Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bataille, Georges jôrj bətī, –bätī [key], 1897–1962, French writer. Bataille was the founding editor of the journal Critique (1946). Strongly influenced by Nietzsche, he focuses on extreme st...

(Encyclopedia) Savigny, Friedrich Karl von frēˈdrĭkh kärl fən säˈvĭnyē [key], 1779–1861, German jurist and legal historian, a founder of the historical school of jurisprudence. He taught (1810–42) Roman...

(Encyclopedia) Bali bäˈlē [key], island and (with two offshore islets) province, c.2,200 sq mi (5,700 sq ...

(Encyclopedia) Lynd, Robert Staughton, 1892–1970, American sociologist, b. New Albany, Ind.; grad. Princeton (B.A., 1914), Ph.D. Columbia, 1931. He taught at Columbia for 30 years (1931–61). With his wife, Helen...

(Encyclopedia) Sylhet sĭlhĕtˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 117,398), E Bangladesh, on the Surma River. It is the administrative center for a district of rice and tea cultivation; there is extensive limestone quarrying....

(Encyclopedia) Abreu, José Antonio, 1939–2018, Venezuelan music educator, economist, and politician. With degrees in petroleum economics and in organ and composition, Abreu was an economics professor at various V...

(Encyclopedia) Minoan civilization mĭnōˈən [key], ancient Cretan culture representing a stage in the development of the Aegean civilization. It was named for the legendary King Minos of Crete by Sir Arthur Evans...

(Encyclopedia) Hellenism, the culture, ideals, and pattern of life of ancient Greece in classical times. It usually means primarily the culture of Athens and the related cities during the Age of Pericles. The term i...

(Encyclopedia) Sumer so͝o-mērˈēən [key]. The term Sumer is used today to designate the southern part of ancient Mesopotamia. From the earliest date of which there is any record, S Mesopotamia was occupied by a ...

(Encyclopedia) Cinco de Mayo, May 5, the anniversary of Mexico's victory over France in 1862 in the Battle of Puebla, in which Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza's small, ill-equipped Mexican forces defeated a much larger French...