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As I began to seriously consider a career in history academia, my interest in antiquities and the Middle Ages continued to grow. By taking a combination of courses from the history, English and religion departments, I was able to piece together an interdisciplinary medieval studies education with similar pillars as those offered at other universities in the United States. With the assistance of Drs. Wrightson, Nagy and Garst-Santos, I introduced myself to the Latin and Old Norse languages, the Scandinavian literary corpus and the Reconquista period. I believe that the Middle Ages is a period that popular culture largely misunderstands and while this is misunderstanding is mostly harmless, it opens the door for nefarious groups such as white nationalists to misappropriate the medieval past to justify hateful ideologies. Through studying this period of world history, I believe we may dispel racial myths, nationalistic falsehoods and modern distortions that would disarm many hate groups of their foundational narratives. As result of my work at SDSU, I was able to secure for myself a position in the University of Iceland’s Viking and Medieval Norse Studies master’s program. I think that for any SDSU student that is interested in pre-modern history, having an official minor on the books would be enormously helpful for graduate school applicants and those who wish to make a career in this field.

-Noah Mincheff, class of 2022