Monstrous Medievalism: Toxic Appropriations of the Middle Ages in Modern Popular Culture and Thought
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Monsters: The Experimental Association for the Research of Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory and Practical Application (MEARCSTAPA)
Organizer Name
Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Organizer Affiliation
Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, California State Univ.-Long Beach
Presider Name
Larissa Tracy
Presider Affiliation
Longwood Univ.
Paper Title 1
White Nationalism, Scottish Identity, and the Declaration of Arbroath
Presenter 1 Name
Mark P. Bruce
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Bethel Univ.
Paper Title 2
The Problem of Loki, Again: Norse Mythology as a Battleground for Separatism or Inclusion
Presenter 2 Name
Ali Frauman
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Indiana Univ.-Bloomington
Paper Title 3
"Celtic" Crosses and White Supremacism
Presenter 3 Name
Maggie M. Williams
Presenter 3 Affiliation
William Paterson Univ./Material Collective
Start Date
11-5-2018 1:30 PM
Session Location
Bernhard Brown & Gold Room
Description
The medieval period continues to be misidentified both as a primitive ‘dark age’ and as an idealized utopian golden age of racial and religious homogeny. In both cases, aspects of medieval culture are appropriated and reimagined in ways that celebrate and promote the othering of certain racial and ethnic groups or cultures. Medievalists should be uncomfortable that we share some interests with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other groups dedicated to the oppression, segregation, and even elimination of racial and ethnic groups or cultures. Medievalists should feel even more uncomfortable when this othering—intentional or otherwise—becomes common popular culture medievalisms that use the Middle Ages—our Middle Ages—to advance their racist agendas, resulting in malicious acts against individuals and groups. In short, the Middle Ages are often put to monstrous work in modern popular thought and culture. These monstrous medievalisms use the period to foster some of the most pernicious ideologies of the present day and distort our understanding of the past. We ask, whose Middle Ages are they? And in so doing, we seek to confront these monstrous medievalisms, to unravel and make sense of them in order to dismantle the negative work they do.
Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Monstrous Medievalism: Toxic Appropriations of the Middle Ages in Modern Popular Culture and Thought
Bernhard Brown & Gold Room
The medieval period continues to be misidentified both as a primitive ‘dark age’ and as an idealized utopian golden age of racial and religious homogeny. In both cases, aspects of medieval culture are appropriated and reimagined in ways that celebrate and promote the othering of certain racial and ethnic groups or cultures. Medievalists should be uncomfortable that we share some interests with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other groups dedicated to the oppression, segregation, and even elimination of racial and ethnic groups or cultures. Medievalists should feel even more uncomfortable when this othering—intentional or otherwise—becomes common popular culture medievalisms that use the Middle Ages—our Middle Ages—to advance their racist agendas, resulting in malicious acts against individuals and groups. In short, the Middle Ages are often put to monstrous work in modern popular thought and culture. These monstrous medievalisms use the period to foster some of the most pernicious ideologies of the present day and distort our understanding of the past. We ask, whose Middle Ages are they? And in so doing, we seek to confront these monstrous medievalisms, to unravel and make sense of them in order to dismantle the negative work they do.
Ilan Mitchell-Smith