Episode 13: Progressives Are Trying to Take Over Medieval Studies—Rachel Fulton Brown

By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Aug 14, 2018 | In The Catholic Culture Podcast

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The critical theorists and social justice warriors are trying to do to medieval studies what they’ve done to other disciplines, and if you don’t get on board, you’re a white supremacist. Over the past two years or so, the mob has targeted University of Chicago professor Rachel Fulton Brown, calling her a fascist, trying to intimidate her department into censuring her, and banning her from conference sessions. She joins me to discuss her ordeal, why even tenured professors are willing to stand up for unpopular truths, and the stakes of the battle for medieval studies.

Links

Rachel Fulton Brown’s academic homepage http://home.uchicago.edu/~rfulton/

Milo Yiannopoulos’s essay “Why the Battle for Medieval Studies Matters to America” (profanity warning) https://www.dangerous.com/45111/middle-rages/

Rachel’s fascinating Professional Self-Portrait http://home.uchicago.edu/~rfulton/Professional%20Self%20Portrait.pdf

Mary and the Art of Prayer: The Hours of the Virgin in Medieval Christian Life and Thought:

Purchase https://amzn.to/2MPrGFf

Read Chapter 2 https://issuu.com/columbiaup/docs/mary_and_the_art_of_prayer_ave_mari

Timestamps

2:56 Rachel Fulton Brown

3:41 The initial blog post that made Rachel’s colleagues angry

10:15 Rachel’s friendship with Milo Yiannopoulos

15:19 The progressive witch hunt within medieval studies

28:25 The letter 1,500 academics signed attempting to get her department to censure her

34:40 Rachel’s defenders in academia

36:49 Why even tenured academics fear the mob

41:23 Critical theorists coming from English literature into medieval studies

45:27 What will be lost if medieval studies is taken over by progressives: the study of Christianity

51:02 This week’s reading: Bl. John Henry Newman

Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.