The Pre-modern is Still Political

Cultural appropriation is a hotly contested topic in modern society, questioning who uses images of other (or past) cultures and why. This article from Time Magazine shows some of the problematic uses of Viking imagery and how historical studies are attempting to rectify inappropriate appropriation. #vikings #politics

White Supremacists Have Weaponized an Imaginary Viking Past. It's Time to Reclaim the Real History

http://time.com/5569399/viking-history-white-nationalists/?fbclid=IwAR1K_pEHduInKjz_8dcia3AKvOwKb_LJfe9cUWoSpLiCOSDjiyK19z1taWU

(PS: In relation to modern culture, the author sees promise in new depictions of older cultures: "[Taika Waititi's] movie Thor: Ragnarok — in which Thor’s hammer, a medieval item regularly brandished by extremists, is destroyed — was a multiracial and postcolonial counternarrative to the white Viking narrative circulating through the alt-right digital ecosystem.")