School of Historical Studies

Long viewed simply as instruments of war, urban fortifications were actually vital laboratories of Italian Renaissance creativity. In a new book titled Form and Fortification, Morgan Ng, Member (2023–24) in the School of Historical Studies, reveals how military architecture—from ramparts to citadels—intertwined defense with beauty and reshaped the city itself.

From state-sponsored excavations in Tunisia to debates over Neolithic discoveries in central France, early archaeology was defined by a tension between scientific rigor and public spectacle. Sensations: French Archaeology between Science and Spectacle, 1890–1940, a book by Daniel J. Sherman, Member (1993–94; 2016) in the School of Historical Studies, unearths the long-running historical controversies that forged the discipline as we understand it today.

Inspired by her years of ballet training, Whitney Laemmli, Member (2021–22) in the School of Historical Studies, spent her time at IAS investigating the strange legacy of transcribing human motion. The resulting book, Making Movement Modern, reveals how a 1920s dance notation system fundamentally reshaped our view of the body from a vessel of expression into a technology to be analyzed, optimized, and controlled.

How can an archive capture and preserve the most ephemeral aspect of an institution's legacy—the intimate conversations shared among its scholars? A unique artifact addressing this exact challenge was acquired by the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center in early 2026: a dinner tablecloth belonging to Gabrielle Borel, embroidered with the signatures of the renowned guests she hosted.

In a book titled Crip Authority: Disability and the Art of Consolation in the Renaissance, written during her time at IAS, Elizabeth B. Bearden, Felix Gilbert Member (2022–23) in the School of Historical Studies, shows how disabled authors resisted ableism with the help of an ancient, respected literary genre: consolation. 

Sabine Schmidtke, Professor in the School of Historical Studies, and SherAli K. Tareen, Patricia Crone Member (2024–25) in the School, discuss Schmidtke's latest book, which narrates the powerful and tragic story of Hedwig Klein, an exceptionally talented German Jewish scholar of Islam who was killed during the Holocaust at the age of thirty-one. 

Barbara Paca, Visitor in the School of Historical Studies (1996–97), reflects on the early Members who shaped the Institute Woods’ paths and found sanctuary there. She also discusses her work with AMIAS, the Association of Members of the Institute for Advanced Study, which works to sustain the Institute's mission of supporting discovery. 

Nataly Shahaf, Member in the School of Historical Studies (2024–26), explains the historical practice of ghost photography and reflects on the Institute for Advanced Study’s Halloween celebration inspired by Albert Einstein’s performances for trick-or-treating children.

Marisa J. Fuentes, Friends of the Institute for Advanced Study Member in the School of Historical Studies (2024–25), describes how conversations at IAS with scholars from varied disciplinary backgrounds have shown her that the heart of research lies in shared deep thinking and collaborative discussion.

In a book titled Medieval Art as Theology, Éric Palazzo, Elinor Lunder Founders’ Circle Member (2018–19) in the School of Historical Studies, invites readers to encounter medieval art not as a set of styles to be decoded from afar, but as a way of thinking and believing from within.