About Us
Chief of Experiences
Paul B. Sturtevant, Ph.D.
Paul is a professional medieval public historian who has worked in the field for over 14 years. Prior to moving to Portugal, he worked at the Smithsonian Institution for a decade, studying and improving on the experiences of the museum visitors. He has also taught in museum studies, public history, and medieval studies at universities in four countries. His research, including two books and numerous articles, focuses on how the public learns about the medieval past and makes it useful and meaningful in the present.
He also was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of an award-winning online magazine, The Public Medievalist. Find out more about him and his work at paulsturtevant.com.
In other words…
I have a PhD in medieval studies, and I specialize in public history, meaning, how the past is presented to the public. What that means is that I care both about history but also what history means to people (and how those meanings have changed over time). I love being able to interpret the latest and greatest scholarship for people who don’t have the time or inclination to wade through 500 pages of impenetrable academic-ese and connect it with their lives. Doing that is complicated, of course. Especially when a lot of the things you’ll read in guide books and on historic sites were written over 50 years ago (and, in Portugal, sometimes in service to Portugal’s then-fascist government). So there’s a whole lot to talk about beyond just the names and dates of dead kings.
Cool-ass job title
Arielle Gingold
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