... and as it turns out the universe loves me. As I was doing my usual trawl through the Medievalists.net blog I came across an article about the newly formed Society for the Public Understanding of the Middle Ages. Oh my gosh if this wasn't for me. And heck if I am not going to use this as leverage to get me into a PhD program this year. It seems to suggest that I have taken all the right things, BAH Medieval Studies, MA Norse and Viking Studies, MA Public History, at all the right times, and also that though Public History is a field that has been around for more than twenty years, it is now coming en vogue in many different areas, academic and otherwise. Not only en vogue but this society is also using terms that we used in public history, beyond just the words 'medievalisms', so as to suggest that what I have been studying this year is in the same discourse as what is currently being produced. I can't say that I felt out of place as a medievalist doing a Public History degree, but I was aware that I had an odd background for someone who was contemplating a Public History career. I now have an overwhelming sense of validation. Not only might I have students who want to take classes with me, I might have department heads who see the value in the path that I have taken. Alright, this is a lot to put on the shoulders of one society and one website, but I am very excited nonetheless.
