This guest post by Sharon Rhodes considers a subject of great interest in medieval studies at present, the use of the term “Anglo-Saxon.” Rhodes takes a fresh approach to the subject, focusing on how to teach Old English language and literature (with relevance for the teaching of related subjects, such as medieval English art, history, etc.) without welcoming or fostering the racist fantasies about linguistic and cultural “purity” that have plagued the field more or less since its inception.
Activism
Don’t Mourn, Organize!
It’s a well-known saying, a paraphrase of the International Workers of the World organizer Joe Hill’s last words. They’re not easy words to live by.
In Support of Substantive Change at ISAS
The Material Collective is grateful to Mary Rambaran-Olm for her recent actions to draw attention to the continuing problems within the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists and in the field of medieval studies as a whole. This is not simply a fight over a name, but an effort to unravel decades of systematic exclusion within the […]
The Urgent Case for Teaching Yemeni Art History
Never had I suspected that my first year of teaching as an adjunct professor of art history would become a campaign of the heart to raise students’ awareness of the art and archaeology of Yemen.
Open Letter to the Met RE: Admissions Policy
Dear Dr. Weiss, We are writing to you, a fellow medievalist, on behalf of several Medieval Studies and Art History organizations concerned about the change in admissions charges at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met has been, for many of us, a guiding institution, a temple, and a home away from home. Many of […]