Books
Dr. Sturtevant has authored two books: The Devil’s Historians: How Modern Extremists Abuse the Medieval Past (with Amy S. Kaufman) and The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination: Memory, Film, and Medievalism.
Exposing those who use the Middle Ages for hate
The Devil's Historians: How Modern Extremists Abuse the Medieval Past
By: Amy S. Kaufman and Paul B. Sturtevant
List: $21.95; Ebook: $17.95
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Publication Year: 2020
ASIN: 1487587848
ISBN: 9781487587840
The Middle Ages have been used to justify hate for centuries. Sure, some love the Middle Ages because it brings them joy, helps them understand the past, and connect with something bigger than themselves. But there’s a dark side too. Slaveowners using medieval “chivalry” to justify human trafficking, nationalists using medieval heroes to justify conquest, colonialists using tales of medieval superiority to justify genocide, and more. In The Devil’s Historians, Amy S. Kaufman and Paul B. Sturtevant take a hard look at these abuses of the past, and reveal a Middle Ages entirely different from what the warmongers, terrorists, and white supremacists would have you believe.
Find out more at the book’s companion site: www.devilshistorians.com
You learn more history from watching TV than you think
The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination: Memory, Film and Medievalism
By: Paul B. Sturtevant
Paperback List: $39.95; Ebook List: $39.95
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication Year: 2018
ASIN: 1350124907
ISBN: 9781350124905
What do we really know about the Middle Ages? Where do we learn about them? And how do we use that knowledge to understand ourselves, each other, and the world?
In this groundbreaking book, Paul B. Sturtevant grapples with fundamental questions about how we learn about the past– through our educations, experiences, and most importantly, through our consumption of popular culture. In it, he presents the result of a qualitative study of British young people and their engagement with the medieval past through watching popular films. What do we learn from watching Beowulf? How do people think about the crusades after seeing Kingdom of Heaven? And is The Lord of the Rings medieval at all?