Mon, Jun 09
|Washington
Profs & Pints DC: A Short History of Revenge
“A Short History of Revenge,” on the evolution of thinking about payback, with Amanda Madden, who researches and teaches about past crime and violence as an assistant professor of history at George Mason University.
Time & Location
Jun 09, 2025, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Washington, 801 E St NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA
About the event
Profs and Pints DC presents: “A Short History of Revenge,” on the evolution of thinking about payback, with Amanda Madden, who researches and teaches about past crime and violence as an assistant professor of history at George Mason University.
Christ’s call for his followers to “turn the other cheek” did not deter a Renaissance-era Italian nun from writing in her diary: “We will make our revenge so fatal that hell will be amazed.”
Europeans of all ages, classes, and occupations often expressed similar sentiments regarding their hostilities toward others and their desire for revenge for perceived wrongs. Revenge meant something very different to Renaissance Europeans than it does to people today. It was an institution, a social relationship, and, for many, an obligation—so much so that it was quasi-legal, or at least tolerated in some cases and contexts.
Learn about the legal, institutional, social and cultural history of revenge from…