this week, we're continuing our series on proto-nationalism and nationalism by talking to Dr. Rachel Moss about the ways nostalgia is used for evil and, specifically, how false nostalgia for a Middle Ages that didn't exist fuels modern nationalism. we talk about how rose-tinted glasses are used to paint a false picture of the Medieval era, how the same feelings of both good and bad nostalgia similarly affected Medieval people, and modern reactionaries who are really just looking for a new liege lord to oppress them. check it out!


Dr. Rachel Moss is a Sr Lecturer in History at the University of Northampton. Rachel is a Medievalist specializing in Late Medieval English history and literature as well as social and economic history of the Middle Ages, and is holding an upcoming workshop on politicizing nostalgia this summer.