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The Black Middle Ages with Matthew Vernon

Ever since the medieval period ended, people have been looking to the Middle Ages to find inspiration and a sense of cultural roots. This week, Danièle speaks with Matthew Vernon about the commonalities and kinship felt by African-American writers as they look back to the medieval past.

Dr. Matthew X. Vernon is an associate professor of English at the University of California, Davis, where he works on medieval literature, travel narratives, migration, film, and comic books. Click here to visit his university webpage. His book, The Black Middle Ages: Race and the Construction of the Middle Ages looks at the ways in which African-American writers worked with cultural constructs of the medieval period to explore ideas of identity and their place in the post-Civil War United States. Learn more about the book from its publisher Palgrave Macmillan, or buy the book on Amazon.com.

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Matthew also recommends these other readings:

Telling Tales, by Patience Agbabi

Everybody – a play written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Bailey’s Cafe and Linden Hills – novels by Gloria Naylor

The creator and host of The Medieval Podcast is Danièle Cybulskie. Click here to visit her website or follow her on Twitter @5MinMedievalist

You can also help support the podcast and Medievalists.net through our Patreon – go to https://www.patreon.com/medievalists to learn more.

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Top Image: Frederick Douglass and Dante Alighieri

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