My intellectual interests trend towards the history of religion. It is not interesting to anybody but me. I get this, really. I rarely talk about what I studied or even what I teach. Conversations with me about my academic studies usually go like this:

Person A: What is your masters degree in?
Me: Medieval literature
Person A: Wow! That’s interesting. What was your masters thesis on?
Me: Images of female authority through the manipulation of the chivalric code
Person A: Huh. Yeah. So, isn’t this a great party?

However, I can’t help but get excited when I find that one person who actually wants to know more. Really? You really want to know about the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the church? You’re interested in the corruption of the Catholic church and the revolution caused by the Protestant Reformation? Wow. This is why it’s a good thing I teach. These kids are required to sit and listen to me talk about this stuff. They don’t have a choice.

I’m telling you all this to introduce this video which I thought was interesting. Feel free to ignore it or to give me a polite nod and wonder when I’m going to return to something more interesting.