Rachel Fulton Brown (born 1965) is an American

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. She is an Associate Professor of Medieval History, Fundamentals, and the College at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

."Rachel Fulton Brown", University of Chicago faculty website entry
Online
Last accessed July 11, 2020.

Career

Fulton Brown has authored a variety of texts on the topic of Christian studies and the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Comments and blog entries published by Fulton Brown gained attention in academia as part of a broader discussion regarding

white nationalism White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

and

medieval studies Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages. A historian who studies medieval studies is called a medievalist. Institutional development The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening ...

.Livingstone (2017b). As described by ''The New York Times'':

The idea of medieval studies as a haven for white nationalist ideas gained ground when Rachel Fulton Brown, an associate professor of medieval history at the University of Chicago, began feuding with Dorothy Kim, an assistant professor of medieval English literature at Brandeis, after Dr. Kim, writing on Facebook, highlighted an old blog post of Dr. Fulton Brown’s titled "Three Cheers for White Men," calling it an example of "medievalists upholding
white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
."Schuessler (2019).

Fulton Brown subsequently cited

Vox Day Theodore Robert Beale (born August 21, 1968), commonly known as Vox Day, is a right-wing American activist and writer. He has been described as a far-right white supremacist, a misogynist, and part of the alt-right. ''The Wall Street Journal'' ...

, a far-right activist, and, in a blog post, "entertained the idea that the Christchurch shooting might have been a "

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...

operation" ". In December 2020, United States president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced an intent to appoint Fulton Brown to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee, which the official White House website described as a "key administration post".Whitehouse.gov. 2020. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". December 22, 2020.

Friendship with Milo Yiannopoulos

Brown first made contact with

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

figure

Milo Yiannopoulos Milo Yiannopoulos (; ''né'' Hanrahan; born 18 October 1984) is a British far-right political commentator. His speeches and writings criticise Islam, feminism, and social justice. Yiannopoulos is a former editor of ''Breitbart News'', an Americ ...

, when she sent him emails about the

history of Christianity The history of Christianity began with the life of Jesus, an itinerant Jewish preacher and teacher, who was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified in Jerusalem . His followers proclaimed that he was the Incarnation (Christianity), incarnation of Go ...

, the Crusades, and the righteousness of the West. According to Jo Livingstone writing in ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', Brown "Exploit dthe full freedom conferred upon her by tenure" to end a 2017 blog post defending Yiannopoulos, by referring to his critics as "spineless cunts" and "bullies".Livingstone (2017a). Quote: "Exploiting the full freedom conferred upon her by tenure, Brown ended her blog post with an italicized line, reading, “Shame on all of you. You spineless cunts. The bullies are YOU." Brown wrote an article entitled ''An Establishment Conservative’s Guide to MILO'' for ''

Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (; known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentar ...

'' in 2017 and ''Breitbart'' republished an article by Brown about Yiannopoulos the same year. Her 2019 book, ''Milo Chronicles: Devotions 2016 - 2019'', is about her friendship with Yiannopoulos.Brown (2019).

Personal life

Brown is married, plays the fiddle and is a fencer. She writes a blog titled ''Fencing Bear at Prayer''.

Bibliography

* ''From Judgment to Passion: Devotion to Christ and the Virgin Mary, 800–1200''. 2005. ISBN 978-0231125512 * ''Mary and the Art of Prayer: The Hours of the Virgin in Medieval Christian Life and Thought''. 2017. ISBN 978-0231181686 * ''Milo Chronicles: Devotions 2016 - 2019''. 2019. ISBN 978-9527303573 * ''Centrism Games: A Modern Dunciad''. 2021. ISBN 978-0578870816 * *

Notes

References

*Fulton Brown, Rachel. 2019. ''Milo Chronicles: Devotions 2016 - 2019''. Dangerous Books. . *Livingstone, Josephine. 2017a. "A University of Chicago professor has gone off on Milo Yiannopoulis’s opponents, calling them 'spineless c*nts'." ''

'', February 21, 2017
Online
Last accessed July 12, 2020. *Livingstone, Josephine. 2017b. "University History Departments Have a Race Problem". October 25, 2017. ''

'', October 25, 2017
Online
Last accessed 31 January 2024. *Scheussler, Jennifer. 2019. "Medieval Scholars Joust With White Nationalists. And One Another." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', May 5, 2019
Online
Last accessed July 11, 2020. *Whitehouse.gov. 2020. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". Whitehouse.gov, December 22, 2020
Online
Last accessed December 23, 2020.

External links

Rachel Fulton Brown at the University of ChicagoFulton Brown's personal University of Chicago websiteThe Dragon Common Room founded by Rachel Fulton Brown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton Brown, Rachel 1965 births Living people American medievalists University of Chicago faculty American women medievalists 20th-century American fiddlers 21st-century American fiddlers American women fiddlers American fencers