The New "Dark Ages"
Sponsoring Organization(s)
International Society for the Study of Medievalism
Organizer Name
Amy S. Kaufman; Usha Vishnuvajjala
Organizer Affiliation
Independent Scholar; American Univ.
Presider Name
Usha Vishnuvajjala
Paper Title 1
Religion, Science, and Conspiracy Theories: The Flat Earth in the Middle Ages and Today
Presenter 1 Name
Shiloh Carroll
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Tennessee State Univ.
Paper Title 2
Not as Sexy as We Thought: Echoes of the Dark Ages in Modern Sexual Conduct for Women
Presenter 2 Name
Amy Burge
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Cardiff Univ.
Paper Title 3
Medievalism, Medievalists, and Conditional Reproductive Justice
Presenter 3 Name
Rebecca Huffman
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Univ. of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Paper Title 4
A Dark Stage for the Dark Ages: Medieval Theatre as Protest (Then and Now)
Presenter 4 Name
Carol L. Robinson
Presenter 4 Affiliation
Kent State Univ.-Trumbull
Start Date
12-5-2018 3:30 PM
Session Location
Schneider 1280
Description
The “Dark Ages” are back in the news, or at least the term is: the label has been applied to everything from the increasing erosion of women’s rights across the globe to the dystopian television worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and Into the Badlands. Many people seem afraid that the world is inevitably returning to a “medieval” past of patriarchy, superstition, religious homogeny, censorship, and even monarchy. Medievalists, meanwhile, leap at these dim portraits of the Middle Ages to defend it from oversimplification. But sometimes, we dispel popular misconceptions without addressing continuities between the present and the past. This panel traces strong connections between the worst aspects of the Middle Ages and our possible futures, and will interrogate contemporary anxieties and illusions about the past in light of real medieval history, literature, science, and art.
Amy S. Kaufman
The New "Dark Ages"
Schneider 1280
The “Dark Ages” are back in the news, or at least the term is: the label has been applied to everything from the increasing erosion of women’s rights across the globe to the dystopian television worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and Into the Badlands. Many people seem afraid that the world is inevitably returning to a “medieval” past of patriarchy, superstition, religious homogeny, censorship, and even monarchy. Medievalists, meanwhile, leap at these dim portraits of the Middle Ages to defend it from oversimplification. But sometimes, we dispel popular misconceptions without addressing continuities between the present and the past. This panel traces strong connections between the worst aspects of the Middle Ages and our possible futures, and will interrogate contemporary anxieties and illusions about the past in light of real medieval history, literature, science, and art.
Amy S. Kaufman