Journalist – Historian – Speaker
Medieval art historian Asa Mittman has a new piece in The Conversation on the survival of the Blood Libel myth. He talks about the medieval origins and dissemination of the myth that Jews ritually murder Christian children and use their blood to make their Matzoh (note: they/we don’t. They/we never did). He called it a …
As a historian, I study myth and narrative, not events or actions. I believe truth exists – in that I believe people did things and said things and even thought things and that sometimes those things are knowable. I just don’t especially find that interesting. What interests me is how individuals and groups tell stories …
And that no one may wonder that this sex laboured at warfare, I will make a brief digression, in order to give a short account of the estate and character of such women. There were once women among the Danes who dressed themselves to look like men, and devoted almost every instant of their lives …
Crucifixion of William of Norwich, Holy Trinity church, Loddon, Norfolk As a historian, I work on narrative, memory, and myth. I’m interested in how people respond to events by creating new stories or re-interpreting old ones, applying a narrative lens to the world around them. I have a specific focus on the 13th-century Mediterranean, but I …
“I respect you very much as a woman for your accomplishments. I even read that you studied medieval history, which I think will come in handy with trying to defend the Republican war on women.” Liberal Radio Host Stephanie Miller to Carly Fiorina, failed Republican Senate Candiate, on CNN State of the Union, 7/6/2014. On …
It was a very good writing week for me. I pitched four columns, landed three, one of which came out immediately. I also wrote a first-draft treatment of a book (more on this later once it’s ready). Most fun, I did an interview and part of a call-in show with an Australian radio program! You …
At New Criticals, Alison Kinney has written a powerful piece comparing police violence against suffragists to the police violence against Occupy activist Cecily McMillan. She starts with this story: “Constables and plain-clothes men who were in the crowd passed their arms round me from the back and clutched hold of my breasts in as public …
I’ve been at the 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, held annually at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. It’s an extraordinary event – over 3000 medievalists come to this small town and lovely campus and, over four days, work on everything from the most micro-specialized topic to giant sweeping questions about the academy and …
In the New Republic, historian Sonya Michel has written a scathing indictment (with a response and followup) of the “National Women’s History Museum,” a group dedicated to making a real museum on the Mall in D.C. According to the piece (and many other historians, including – full disclosure here – my mother), the NWHM has gone out of …
I have a new piece on CNN today about the upcoming canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. When CNN asked me if I had anything to write about it, the core question to me was – why should non-Catholics, especially secular people, care. I’m lucky in having very smart people around me …