Appropriation of the Middle Ages
Title
Appropriation of the Middle Ages
Creator
Instructions
Part 1: What Is Information?
Respond with one sentence answering each question:
Part 2: Examining Artifacts
Each group will discuss the following, recording the main points of your discussion:
Note of preparation: some of these artifacts may be graphic, and some may be triggering.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Part 3: What Is the Difference between Propaganda, Misinformation, and Disinformation?
Link to Johns Hopkins Research Guide
Part 4: Wrap Up
The story of Derek Black, the son of Stormfront founder: "Derek finished high school, enrolled in community college and ran for a seat on the Republican committee, beating an incumbent with 60 percent of the vote. He decided he wanted to study medieval European history, so he applied to New College of Florida, a top-ranked liberal arts school with a strong history program...The qualities that had once made him seem quirky — shoulder-length red hair, the cowboy hat he wore, a passion for medieval re-enactment — made him a good fit for New College, where many of the 800 students were a little bit weird. He forged his own armor and dressed as a knight for Halloween...He was taking classes in Jewish scripture and German multiculturalism during his last year at New College, but most of his research was focused on medieval Europe. He learned that Western Europe had begun not as a great society of genetically superior people but as a technologically backward place that lagged behind Islamic culture. He studied the 8th century to the 12th century, trying to trace back the modern concepts of race and whiteness, but he couldn’t find them anywhere. 'We basically just invented it,' he concluded."
Respond with one sentence answering each question:
- What is information?
- What does information do? Or what can be done with information?
- If information is power, then what does it mean if your access to information is inhibited or distorted?
- What is your responsibility to accuracy and truthfulness?
Part 2: Examining Artifacts
Each group will discuss the following, recording the main points of your discussion:
- What are the main messages of your group's set of artifacts?
- Upon what assumptions are these messages based?
- What questions do you have about the artifacts?
- What research would you do to engage with these questions?
Note of preparation: some of these artifacts may be graphic, and some may be triggering.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Part 3: What Is the Difference between Propaganda, Misinformation, and Disinformation?
Link to Johns Hopkins Research Guide
- Group 1:
- Group 2:
- Group 3:
- Group 4:
- Group 5:
- Group 6:
Part 4: Wrap Up
- If information is power, then what does it mean if your access to information is inhibited or distorted?
- What is your responsibility to accuracy and truthfulness?
The story of Derek Black, the son of Stormfront founder: "Derek finished high school, enrolled in community college and ran for a seat on the Republican committee, beating an incumbent with 60 percent of the vote. He decided he wanted to study medieval European history, so he applied to New College of Florida, a top-ranked liberal arts school with a strong history program...The qualities that had once made him seem quirky — shoulder-length red hair, the cowboy hat he wore, a passion for medieval re-enactment — made him a good fit for New College, where many of the 800 students were a little bit weird. He forged his own armor and dressed as a knight for Halloween...He was taking classes in Jewish scripture and German multiculturalism during his last year at New College, but most of his research was focused on medieval Europe. He learned that Western Europe had begun not as a great society of genetically superior people but as a technologically backward place that lagged behind Islamic culture. He studied the 8th century to the 12th century, trying to trace back the modern concepts of race and whiteness, but he couldn’t find them anywhere. 'We basically just invented it,' he concluded."
Outcomes
Activity Outcome
- Students will be able to identify (mis)appropriation of the Middle Ages.
- Students will be able to recognize and articulate the value of studying early British literature.
- Students will be able to identify the steps of the research process and apply information literacy skills in a variety of contexts.
Collection
Citation
Kisha G. Tracy, Fitchburg State UniversityRenée Fratantonio, Fitchburg State University, “Appropriation of the Middle Ages,” Teaching the Middle Ages in Higher Ed, accessed April 20, 2024, https://medievalhighered.omeka.net/items/show/35.