflicts among patients impacted asylum periodicals. The study of this newspaper also offers evidence that, far from polished records of asylum life, asylum periodicals embodied tensions. Patients’ grievances did find a place in their pages, even if complaints and attacks were softened with humour and irony.

The Holy Mountain is a monastic state with a millennium-long history that has remained largely unchanged since the Byzantine period. Settled by monks in the eighth/ninth century, it began to flourish in the second half of the tenth century with the arrival of Athanasius the Athonite and the foundation of the Great Lavra. The Holy Mountain represents a microcosm of the Christian East since, with the Greek, Georgian, Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian monasteries. These monasteries played a significant role in their nations’ spiritual and cultural history. A Latin monastery whose monks followed the Benedictine rite also existed during the Byzantine period. The Holy Mountain played a decisive role in the standardisation of the Byzantine rite and its dissemination throughout the Orthodox world. It also left a lasting imprint on Orthodox theology thanks to the enormous contribution of the hesychast movement in the fourteenth century. In addition to their unique spiritual significance, the Athonite monasteries stand as important examples of Byzantine art and architecture and serve as repositories of immense collections of manuscripts, minor works of art and icons. Mount Athos is a monastic centre unique in the Christian world, and one that has significantly contributed to the cultural history and spiritual unity of the Eastern Church.

Chapter 14 examines significant moments in the Brazilian novel through the lenses of race, gender, and sexuality, all framed by postcolonial theory. This perspective exposes deep-seated blind spots around abusive behaviors and hidden biases in the texts, showing just how these attitudes have been normalized by enduring colonial power structures. The chapter reveals how Blackness and Indigeneity have long been overshadowed by dominant white, masculine literary viewpoints. At the same time, it highlights counter-hegemonic works that actively challenge and resist patriarchal ideas. A standout example is the analysis of Coelho Neto’s Esfinge (1908), a lesser-known neo-Gothic “Frankensteinian” story about a character surgically fused from a man’s body and a woman’s head. The chapter covers a diverse range of authors – from José de Alencar to Conceição Evaristo – and works – from Bernardo Guimarães’ A escrava Isaura (1875) to Silviano Santiago’s Stella Manhattan (1985).

The present chapter provides a brief history of Byzantine hymnography, especially its Palestinian and Constantinopolitan origins, as well as insights into the ways different hymn genres work in presenting theological thought to the hosts of faithful in the church space. This is exemplified through an examination of hymns dedicated to the raising of Lazarus. Finally, there is a brief excursus to the apocryphal influence in Byzantine hymnography and, more broadly, liturgical arts and literature.

While historians have long known about William Bradford’s imprints, many have not been closely examined within a broad cultural context or through an interdisciplinary lens informed by recent developments in book, periodical, and material culture studies. An Exhortation and Caution to Friends Concerning Buying or Keeping Negroes, for example, marks the beginning of the Anglo-American abolitionist movement. In 1694, Bradford published the first of a recurring volume of the Laws of New York, adding transparency and accountability to a political system that had little of either before this time. Similarly instructive is Androboros, a closet play co-written by Robert Hunter and Lewis Morris, whose lessons against self-interested governance were as pertinent in the politically tumultuous Augustan Age as when it was staged for the first time at Fraunces Tavern in New York in 2017. Also noteworthy is The Bradford Map, published in 1731, which reveals a city beginning to transform into a political, cultural, and commercial center. The same can be said of the New-York Gazette, New York’s first newspaper, in which glimmerings of an emerging New York cosmopolitism can be discerned.

Chapter 3 explores children’s digital books as a powerful illustration of what well-designed EdTech can achieve when grounded in learning science. It begins by showcasing diverse examples of digital books and mapping their rapid global expansion, highlighting their growing role in early literacy. The chapter examines evidence demonstrating that digital books, when designed with research-based principles, can enhance vocabulary, comprehension, and engagement, sometimes outperforming print. Connecting this to the science of reading, it explains how features such as responsive narration, sensory supports, and adaptive scaffolding can strengthen foundational literacy skills. The chapter also emphasises the inclusive potential of digital books, offering accessible reading experiences for children with special needs and for families with limited access to print materials. It concludes by reviewing research on effective digital book design and emerging studies on children’s digital libraries, showing how carefully developed platforms can expand reading opportunities at scale.

Chapter 1 explores the beginnings of the Brazilian novel, diving into the social and cultural environment that shaped its emergence. It looks beyond simple historical facts to uncover the backdrop that allowed this literary form to take root in Brazil. Central to the chapter are two pioneering works in the genre: Teixeira e Sousa’s 1843 novel, O filho do pescador, which holds the distinction of being the first recognized Brazilian novel, and Joaquim Manuel de Macedo’s 1844 A moreninha, often regarded as the first true Brazilian novel in practice. The chapter also charts the development of historical fiction within Brazilian literature, highlighting the progression from these early novels to more mature works. Key milestones include José de Alencar’s landmark 1857 novel O guarani and Maria Firmina dos Reis’ 1859 novel Úrsula, both of which helped define the trajectory of the genre’s growth in the country.

Chapter 1 traces the roots of the “EdTech tragedy” by examining how educational technology drifted away from its core purpose: supporting children’s learning. It begins by clarifying what education is meant to achieve and contrasts these aims with the commercial logic that has driven much of EdTech’s evolution. The chapter explores how early hopes for technology-enhanced learning gave way to an oversaturated market in which more than 500,000 so-called “educational” apps flourish without meaningful quality control. Against this backdrop, the chapter expands the definition of EdTech quality to include alignment with the science of learning, ethical data use, and measurable impact. It highlights how misalignment between learning sciences and product design has deepened the global learning crisis, with ineffective tools distracting children and burdening teachers. Finally, the chapter underscores the critical role of rigorous, ongoing research in restoring EdTech’s educational mission and guiding innovation toward real learning outcomes.