Ronald H. Fritze (born 1951) is an American

encyclopedist An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, and writer known for his criticism of

pseudohistoric Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohist ...

ideas.

Biography

Fritze earned his BA in history at Concordia College in 1974. He obtained a master's degree from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

and a PhD from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in 1981. He has worked at

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, t ...

in Beaumont and the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only ...

in 2001 as chair of the history department. He is currently Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at

Athens State University Athens State University is a public upper-division university in Athens, Alabama. Its academics are housed in three colleges: Education, Arts and Sciences, and Business. History Athens State University is Alabama's oldest educational institutio ...

. Fritze is the author of ''Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science, and Pseudo-religions'' (2009) a book which critically examines the pseudohistoric claims of

Martin Bernal Martin Gardiner Bernal (; 10 March 1937 – 9 June 2013) was a British scholar of modern Chinese political history. He was a Professor of Government and Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University. He is best known for his work ''Black Athena'', a ...

's ''Black Athena'',

Erich von Däniken Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (; ; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling ''Chariots of the Gods?'', published in 1968. Von D ...

Immanuel Velikovsky Immanuel Velikovsky (; rus, Иммануи́л Велико́вский, p=ɪmənʊˈil vʲɪlʲɪˈkofskʲɪj; 17 November 1979) was a Jewish, Russian-American psychoanalyst, writer, and catastrophist. He is the author of several books offering ...

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...

Christian Identity Christian Identity (also known as Identity Christianity) is an interpretation of Christianity which advocates the belief that only Celtic and Germanic peoples, such as the Anglo-Saxon, Nordic nations, or Aryan people and people of kindred blood, ...

, Nation of Islam, and fringe related

pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories are speculative theories which propose that possible visits to the Americas, possible interactions with the indigenous peoples of the Americas, or both, were made by people from Africa, Asia, Europe, ...

. According to Fritze pseudohistory is a "charlatan's playground" targeting those too "willing to suspend disbelief" and slip into an "abyss of fantasy". Fritze considers such pseudohistoric ideas to be irrational and misleading the public. The book has received positive reviews.Tonkin, Boyd. (2009)
"How the book world is taking on the false idols of our time"
''The Independent''. Retrieved 2015-05-14.

Publications

*''Faith and Faction: Religious Changes, National Politics, and the Development of Local Factionalism in Hampshire, 1485-1570'' (1981) *''Reflections on Western Civilization: A Reader'' ith Randy Roberts, James Olson(1990) *''Historical Dictionary of Tudor England, 1485-1603'' (1991) *''Legend and Lore of the Americas Before 1492: An Encyclopedia of Visitors, Explorers, and Immigrants'' (1993
online
*''Historical Dictionary of Stuart England, 1603-1689'' ith William B. Robison(1996) *''Travel Legend and Lore: An Encyclopedia'' (1998) *''New Worlds: The Great Voyages of Discovery, 1400-1600'' (2002) * ''Historical dictionary of late medieval England, 1272-1485'' ith William B. Robison(2002
online
* ''Reference Sources in History: An Introductory Guide'' ith Brian Coutts, Louis Vyhnanek(2004) *''Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-religions'' (2009) *''Egyptomania: A History of Fascination, Obsession and Fantasy'' (2016) *''Hope and Fear: Modern Myths, Conspiracy Theories, and Pseudo-History'' (2022)

References

External links

review
in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review of ''Egyptomania: A History of Fascination, Obsession and Fantasy'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fritze, Ronald H. 1951 births American encyclopedists 21st-century American historians American male non-fiction writers American skeptics Critics of Theosophy Living people 21st-century American male writers

Biography

Publications

See also

References

External links