We know for a fact that the medieval world was diverse, we know for a fact that civilizations outside of the major European nations were interesting, but at the moment, Medieval Studies is still a very white field. So why does this matter, especially in the current moment? Because black history matters. Black scholarship matters. And black lives matter.
Hi, everyone, and welcome to Episode 64 of The Medieval Podcast. I’m Danièle Cybulskie, also known as The Five-Minute Medievalist.
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As a historian, as a North American, as a human being, it’s hard not to be affected by the unrest that’s happening at the moment in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. I’ve thought long and hard about the fact that I have a platform and a voice, and I’ve been unsure how best to use it this week. My intent was to hand the microphone over to a friend and colleague who is much more knowledgeable and eloquent about how racism infects and affects our field, but those plans fell through, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. This is not ideal, because I think this is a time for white people to be listening much more than talking, but it’s still an opportunity because if anything is to change, white people need to step up and show solidarity with our friends and colleagues of colour and educate other white people who might be listening, so here we go.
I’m going to confess something to you. This podcast has been going for over a year now, and I haven’t dealt directly with the issue of racism in our field yet. It’s not because I’m not aware of it – I’m deeply, deeply aware of it – but because my personal life has been in turmoil for the last couple of years, I’ve reached for easy stuff; the things I know most about and feel most comfortable talking about. I’m not looking for sympathy because I don’t need it and more importantly, this isn’t about me, but I’m telling you this to make a point. Because I care about the people of colour in our field and in our world and the injustice they face, I didn’t want to make a mistake because I rushed things or wasn’t prepared. I didn’t want to address this hugely important issue and mess it up and make things worse.
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So, because I cared, I made the oldest rookie mistake that way too many well-meaning white people make: I stayed quiet. And time passed. But here’s the thing about silence in the face of oppression: it’s deafening. And to the people who are suffering, it doesn’t matter at all if my intentions were good. And here’s the other thing: our colleagues of colour have personal challenges, too, but unlike me, they can’t avoid the poison of the racism in our field and in our society. So, I want to apologize to all of you for my silence. They say you should never let perfection be the enemy of the good, and I have. I’m sorry. You deserve better.
Medieval Studies has got to be among the whitest fields around, and this has a lot to do with its roots in the Victorian era, when white English people were trying to reawaken ideas of a perfect, rustic, lily-white time. It was founded on ideas of literal white supremacy, and those ideas have proved to be very hard to shake.
We know from textual sources and archaeological sources that the medieval world was a diverse one, with people mixing from all areas of the world – even brief contact with the Americas. We also know that Europe was pretty backward by technological standards, so that the people we now call Caucasian were definitely not superior in terms of literacy, science, or technology. We know that Africa was a thriving continent, with civilizations that were envied by Europeans. I mean, when we learn about history in general, it’s almost as if the highly-admired Egyptians and the amazing ancient civilization that they built is somehow removed from the fact that Egypt is literally in Africa.
In the period that we call the Middle Ages in Europe, there aren’t as many textual sources that have survived from Africa, but we should in no way assume that this means African nations aren’t as interesting to study and learn about or that they were culturally backward. If you haven’t listened to the podcast on Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time from last fall, start there. François-Xavier Fauvelle’s book The Golden Rhinocerosis a good overview of some of the archaeological finds that have been made in Africa, and what they can tell us.
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So, we know for a fact that the medieval world was diverse, we know for a fact that civilizations outside of the major European nations were interesting, but a quick survey of any bookstore will show that the focus of medieval studies is still predominantly on England and France. This is true also of this podcast because that’s where my own specialty lies, and I was looking for the easy stuff. I’m finally lining up some really great guests who specialize in other areas of the world for future episodes because I believe we need to address this imbalance, and overall I do think the field is shifting. But at the moment, it’s still a very white field. So why does this matter, especially in the current moment? It matters for two reasons.
The first reason is that the white history of our field makes it very difficult for people of colour who are interested in studying it to be a part of it. Imagine what it’s like to be the only person of colour in a room full of white people. If you’re a white person and you’ve never actually done this, it’s time to do it now. Imagine what it’s like to have people coming up to you and asking what your interest in King Arthur is, as if you have to explain liking something. Or worse, to have people assume that you, as the only person of colour in the room, are not actually an academic, but part of the wait staff. This is something that still happens to our colleagues and friends. It’s not even out of the ordinary. Imagine how humiliating that is. Imagine it happens to you over and over again.
But it’s even worse than that. Because all of us have grown up in a society that positions white people as smart and capable in every situation, this thinking gets in the way of hiring people of colour, even when we think it doesn’t. Even if we think we’re colourblind (which isn’t a thing, by the way – it’s just not). If it comes down to a decision between a white person and a person of colour up for the job, that steady undertone of racism in all of our minds can steer us, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. Micro-aggressions and overt racism are pushing brilliant minds out of Medieval Studies. This needs to stop. We need to stop it.
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The other reason we need to be aware of the fact that whiteness is emphasized when people look at the medieval world is that it’s becoming increasingly weaponized in the hands of white supremacists. People with racist agendas look to the crusades or to the Vikings as a way of justifying their own prejudice and their own violence. They pick and choose from history to fuel their hatred, and the consequences are deadly. How often do we hear about Templar phrases or Viking symbols being used by people who have committed mass shootings or bombings? How often do racists talk about crusades? They forget that the Hospitallers treated people of all faiths and skin colours at their hospitals. That the Vikings enslaved their own people – they had no interest in racial superiority. They were interested in wealth. The idea that white people are or ever were better than anyone else is not only absurd, but history doesn’t actually support it. We need to be aware of how the medieval world is weaponized against people of colour, so we can counteract it.
So, if you’re a white person and you hear someone spouting off about Vinland, remind them that the Vikings left North America because they never adapted to it the way indigenous people did. If you’re a white person and someone starts talking about the crusaders, remind them that crusaders didn’t actually win anything in the end (if there can be any winning in war at all). Western crusaders were pushed out of the Middle East, and the Templars were destroyed. By other white people. In fact, if you’re a white person and you hear someone being racist and it has nothing to do with the Middle Ages, say something.
I’ve said this many times, but I honestly believe that studying history – really studying it with the good and the bad and the ugly – makes people more sympathetic and compassionate towards the people of the past, and I believe we can use this practice to be compassionate towards the people of today. So, if you love history and you really feel for those people, and yet you can’t understand someone from a different race or culture today, educate yourself the way you did about the people of the past. We’re all learning every day. And sometimes, we’re going to screw up – even with the best of intentions, just like I did. And then we’ve just got to own our mistakes and try our best to do better.
So, here’s where we can start. Find the work of scholars of colour and read it and support them. I mean, if you’re not following Monica Green on Twitter, what are you waiting for? These scholars put out amazing work, and they do it while pushing uphill all the way. If you’re white, educate yourself on what the struggle is, and how you can support your friends. There are a million resources, many of them created by the emotional labour of exhausted people of colour who have taken pity on us well-intentioned white people. Honestly, just google “how can white people help?” and start reading. Also, if you’re white, remember that it’s not about us right now or our feelings or our surprise or our worry. It’s time for us to listen, not to speak over people of colour. If they’re speaking, we’re listening. If we’re speaking, we’re helping other white people who are foundering find their way to doing better to help people of colour until we are all safe and we are all equal.
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We need to pull together now to walk the walk. To remind the world that black history matters. That black scholarship matters. And most importantly, that black lives matter.
Thanks for listening. Stay safe, everybody, and stay together.
We know for a fact that the medieval world was diverse, we know for a fact that civilizations outside of the major European nations were interesting, but at the moment, Medieval Studies is still a very white field. So why does this matter, especially in the current moment? Because black history matters. Black scholarship matters. And black lives matter.
Hi, everyone, and welcome to Episode 64 of The Medieval Podcast. I’m Danièle Cybulskie, also known as The Five-Minute Medievalist.
As a historian, as a North American, as a human being, it’s hard not to be affected by the unrest that’s happening at the moment in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. I’ve thought long and hard about the fact that I have a platform and a voice, and I’ve been unsure how best to use it this week. My intent was to hand the microphone over to a friend and colleague who is much more knowledgeable and eloquent about how racism infects and affects our field, but those plans fell through, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. This is not ideal, because I think this is a time for white people to be listening much more than talking, but it’s still an opportunity because if anything is to change, white people need to step up and show solidarity with our friends and colleagues of colour and educate other white people who might be listening, so here we go.
I’m going to confess something to you. This podcast has been going for over a year now, and I haven’t dealt directly with the issue of racism in our field yet. It’s not because I’m not aware of it – I’m deeply, deeply aware of it – but because my personal life has been in turmoil for the last couple of years, I’ve reached for easy stuff; the things I know most about and feel most comfortable talking about. I’m not looking for sympathy because I don’t need it and more importantly, this isn’t about me, but I’m telling you this to make a point. Because I care about the people of colour in our field and in our world and the injustice they face, I didn’t want to make a mistake because I rushed things or wasn’t prepared. I didn’t want to address this hugely important issue and mess it up and make things worse.
So, because I cared, I made the oldest rookie mistake that way too many well-meaning white people make: I stayed quiet. And time passed. But here’s the thing about silence in the face of oppression: it’s deafening. And to the people who are suffering, it doesn’t matter at all if my intentions were good. And here’s the other thing: our colleagues of colour have personal challenges, too, but unlike me, they can’t avoid the poison of the racism in our field and in our society. So, I want to apologize to all of you for my silence. They say you should never let perfection be the enemy of the good, and I have. I’m sorry. You deserve better.
Medieval Studies has got to be among the whitest fields around, and this has a lot to do with its roots in the Victorian era, when white English people were trying to reawaken ideas of a perfect, rustic, lily-white time. It was founded on ideas of literal white supremacy, and those ideas have proved to be very hard to shake.
We know from textual sources and archaeological sources that the medieval world was a diverse one, with people mixing from all areas of the world – even brief contact with the Americas. We also know that Europe was pretty backward by technological standards, so that the people we now call Caucasian were definitely not superior in terms of literacy, science, or technology. We know that Africa was a thriving continent, with civilizations that were envied by Europeans. I mean, when we learn about history in general, it’s almost as if the highly-admired Egyptians and the amazing ancient civilization that they built is somehow removed from the fact that Egypt is literally in Africa.
In the period that we call the Middle Ages in Europe, there aren’t as many textual sources that have survived from Africa, but we should in no way assume that this means African nations aren’t as interesting to study and learn about or that they were culturally backward. If you haven’t listened to the podcast on Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time from last fall, start there. François-Xavier Fauvelle’s book The Golden Rhinoceros is a good overview of some of the archaeological finds that have been made in Africa, and what they can tell us.
So, we know for a fact that the medieval world was diverse, we know for a fact that civilizations outside of the major European nations were interesting, but a quick survey of any bookstore will show that the focus of medieval studies is still predominantly on England and France. This is true also of this podcast because that’s where my own specialty lies, and I was looking for the easy stuff. I’m finally lining up some really great guests who specialize in other areas of the world for future episodes because I believe we need to address this imbalance, and overall I do think the field is shifting. But at the moment, it’s still a very white field. So why does this matter, especially in the current moment? It matters for two reasons.
The first reason is that the white history of our field makes it very difficult for people of colour who are interested in studying it to be a part of it. Imagine what it’s like to be the only person of colour in a room full of white people. If you’re a white person and you’ve never actually done this, it’s time to do it now. Imagine what it’s like to have people coming up to you and asking what your interest in King Arthur is, as if you have to explain liking something. Or worse, to have people assume that you, as the only person of colour in the room, are not actually an academic, but part of the wait staff. This is something that still happens to our colleagues and friends. It’s not even out of the ordinary. Imagine how humiliating that is. Imagine it happens to you over and over again.
But it’s even worse than that. Because all of us have grown up in a society that positions white people as smart and capable in every situation, this thinking gets in the way of hiring people of colour, even when we think it doesn’t. Even if we think we’re colourblind (which isn’t a thing, by the way – it’s just not). If it comes down to a decision between a white person and a person of colour up for the job, that steady undertone of racism in all of our minds can steer us, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. Micro-aggressions and overt racism are pushing brilliant minds out of Medieval Studies. This needs to stop. We need to stop it.
The other reason we need to be aware of the fact that whiteness is emphasized when people look at the medieval world is that it’s becoming increasingly weaponized in the hands of white supremacists. People with racist agendas look to the crusades or to the Vikings as a way of justifying their own prejudice and their own violence. They pick and choose from history to fuel their hatred, and the consequences are deadly. How often do we hear about Templar phrases or Viking symbols being used by people who have committed mass shootings or bombings? How often do racists talk about crusades? They forget that the Hospitallers treated people of all faiths and skin colours at their hospitals. That the Vikings enslaved their own people – they had no interest in racial superiority. They were interested in wealth. The idea that white people are or ever were better than anyone else is not only absurd, but history doesn’t actually support it. We need to be aware of how the medieval world is weaponized against people of colour, so we can counteract it.
So, if you’re a white person and you hear someone spouting off about Vinland, remind them that the Vikings left North America because they never adapted to it the way indigenous people did. If you’re a white person and someone starts talking about the crusaders, remind them that crusaders didn’t actually win anything in the end (if there can be any winning in war at all). Western crusaders were pushed out of the Middle East, and the Templars were destroyed. By other white people. In fact, if you’re a white person and you hear someone being racist and it has nothing to do with the Middle Ages, say something.
I’ve said this many times, but I honestly believe that studying history – really studying it with the good and the bad and the ugly – makes people more sympathetic and compassionate towards the people of the past, and I believe we can use this practice to be compassionate towards the people of today. So, if you love history and you really feel for those people, and yet you can’t understand someone from a different race or culture today, educate yourself the way you did about the people of the past. We’re all learning every day. And sometimes, we’re going to screw up – even with the best of intentions, just like I did. And then we’ve just got to own our mistakes and try our best to do better.
So, here’s where we can start. Find the work of scholars of colour and read it and support them. I mean, if you’re not following Monica Green on Twitter, what are you waiting for? These scholars put out amazing work, and they do it while pushing uphill all the way. If you’re white, educate yourself on what the struggle is, and how you can support your friends. There are a million resources, many of them created by the emotional labour of exhausted people of colour who have taken pity on us well-intentioned white people. Honestly, just google “how can white people help?” and start reading. Also, if you’re white, remember that it’s not about us right now or our feelings or our surprise or our worry. It’s time for us to listen, not to speak over people of colour. If they’re speaking, we’re listening. If we’re speaking, we’re helping other white people who are foundering find their way to doing better to help people of colour until we are all safe and we are all equal.
We need to pull together now to walk the walk. To remind the world that black history matters. That black scholarship matters. And most importantly, that black lives matter.
Thanks for listening. Stay safe, everybody, and stay together.
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