Department of History

This eye-opening series from HISTORY tells the endlessly fascinating story of sex, probing beneath assumptions, conventions and taboos to reveal the startling diversity and ageless humanity of our civilization's most provcative subject.Ancient Civilizations-Myth, ritual and sexuality merge, and the worship of gods develops a moral code. Why did the Mesopotamians equate adultery to a crime of theft? Was prostitution in Babylon considered sacred? And was incest in Egypt encouraged?The Western World-Take an intimate glimpse inside China, Japan, India and the Arab world-homes to harems, concubines, mystery, exporation and the religious classification of sex.The Middle Ages-The evolution of sexual beliefs and practices was inspired by religion. From the fall of the Roman Empire through the renaissance, sexuality went under cover, only to emerge with strict rules and impose shame.From Don Juan to Queen Victoria - Repression sprouted new myths and although quiet on the outside, the inner rhythm of this period beat with scandalous pleasure which included prostitution and brothels. This became a time full of sexual idiosyncrasis...The 20th Century-From the first latex condom in the 1920's to the development of the pill in the 1960's Western society's view of sexuality has evolved at a rapid rate. This program includes fascinating commentary on Masters and Johnson, the nuclear family, Aids, Viagra and new technology, including the internet.

War is a drug. Nobody knows that better than Staff Sergeant James, head of an elite squad of soldiers tasked with disarming bombs in the heat of combat. To do this nerve-shredding job, it's not enough to be the best: you have to thrive in a zone where the margin of error is zero, think as diabolically as a bomb-maker, and somehow survive with your body and soul intact. Powerfully realistic, action-packed, unrelenting and intense, The Hurt Locker has been hailed by critics as "an adrenaline-soaked tour de force" (A.O. Scott, The New York Times) and "one of the great war movies." (Richard Corliss, Time)

When Odessa honors the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott by walking the nine miles to and from work, Miriam offers her a ride. Defying both Miriam's racist husband and the powerful town council, Miriam and Odessa put their lives in danger for civil rights. Their shared experiences draw them closer as a deep respect and lasting friendship forms. Together, in a difficult world of black versus white, they manage to discover common ground.

It began on October 2, 1918, when the men of the U.S. army's 77th division, 308th Battalion were surrounded by German troops in the Argonne Forest.

From a small Italian community in 15th Century Florence, the Medici family would rise to become one of the most powerful dynasties in Europe.

Sweeping and visually resplendent, The Mission is a powerful action epic about a man of the sword and a man of the cloth who unite to shield a South American indian tribe from brutal subjugation by 18th-century colonial empires. It reunites key talents behind The Killing Fields.Winner of the 1986 Cannes Film Festival Best Picture Award, the film earned seven Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture) and won a Best Cinematography Oscar. The Mission is screen storytelling that weaves a haunting spell.

Money, Mississippi, August 1955, a fourteen-year-old black boy whistled at a white woman. Not realizing he had broke the unwritten laws of Jim Crow South until three days later when two white men dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night beat him brutally then shot and killed him. The killers were arrested and charged but quickly acquitted by and all-white jury.