Going Medieval: How Pop Culture Reflects the Past – Dr. Paul Sturtevant

The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show. I’m Paul Vogelzang, and this is episode #495.

As part of our Smithsonian Associates Art Of Living series, our guest today is Dr. Paul Sturtevant.

Dr. Paul Sturtevant is an historian and social scientist at the Smithsonian, editor-in-chief of The Public Medievalist online magazine, and author of two books that examine the intersections between the Middle Ages and the present day.

The Middle Ages are everywhere in our pop culture. Just look at “Game of Thrones” and the latest Hollywood blockbusters. Knights and castles are all over video, tabletop, and role-playing games. And we can spend a day at a medieval-style festival and an evening at a theme restaurant featuring jousts, swordplay, and revelry.
Why are we so culturally obsessed with this distant time period? What, if anything, can these pop-culture rehashes of history tell us about the past? And perhaps more revealing, what can the ways that we re-imagine the medieval era tell us about how we see ourselves today?

Join me today, with Dr. Paul B. Sturtevant as we take a colorful journey through the castles, cathedrals, and battlefields dreamed up by contemporary culture. He examines how history is not just history: that what we remember, and how we remember it, is always a mirror that reflects ourselves.

My thanks to Dr. Paul Sturtevant for his generous time today. My thanks, as well, to the generosity of the Smithsonian Associates team and for all they do to support the show. My thanks, too, to you, our wonderful Not Old Better Show audience. Please practice smart social distancing, be safe, and remember, let’s talk about better. The Not Old Better Show. Thanks, everybody.
For ticket details, please click here:
https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/going-medieval-how-pop-culture-reflects-past?utm_source=RAad&utm_medium=OAtsa&utm_content=mwX&utm_campaign=MayWe