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deconstruction

(Encyclopedia)deconstruction, in linguistics, philosophy, and literary theory, the exposure and undermining of the metaphysical assumptions involved in systematic attempts to ground knowledge, especially in academi...

mosque

(Encyclopedia)mosque mŏsk [key], building for worship used by members of the Islamic faith. Muhammad's house in Medina (a.d. 622), with its surrounding courtyard and hall with columns, became the prototype for the...

Rochet, Waldeck

(Encyclopedia)Rochet, Waldeck väldĕkˈ rôshāˈ [key], 1905–83, French political leader. A member of the French Communist party, he was named to its central committee in 1936. He was imprisoned and sent to Alg...

Neutra, Richard Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Neutra, Richard Joseph noiˈtrə, no͞oˈtrə [key], 1892–1970, American architect, born and educated in Vienna. Although Neutra worked for a time with Eric Mendelsohn and later with Frank Lloyd Wri...

Nur Jahan

(Encyclopedia)Nur Jahan, 1577–1645, empress (1611–27) of Mughal India. Born Mehrunnisa in Kandahar (now in Afghanistan), she was the daughter of Persian nobility and had been widowed before she became the favor...

Mansa Musa

(Encyclopedia)Mansa Musa (Musa I) mänˈsä mo͞oˈsä [key], c.1280–1337, ruler of the Mali empire (1312–37). A devout Muslim, he brought the Mali empire to its greatest height, encompassing what is now Niger ...

Rossellino, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Rossellino, Antonio äntôˈnyō rōs-sĕl-lēˈnō [key], 1427–c.1478, Florentine sculptor, whose name was Antonio di Matteo di Domenico Gambarelli. He was the youngest and most celebrated of four ...

Vicenza

(Encyclopedia)Vicenza vēchānˈtsä [key], city (1991 pop. 107,454), capital of Vicenza prov., Venetia, NE Italy. It is an agricultural, commercial, and highly diversified industrial center. Manufactures include m...

Albi

(Encyclopedia)Albi älbēˈ [key], town, capital of Tarn dept., S France, in Languedoc, on the Tarn River. A commercial center, its has glassworks and food-processing, textile-manufactu...

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

(Encyclopedia)Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, accredited institution of higher education; in New York City; coeducational; chartered and opened in 1859. Founded by Peter Cooper, it pioneered in...