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Arthurian legend

(Encyclopedia)Arthurian legend, the mass of legend, popular in medieval lore, concerning King Arthur of Britain and his knights. Although there are innumerable variations of the Arthurian legend, the basic story...

Marxism

(Encyclopedia)Marxism, economic and political philosophy named for Karl Marx. It is also known as scientific (as opposed to utopian) socialism. Marxism has had a profound impact on contemporary culture; modern comm...

wine

(Encyclopedia)wine, alcoholic beverage made by the fermentation of the juice of the grape. Wine is so ancient that its origin is unknown. The earliest archaeological evidence of winemaking dates to 8,000 years ago,...

Madagascar

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Madagascar mădˌəgăsˈcär [key], officially Republic of Madagascar, republic (2015 est. pop. 24,234,000), 226,658 sq mi (587,045 sq km), in the Indian Ocean, separated from E Africa by the ...

children's book illustration

(Encyclopedia)children's book illustration, any type of picture or decorative work produced for books specifically intended for a youthful audience. During the 1960s a number of seldom-used techniques were introd...

archaeology

(Encyclopedia)archaeology ärkēŏlˈəjē [key] [Gr.,=study of beginnings], a branch of anthropology that seeks to document and explain continuity and change and similarities and differences among human cultures. ...

Obama, Barack

(Encyclopedia)Obama, Barack (Barack Hussein Obama 2d), bəräkˈ ho͞osānˈ ōbäˈmə [key], 1961–, 44th president of the United States (2009–17), b. Honolulu, grad. Columbia (B.A. 1983), Harvard Law School ...

rock music

(Encyclopedia)rock music, type of music originating in the United States in the mid-1950s and increasingly popular throughout much of the world. A turning point in rock music occurred in the mid-1970s in the ...

British Columbia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 British Columbia, province, 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. The Conservatives ...

psychology

(Encyclopedia)psychology, science or study of the thought processes and behavior of humans and other animals in their interaction with the environment. Psychologists study processes of sense perception, thinking, l...

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