Over the past decade, many white nationalists have participated in a new, regressive social movement under the name “Alt-Right.” I argue that the modern Alt-Right misappropriation of medieval history exploits a false narrative of a ubiquitously all-white, Christian identity in the Middle Ages that simply never existed. Such an act allows the Alt-Right to connect themselves to a supposedly shared history, thereby emphasizing their assumed legitimacy. This rhetorical aspect of their social movement strategy is key to their ideological identity. This thesis engages with critical race theory and medieval historiography in order to understand why the Middle Ages hold such a powerful place in collective memory, and why medieval rhetoric and symbolism are misappropriated by white nationalist movements. Although concepts of race, gender, and ethnicity during the Middle Ages differed from and are inherently incompatible with their contemporary evocation by white nationalists, the false ideas about these medieval concepts evoked by white nationalists nonetheless retain potency.
To view the full poster, click here.
12 Comments
Carol Ann MacGregor
4/29/2020 01:56:45 pm
I loved seeing contemporary sociological theory applied in this way. Great work!
Reply
Claire McKenna
4/29/2020 05:12:52 pm
Thank you so much, Dr. MacGregor! It was really interesting to use sociological and historical theory in the same project.
Reply
Edward Vacek, S.J.
4/29/2020 01:58:23 pm
Brilliant work by Claire. One hopes that exposure to the truth might overcome the virus of racism.
Reply
Claire McKenna
4/29/2020 05:11:49 pm
Thank you so much, Fr. Vacek!
Reply
Rachel Wallace
4/30/2020 09:05:22 am
Well done Claire! I found this really interesting, I hadn’t thought about the way that the alt-right had misused medieval history. I also really enjoyed your discussion of imagined communities, I think it is a really useful theory for history research!
Reply
Claire McKenna
4/30/2020 09:09:34 am
Thank you, Dr. Wallace!
Reply
Alice Kornovich
4/30/2020 09:40:36 am
Claire,
Reply
Claire McKenna
4/30/2020 11:26:56 am
Merci, Mme. Kornovich!
Reply
Valerie Goertzen
4/30/2020 09:51:50 am
An excellent project, well researched and presented. I learned a lot.
Reply
Claire McKenna
4/30/2020 11:27:14 am
Thank you!
Reply
Johanna Kalb
4/30/2020 11:49:47 am
This is fascinating. I had never thought about how the alt-right uses medieval culture (nor about how the pop culture imagery of medieval times presumes whiteness). I really learned a ton.
Reply
Claire McKenna
4/30/2020 02:12:34 pm
Thank you so much! I'm glad you could learn something.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AboutWelcome to the Loyola University Honors Program Senior Research Presentations! On this site we celebrate the accomplishments of the Loyola honors community. All members of the Loyola community are invited to engage with the brilliant research carried out by the University Honors Program class of 2020. Please leave comments and questions for the authors! ArchivesCategories |