Professor Shichtman studies the ways by which medieval symbols have been embraced by political movements to represent uncorrupted purity. What’s different about recent evocations of knightly signage is their visibility on the Internet where they have become weaponized to attract members and demean enemies.

The goal of the lecture is first to discuss symbols in the medieval period. The professor will then discuss how such symbols have resurfaced in the Nazi era and in the contemporary environment to serve the political and propaganda goals of various movements.

Dr. Martin B. Shichtman is Director of the Center for Jewish Studies and Professor of English Language and Literature at Eastern Michigan University. He has been a fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and at Brandeis University’s Schusterman Institute for Israel Studies. Dr. Shichtman has co-authored two books, co-edited two collections, and published more than forty scholarly articles. He has presented more than 100 papers at international, national, and regional conferences. He is the recipient of EMU’s Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching and the Eastern Michigan University Alumni Association Award for Teaching Excellence.