Mosaic Ark

Rachel Fulton Brown, KJ Crilly, Kilts Khalfan, and Mel Wiggin
  • 5.0 (3)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Mosaic Ark

Join Professor Rachel Fulton Brown and co-hosts Kimberly Crilly, Kilts Khalfan, and Mel Wiggin for a guided journey through the wilds of our post-Enlightenment, yet still medieval culture. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Mythopoeia,” our mission is to re-enchant the world by presenting a new perspective on every subject that makes up the Mosaic of Creation. Livestreams weekly on YouTube, Telegram and at Unauthorized.tv. Visit our website at DragonCommonRoom.com for bios, video links, and more Tolkien-inspired stories and art.

  1. Digital Retrieves the Medieval with Mark Stahlman

    NOV 16

    Digital Retrieves the Medieval with Mark Stahlman

    What is digital mysticism? When you hear that phrase, do you imagine hermetic robots meditating in a virtual reality landscape chanting ohms? That may be getting a little bit ahead tech-wise. If you imagined that the information technology revolution that we’ve all been living through since Marshall McLuhan coined his famous phrase “The medium is the message,” you’re a little closer to understanding. And if you thought that “digital mysticism” was mankind’s reacquisition of the medieval method of learning you would be right on the mark. On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies were joined by Mark Stahlman, President of the Center for the Study of Digital Life, where we spoke of how today’s social media environment tracks in very similar ways with philosophical developments in ancient Greece, medieval Europe, and modern China. We would love to hear your ideas on this, so please add yours to the comments! —Streamed November 15, 2024 Center for the Study of Digital Life: https://www.digitallife.center

    2h 2m
  2. Trumpslide

    NOV 9

    Trumpslide

    Remember, remember the fifth of November…. Where were you on November 5, 2024 – the day that Donald John Trump was elected to a second term as President of the United States? If you were like the Ladies of the Mosaic Ark, you were up for most of the night watching the national election results, afraid to go to sleep for fear of getting a nasty shock in the morning. Turns out, most of the country felt the same way, although maybe for different reasons depending upon who one hoped would win. It has been a very momentous campaign that capped off four very momentous and traumatic years. To cope with all of this trauma, the memes did flow, and KC collected a bunch of them! Join the ladies as we discuss the election results, the last few weeks that led up to them, and the memes that explain them all. — Streamed November 8, 2024

    2h 34m
  3. At Home with Professor Rachel Fulton Brown

    NOV 2

    At Home with Professor Rachel Fulton Brown

    Who is Fencing Bear? Why, she writes the Blog called Fencing Bear at Prayer! Who is Ancilla Mariae? Why, she hosts the Telegram Channel called Fencing Bear at Prayer and its chatroom called The Dragon Common Room! Who is Professor Rachel Fulton Brown? Why, she is a Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Chicago! As well as the creator of the aforementioned Blog and Telegram channels. Did I also mention that she writes books with a team of poets at another website called The Dragon Common Room, and she hosts the weekly live-stream called The Mosaic Ark that you’re seeing here on YouTube? So why is she adding Substack creator to all of the other hats she wears? Because she has surmised that a lot of people who have enjoyed reading and listening to her thoughts might like to have a single space to learn about all of the different areas where she teaches and creates, and Substack is a good place to do that. Listen in on this week’s Mosaic Ark as the Professor explains how her projects all complement each other and answers viewers’ questions about the work that she and her poets do. —Streamed November 1, 2024

    2h 2m
  4. Captain Zodiac Lumen Getty

    OCT 26

    Captain Zodiac Lumen Getty

    The ladies of the Mosaic Ark are looking at the stars! Captain Zodiac, the Mosaic Ark’s very first guest, once again joined us to share his insights about astrology and its true meaning—which does not include divination he’ll have you know! He and Professor Rachel Fulton Brown discussed the beautiful medieval Christian manuscripts that are currently on display at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. The ancient myths and astrological charts used in the manuscripts’ beautiful, gilded illustrations hold an explosion of information about the people who made them and what they believed. But do they have something to say about who we are today? Watch and tell us your ideas in the comments! —Streamed October 25, 2024 Getty Exhibit: https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/lumen/index.html

    2h 4m
  5. John Carter of Substack

    OCT 12

    John Carter of Substack

    “I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate and experiment where wiser men would have left well enough alone.” ― Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars What does it mean to say that the world was once enchanted, but now it is not? To answer that question, one must ask, “what is a myth, and how can it be both true and false?” On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies were joined by Substack author John Carter (a pseudonym taken from one of his favorite book series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.) John Carter’s imagination is boundless, and with that boundless imagination he asks a lot of fascinating questions about history, science, religion, stories, and myths. One of the big questions of our time is this – what happens to a society built with the imaginative force of myth, when imagination is relegated to secondary status (when acknowledged at all) in the public sphere? If the effect of that secondary status is a crumbling society, how can that society be fixed? In short, how does one reenchant the world? Join us as we wrestle with this concept, and please share your ideas in the comments. —Streamed October 12, 2024 Postcards from Barsoom: https://barsoom.substack.com "The Re-enchantment of the World": https://barsoom.substack.com/p/the-reenchantment-of-the-world Dr. John Carter, PhD, on X: @martianwyrdlord

    2h 10m
  6. What Would St. Francis Do?

    OCT 5

    What Would St. Francis Do?

    “Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather through which you give sustenance to Your creatures.” — St. Francis of Assisi, “Canticle of the Creatures” (1225) As the fallen-away followers of our Lord Jesus Christ might have said, this is a hard teaching, especially this week. How do we praise God for “every kind of weather” after the devastating and deadly floods in Appalachia this past week? How did St. Francis do it in the face of the trials of his day? This week the ladies of the Mosaic Ark discuss St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is today (October 4). Was he simply the tree-hugging, animal-loving hippy portrayed by Franco Zeffirelli in his 1972 film? Or was he the devout but shrewd son of a wealthy merchant who founded a world-wide movement? Spoiler alert: He was both! Join us as we talk about why people still love this saint so much, and what he has to teach us about the modern world. — Streamed October 4, 2024

    1h 58m
  7. Spot the Mimetic Twins

    SEP 28

    Spot the Mimetic Twins

    Mimetic Desire. This was the phrase used by René Girard to describe the human condition of wanting to obtain that which others have already obtained; not to be confused with envy, mimetic desire is simply an extension of the way we learn what we should and shouldn’t want — food, shelter, love, etc. Can this be observed in everyday life, in fiction, in geopolitics? Yes, yes, and yes, through a phenomenon called Mimetic Rivalry. Join the ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss some of the more famous mimetic twins, and tell us in the comments if you can see what we see in these pairings: Indiana Jones and René Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Simone de Beauvoir and Mother Theresa of Calcutta (two single ladies and historic contemporaries with two very different ideas about love) and the trifecta of mimetic twins — Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, leaders of the Allies during World War II. —Streamed September 27, 2024

    2h 4m
  8. Why All Politicians Are Liars—Except the One I'm Voting For

    SEP 21

    Why All Politicians Are Liars—Except the One I'm Voting For

    Isis and Osiris. Apollo and Artemis. Donald and Kamala? Twins are memorable features in the world’s mythological systems; they are symbols of duality, balance, and integrating opposites. One might say our myths have conditioned us to look for similarities when presented with two choices. On last week’s Mosaic Ark, we discussed the visual image presented by presidential candidate Kamala Harris and how it might appeal (or not) to women. This week we compared her tweets to those of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Did we see stark contrasts in the messaging of each campaign? Yes and no; we saw twinning. Want to find out what that is? Watch tonight’s stream and peer into the looking glass with us.— Streamed September 20, 2024

    2h 12m
See All (113)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Join Professor Rachel Fulton Brown and co-hosts Kimberly Crilly, Kilts Khalfan, and Mel Wiggin for a guided journey through the wilds of our post-Enlightenment, yet still medieval culture. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Mythopoeia,” our mission is to re-enchant the world by presenting a new perspective on every subject that makes up the Mosaic of Creation. Livestreams weekly on YouTube, Telegram and at Unauthorized.tv. Visit our website at DragonCommonRoom.com for bios, video links, and more Tolkien-inspired stories and art.

Information

  • Creator
    Rachel Fulton Brown, KJ Crilly, Kilts Khalfan, and Mel Wiggin
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    113
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Rachel Fulton Brown, Kilts Khalfan, KJ Crilly, Mel Wiggin
  • Show Website
    Mosaic Ark

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