Not so Lonesome Anymore: Bridging the Disciplines through Pedagogy

• Main Author: Burkholder, Peter
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: punctum books 2018
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.21983/p3.0205.1.04; https://punctumbooks.com/titles/the-ballad-of-the-lone-medievalist/

It’s perhaps inevitable for medievalists to feel a bit isolated. The very terms “medieval” and “Middle Ages” hardly conjure up positive images among the general public and even our non-brethren academics, resulting in such negative stereotypes towards the field that meaningful discourse can end before it even begins. When not surrounded by kindred specialists, it’s tempting to empathize with pre-millennial Irish monks sailing out bravely into the North Atlantic, pretending the professional solitude is precisely what we seek, even if it isn’t. Those who study the Middle Ages could be forgiven for feel-ing that their situation is unique, that no one else could possibly understand the seclusion which comes with studying societies long ago and far away, with trying to appreciate mindsets and worldviews of people who often thought in fundamentally dif-ferent, even perplexing ways. What else to do but don our emo-tional armor and carry on as academic outliers?