Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, I am not offering medical advice.
Read MoreMonth: January 2020
It’s not procraftinating, it’s productive crafting – Returning to sewing
Last year, I spent most of my time alone in Europe watching historical costuming YouTube (read: costube). After returning home for good and successfully finishing some knitting and crochet projects for pretty much the first time ever, I’m taking the plunge to get back into sewing.
Read MoreThe Ornament of the World: Why we shouldn’t define people by religion
If you are an avid PBS fan, you may have seen the premier of a new documentary titled Ornament of the World in the last month. It’s a piece about the interfaith world of medieval Spain, and given that I work on the very related field of cross-cultural contact in medieval Sicily, I should have been excited to see it, but, frankly, I was surprised and somewhat exhausted at the thought that this movie had been made. Because not only was its perspective on interreligious contact left behind by the field of medieval studies almost 20 years ago, but its entire approach to the question assumes that peoples of different religions should be inherently separate.
Read MorePersimmon Cake for the warm and spicy in your life
It’s persimmon season in California, and last month a friend with a tree gifted me with a huge haul of bright orange fruits. Read More
Finding America’s Conquistador Roots in San Leandro
Last year, my husband and I were looking to buy a house in the small California city of San Leandro, on the edge of Oakland. Being a historian and a nerd (redundant, I know), I looked into the history of the town and its name. I was surprised, delighted, and eventually horrified to find it rooted in medieval history, and it showed me just how deep-seated America’s racism is in its visions of the Middle Ages. Read More
Robin Writes 