This week, ending in November 30 2017:
Today's thread is for open discussion of:
History in the academy
Historiographical disputes, debates and rivalries
Implications of historical theory both abstractly and in application
Philosophy of history
And so on
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion only of matters like those above, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
I came across someone referencing unpublished letters of Mary Queen of Scots and am curious how people are still coming across unknown/unpublished letters from the 16th century. Are there still hidden gems from that era waiting to be discovered?
I'm wondering about the Vergangenheitsbewältigung of historians of the middle ages, considering the political leanings of, for instance, Kantorowicz and Schramm, and the use of medieval imagery by the Nazi state.
How have historians wrestled with past and present political use of medieval history, and how has this use and the wrestling with it affected/effected the study of the middle ages?
John Anthony West vs Mainstream Egyptology for the Heavyweight Belt.