Category Archives: Reference

These are materials for teachers and parents, and you’ll find, in this category, teachers copies and answer keys for worksheets, quotes related to domain-specific knowledge in English Language Arts and social studies, and quotes on issues of professional concern. See the Taxonomies page for more about this category.

Sukarno

Posted on May 20, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Sukarno: (1901-1970) First president of Indonesia (1949-66). Son of a Javanese schoolteacher, he excelled in languages, mastering Javanese, Sudanese, Balinese, and modern Indonesian, which he did much to create. He emerged as a charismatic leader in the country’s independence movement. When the Japanese invaded in 1942, he served them as a chief adviser, while pressuring them to grant Indonesia independence. Immediately following Japan’s defeat, he declared independence; the Dutch did not transfer sovereignty until 1949. Once he became president, Indonesia made gains in health, education, and cultural self-awareness, but democracy and the economy floundered. His government was corrupt, inflation soared, and the country experienced a continuous state of crisis. An attempted coup by communists in 1965 led to a military takeover by Suharto and a purge of alleged communists left some 300,000 dead.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Sumatra

Posted on May 20, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Sumatra: Island, West Indonesia. It is one of the Sunda Islands and the second-largest island of Indonesia. It is 1,060 miles (1,706 kilometers) long and 250 miles (400 kilometers) wide; a chief city is Palembang. Located on the seaborne trade routes, it had early contact with Hindu civilization. The kingdom of Srivijaya arose in the 7th century and came to dominate much of the island. It fell under the Majapahit empire in the 14th-16th centuries. First the Portuguese, then the Dutch and English established forts there beginning in the 16th century. It was occupied by Japan in World War II; in 1950 became part of the Republic of Indonesia. Its exports include rubber, tobacco, coffee, pepper, and timber products; mineral reserves include petroleum and coal.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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James Wong Howe

Posted on May 20, 2026 | Leave a comment

“James Wong Howe originally Wong Tung Jim: (1899-1976) U.S. cinematographer. At age 5 he emigrated with his family to the U.S. He worked in Hollywood from 1917 and became a cameraman for Cecil B. DeMille. He developed innovations in lighting in the 1920s and pioneered the use of the wide-angle lens, deep focus, and the handheld camera. His low-key cinematography is seen in such films as Kings Row (1942), Body and Soul (1947), Picnic (1956), The Rose Tattoo (1955, Academy Award), and Hud (1963, Academy Award).”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Bhakti

Posted on May 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

“bhakti: South Asian devotional movement, particularly in Hinduism, emphasizing the love of the devotee for his or her personal god. In contrast to Advaita, bhakti assumes a dualistic relationship between devotee and deity. Though Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti (see shakti) all have cults, bhakti characteristically developed a around Vishnu’s incarnations as Rama and Krishna. Practices include reciting the god’s name, singing hymns, wearing his emblem, and making pilgrimages. The fervor of South Indian hymnists in the 7th-10 centuries spread bhakti and inspired much poetry and art. Poets such as Mirabai conceived of the relationship between the worshiper and the god in familiar human terms (e.g. the lover the beloved), while more abstract poets such as Kabir and Nanak portrayed the divinity as singular and ineffable.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Bhagavata

Posted on May 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Bhagavata: Member of the earliest recorded Hindu sect, representing the beginnings of theistic, devotional worship and modern Vaishnavism. The Bhagavata sect originated in the Mathura region c.3rd—2nd century BC and spread through western, northern, and southern India. The faith centers on devotion to a personal god, variously called Vishnu, Krishna, Hari, or Narayana. The Bhagavadgita (1st—2nd century AD) is the earliest exposition of the Bhagavata system, but it central scripture is the Bhagavata Purana. The sect was prominent within Vaishnavism until the 11th century, when bhakti (devotional worship) was revitalized by Ramanuja.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Babylon

Posted on May 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Babylon An ancient city in Mesopotamia, first prominent under Hammurabi who made it capital of the kingdom of Babylonia. The city (now in ruins) lay on the Euphrates 55 miles south of present-day Baghdad and was noted for its luxury, its fortifications, and particularly for the ‘Hanging Gardens,’ which were one the Seven Wonders of the World.”

Excerpted from: Wright, Edmund, Ed. The Oxford Desk Encyclopedia of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

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Adana

Posted on May 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Adana: City (population 2019: 1,769,000) south central Turkey, on the Seyhan River. An agricultural and industrial center and one of Turkey’s largest cities, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from c.1400 BC. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 335-334 BC, it was later a Roman military station. It came under the rule of the Abbasid Arabs at the end of the 7th century AD and changed hands intermittently until the establishment of the Turkmen dynasty in 1378. Adana’s prosperity has long derived from the fertile valleys behind it and its position as a bridgehead on the Anatolian-Arabian trade routes.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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9 Rasa

Posted on May 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

“9 Rasa: Sengaram * Hasyam * Raudram * Karunyam * Bibhatsam * Bhayanakam * Viram * Abduhtam * Santam

The Nine Rasa are a culture refrain underlying Indian popular art, music, theater, comics, and cinema. They are noisy, plebeian, and fun-loving.

Sengaram (love, attractiveness, and the erotic) is presided over by Lord Vishnu and colored light green. Hasyam (laughter, mirth, and comedy) is presided over by Pramata and colored white. Raudram (fury) is presided over by Rudra and colored red. Karunyam (compassion and tragedy) has Yama as its presiding deity and is colored grey. Bibhatsam (disgust, aversion, and the pathetic) is presided over by Shiva and colored blue. Bhayanakam (horror) is presided over by Kali and colored black. Viram (heroic endeavor) has as its presiding deity Indra, and is colored yellow. Abdhutam (wonder and amazement) has Lord Brahma and is colored bright yellow. Santam (peace and tranquility) has the presiding deity of Vishnu and is colored blue.”

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

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Yamazaki Ansai

Posted on May 1, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Yamazaki Ansai: (1619-1682) Japanese exponent of the philosophy of the Chinese Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi. Early in life he was a Buddhist monk, but he gradually rejected Buddhism in favor of Confucianism, which he began to teach to thousands of students. He reduced Neo-Confucianism to a simple moral code, which he then blended with native Shinto religious doctrines. He equated Neo-Confucian principles and theories with Shinto legends and divinity, creating a philosophical system that took on greater authority that its sources possessed alone. His thought was one of the sources of the extreme nationalism and emperor worship that developed later in Japan.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Buddha

Posted on May 1, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Buddha A title given to successive teachers (past and future) of Buddhism, although it usually denotes the founder of Buddhism, Siddartha Gautama (c. 563 BC-c. 489 BC). Although born an Indian prince (in what is now Nepal), he renounced his kingdom, wife, and child to become an ascetic, taking religious instruction until he attained enlightenment (nirvana) through meditation beneath a bo tree in the village of Bodhgaya. He then taught all who wanted to learn, regardless of sex, class or caste, until his death. ‘Buddha’ means ‘enlightened’ in Sanskrit.”

Excerpted from: Wright, Edmund, Ed. The Oxford Desk Encyclopedia of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

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