Staff Writer, Caldron Pool, 9/24
The University of Nottingham is removing the term “Anglo-Saxon” from its courses as part of a broader effort to “decolonize the curriculum.”
Professors at the university have renamed the master’s program in Viking and Anglo-Saxon Studies to “Viking and Early Medieval English Studies,” a change critics argue erases, not only an important aspect of English heritage, but “English” as an ethnic identity.
A module previously titled “Research Methods in Viking and Anglo-Saxon Studies” has also seen the term “Anglo-Saxon” replaced with “Early Medieval English.”
Far-left activists have long been campaigning for the replacement of “Anglo-Saxon” with “Early Medieval English,” claiming that the former recognises a distinct, ethnic, and native English identity. The horror!
The University of Nottingham is reportedly also considering removing the word “Viking” from its courses, citing concerns over its alleged Nazi connotations.
Critics argue that such changes are not only ideologically driven but also constitute a form of ethnic erasure, undermining England’s historical roots and propagating an “anti-White” sentiment that disconnects a people from their homeland.
If you are attempting to downplay or diminish Anglo-Saxon history in England, or the relationship between the English and their predecessors, that's not decolonisation. It's the other one. pic.twitter.com/Y8KKEY9fX1
— Sam Ashworth-Hayes (@SAshworthHayes) August 31, 2024
There are growing concerns that the rebranding signals a broader shift away from a historical understanding of England’s founding, driven more by “political correctness” and anti-White sentiments than by academic and historical integrity.
Of course, the Anglo-Saxon tribes played a foundational role in the creation of England. Beginning in the 5th century, they migrated to the British Isles, gradually establishing a series of small kingdoms across what is now England.
Over time, these kingdoms unified under a single monarch, King Æthelstan in A.D. 937, laying the groundwork for the nation we know today. Among other things, Anglo-Saxons introduced a common language and a shared legal and social framework that has shaped the ethnic, cultural, and political identity of England.
“Ethnic Erasure”: University Scraps Term “Anglo-Saxon” in an Effort to “Decolonise the Curriculum”
There is no good reason, and is in fact absurd, to retroactively label the tribal migrations of long ago as “colonization”. There were no nationally recognized legal boundaries back then, just intermingling, which is what happened between tribes like the Angles and the Saxons. Many Norsemen, of Nordic descent, moved soutward into France. The French called “Angleterre” (land of the Angles) that area inhabited by Angles which they themselves called England.
Calling it colonization is an outright fraud, having the ulterior motive to disestablish national English identity so as to accomodate the real colonizers – the Muslims. Only dedicated Leftists would be so accomodating.
I forgot, there were other migrating tribes like the Jutes and the Celts. Are the Irish “colonizers” too? I’ll guffaw to that.
And “Angle land” became England marked by legal boundaries established by royalty for the most part.
Sorry if my history is rusty.