Medieval History
So, The LA Times has an article about new care packages intended for troops in Iraq. Great, right? Everyone likes cookies.
Alas, these packages don't contain cookies. They contain "Bibles, proselytizing material in English and Arabic and the apocalyptic computer game 'Left Behind: Eternal Forces' (derived from the series of post-Rapture novels), in which 'soldiers for Christ' hunt down enemies who look suspiciously like UN peacekeepers." The distributor of the packages, a fundamentalist Christian ministry called "Operation Straight Up," was hoping also to launch an entertainment tour for the troops called the "Military Crusade." The Defense Department has now pulled the packages and won't distribute them.
The article goes on to talk about the increasingly close relationship between Christian evangelical organizations and the US military.
Anyway, this all, I think, sort-of connects back to what I've said earlier about the memory of the crusades in the West. But this is a little different because my point here is about the word "crusade" itelf. In many instances, the use of it seems fine. A group's "crusade" to save a reservoir. A "crusade" to save energy in Johannesburg. etc. There's an assumed justness to those causes.
But when the term is connected to violence, it becomes so much more problematic. Pres. Bush's use of the term at the beginning of the Afghanistan war. The above example. etc. When used as such, the word takes on meanings more closely in line with the original event. Religious violence and still, perhaps in some people's eyes, justness of cause.
Words, images, and symbols all have multiple meanings. Nothing is or means anything else definitively. It means a whole bunch of things, so be comfortable with all of those meanings if you're going to use it. And if someone is comfortable with all of those meanings, it can tell you a lot about them.
- Historian Dispels Myths About Eleanor Of Aquitaine And The Role Of Women On The Second Crusade
One of the popular images of the Crusades is the story of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine taking 300 of her ladies-in-waiting with her on the Second Crusade during the years 1147-49. While this particular tale has long-been debunked, a recent article has shown...
- Jesus Killed Mohammed
From the May 2009 Harper's magazine, Jeff Sharlet has an article about the "christianization" of the United States military (behind pay wall, unfortunately). On the right is the issue's cover, complete with 14th-century illustration of the taken...
- John Mccain's Judeo-christian "crusade" (?)
This Boston Globe article caught my eye last week and I've been meaning to blog about it once the hectic-ness of the first week of classes passed. Here, Peter Canellos wonders aloud about McCain's peculiar use of the phrase "Judeo-Christian values"...
- Back In The New World
Finally back from Oxford, where I attended this NEH Summer Institute. Overall, a tremendous experience. More regular blogging will resume shortly... I will, however, now point you to a great lecture series that's I'm organizing for Fall 2008 at...
- The Problematic Crusades
The crusades as an historiographical (sub-)field have become increasingly problematic. Much of this has to do with 9/11 and the new emphasis on, and interest in, holy war and/or religious violence. But, in fairness, it was trending the way it's now...
Medieval History
The Problematic Crusades (2)
So, The LA Times has an article about new care packages intended for troops in Iraq. Great, right? Everyone likes cookies.
Alas, these packages don't contain cookies. They contain "Bibles, proselytizing material in English and Arabic and the apocalyptic computer game 'Left Behind: Eternal Forces' (derived from the series of post-Rapture novels), in which 'soldiers for Christ' hunt down enemies who look suspiciously like UN peacekeepers." The distributor of the packages, a fundamentalist Christian ministry called "Operation Straight Up," was hoping also to launch an entertainment tour for the troops called the "Military Crusade." The Defense Department has now pulled the packages and won't distribute them.
The article goes on to talk about the increasingly close relationship between Christian evangelical organizations and the US military.
Anyway, this all, I think, sort-of connects back to what I've said earlier about the memory of the crusades in the West. But this is a little different because my point here is about the word "crusade" itelf. In many instances, the use of it seems fine. A group's "crusade" to save a reservoir. A "crusade" to save energy in Johannesburg. etc. There's an assumed justness to those causes.
But when the term is connected to violence, it becomes so much more problematic. Pres. Bush's use of the term at the beginning of the Afghanistan war. The above example. etc. When used as such, the word takes on meanings more closely in line with the original event. Religious violence and still, perhaps in some people's eyes, justness of cause.
Words, images, and symbols all have multiple meanings. Nothing is or means anything else definitively. It means a whole bunch of things, so be comfortable with all of those meanings if you're going to use it. And if someone is comfortable with all of those meanings, it can tell you a lot about them.
- Historian Dispels Myths About Eleanor Of Aquitaine And The Role Of Women On The Second Crusade
One of the popular images of the Crusades is the story of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine taking 300 of her ladies-in-waiting with her on the Second Crusade during the years 1147-49. While this particular tale has long-been debunked, a recent article has shown...
- Jesus Killed Mohammed
From the May 2009 Harper's magazine, Jeff Sharlet has an article about the "christianization" of the United States military (behind pay wall, unfortunately). On the right is the issue's cover, complete with 14th-century illustration of the taken...
- John Mccain's Judeo-christian "crusade" (?)
This Boston Globe article caught my eye last week and I've been meaning to blog about it once the hectic-ness of the first week of classes passed. Here, Peter Canellos wonders aloud about McCain's peculiar use of the phrase "Judeo-Christian values"...
- Back In The New World
Finally back from Oxford, where I attended this NEH Summer Institute. Overall, a tremendous experience. More regular blogging will resume shortly... I will, however, now point you to a great lecture series that's I'm organizing for Fall 2008 at...
- The Problematic Crusades
The crusades as an historiographical (sub-)field have become increasingly problematic. Much of this has to do with 9/11 and the new emphasis on, and interest in, holy war and/or religious violence. But, in fairness, it was trending the way it's now...