ES McAllister
@stupidhistorybooks.bsky.social
Medievalist, Lecturer, and Digital Humanist who writes about cultural memory, art, liturgy, and crusades. Doctor of Philosophy. I was homeschooled. UWL.
I’ve discovered I like LED candles, jazz, and my stereo turned just loud enough to feel the horns in my ribs. It’s funny the things that make life brighter without actually burning.
November 6, 2025 at 12:30 AM
I’ve discovered I like LED candles, jazz, and my stereo turned just loud enough to feel the horns in my ribs. It’s funny the things that make life brighter without actually burning.
Found my old high school laptop. The thing weighs more than my student loans. Dug out the hard drive like a miner searching for lost treasure.
November 3, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Found my old high school laptop. The thing weighs more than my student loans. Dug out the hard drive like a miner searching for lost treasure.
Just wrapped a lecture on the mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna - where politics, piety, and imperial pageantry shimmer in gold. Justinian and Theodora don’t just appear in the sanctuary - they stake a claim to sacred space.
October 23, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Just wrapped a lecture on the mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna - where politics, piety, and imperial pageantry shimmer in gold. Justinian and Theodora don’t just appear in the sanctuary - they stake a claim to sacred space.
I am happy to present the CFP for the Sixth Symposium on Crusade Studies at Saint Louis University.
April 10-11, 2026
Crusadestudies.org
Feel free to DM here or email me at crusades@slu.edu
#medieval #crusades #callforpapers
April 10-11, 2026
Crusadestudies.org
Feel free to DM here or email me at crusades@slu.edu
#medieval #crusades #callforpapers
September 2, 2025 at 1:49 AM
I am happy to present the CFP for the Sixth Symposium on Crusade Studies at Saint Louis University.
April 10-11, 2026
Crusadestudies.org
Feel free to DM here or email me at crusades@slu.edu
#medieval #crusades #callforpapers
April 10-11, 2026
Crusadestudies.org
Feel free to DM here or email me at crusades@slu.edu
#medieval #crusades #callforpapers
Walked around campus in a daze. The buildings looked like something my mother once described when she talked about college, like it was magic. Strange. I got the keys to my office today. Maybe I’ll hang up my diploma.
August 5, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Walked around campus in a daze. The buildings looked like something my mother once described when she talked about college, like it was magic. Strange. I got the keys to my office today. Maybe I’ll hang up my diploma.
Move’s done. New city, same old bones. Thank god for the movers. paid saints in steel-toe boots. And somehow, every damn glass made it. Small miracles wrapped in bubble wrap.
August 5, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Move’s done. New city, same old bones. Thank god for the movers. paid saints in steel-toe boots. And somehow, every damn glass made it. Small miracles wrapped in bubble wrap.
Back in my parents’ town. The coffee’s awful, the baked goods are divine, and there’s a lake out the door that hasn’t aged a day. Nobody remembers me. That part stings more than it should.
July 31, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Back in my parents’ town. The coffee’s awful, the baked goods are divine, and there’s a lake out the door that hasn’t aged a day. Nobody remembers me. That part stings more than it should.
I remember Bourdain asking people what they do first when they get back home. Me? I go straight to the cafe of my old roommate Andy for an espresso shot. The guy pulls a shot like he’s defusing a bomb. Care, concern, expertise -heaven in 1.5 ounces.
July 27, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I remember Bourdain asking people what they do first when they get back home. Me? I go straight to the cafe of my old roommate Andy for an espresso shot. The guy pulls a shot like he’s defusing a bomb. Care, concern, expertise -heaven in 1.5 ounces.
Midwest humidity thick enough to chew. I’m sleeping in my parents’ basement like it’s 2005. Kitty scratches at the door like some ghost demanding entry. I let him in. What else can you do?
July 27, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Midwest humidity thick enough to chew. I’m sleeping in my parents’ basement like it’s 2005. Kitty scratches at the door like some ghost demanding entry. I let him in. What else can you do?
Last night in St. Louis after six years. Everything’s in boxes. TV on the floor. I’m in a folding chair with a cold beer, wondering how a whole era ends with a quiet click and not a marching band.
July 26, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Last night in St. Louis after six years. Everything’s in boxes. TV on the floor. I’m in a folding chair with a cold beer, wondering how a whole era ends with a quiet click and not a marching band.
Packing the apartment after grad school. Books like bricks. Handwritten drafts I thought would change the world. Page weights, fountain pens, ghosts. All of it tremendously heavy. And still, I take it with me.
July 13, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Packing the apartment after grad school. Books like bricks. Handwritten drafts I thought would change the world. Page weights, fountain pens, ghosts. All of it tremendously heavy. And still, I take it with me.
After a week of brilliant academic chatter(saints, scribes, plagues, popes) I find myself at the airport craving fiction. Not theory. Not historiography. Just stories. Preferably with conspiracy and code breaking
July 12, 2025 at 10:51 AM
After a week of brilliant academic chatter(saints, scribes, plagues, popes) I find myself at the airport craving fiction. Not theory. Not historiography. Just stories. Preferably with conspiracy and code breaking
First IMC Leeds. Hundreds of medievalists buzzing like academic bees, but somehow it felt quiet when it needed to. I saw old friends. Made a few new ones.
July 11, 2025 at 11:48 AM
First IMC Leeds. Hundreds of medievalists buzzing like academic bees, but somehow it felt quiet when it needed to. I saw old friends. Made a few new ones.
English breakfast, strong coffee, and smart people saying interesting things about the Middle Ages. For a moment, the world makes sense. Even the tomatoes are cheering me on.
July 10, 2025 at 8:47 AM
English breakfast, strong coffee, and smart people saying interesting things about the Middle Ages. For a moment, the world makes sense. Even the tomatoes are cheering me on.
First day of IMC Leeds. Two thousand medievalists, hundreds of papers, centuries of footnotes. But honestly? I’m just thrilled it’s 59° and I can wear a jacket without sweating like a heretic at a council.
July 7, 2025 at 5:12 PM
First day of IMC Leeds. Two thousand medievalists, hundreds of papers, centuries of footnotes. But honestly? I’m just thrilled it’s 59° and I can wear a jacket without sweating like a heretic at a council.
SMRS 2025 wrapped up. I’m exhausted, inspired, and slightly sunburned. The Crusade Studies Forum hosted three sessions—great turnout, sharp papers, good questions. For once, everything went according to plan. Almost suspiciously so.
Heres some photographic proof.
Heres some photographic proof.
June 12, 2025 at 7:32 PM
SMRS 2025 wrapped up. I’m exhausted, inspired, and slightly sunburned. The Crusade Studies Forum hosted three sessions—great turnout, sharp papers, good questions. For once, everything went according to plan. Almost suspiciously so.
Heres some photographic proof.
Heres some photographic proof.
Academic conferences are supposed to be inspiring—but somehow, every time, I’m still surprised and grateful when they actually are.
June 11, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Academic conferences are supposed to be inspiring—but somehow, every time, I’m still surprised and grateful when they actually are.
Scholars from around the world gathered today for three sessions hosted by SLU’s Crusade Studies Forum at SMRS. Topics ranged from new archaeological discoveries and biblical exegesis to relic theft and the military orders in Iberia—crusade studies alive and well.
June 10, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Scholars from around the world gathered today for three sessions hosted by SLU’s Crusade Studies Forum at SMRS. Topics ranged from new archaeological discoveries and biblical exegesis to relic theft and the military orders in Iberia—crusade studies alive and well.
First official day of SMRS, an Alkaline Trio song hit my shuffle. Took me straight back to high school. I thought, “What would young Evan think of me now?” Felt worlds apart—until I remembered Alkaline wore the same kind of suits I’m in today.
June 9, 2025 at 2:39 PM
First official day of SMRS, an Alkaline Trio song hit my shuffle. Took me straight back to high school. I thought, “What would young Evan think of me now?” Felt worlds apart—until I remembered Alkaline wore the same kind of suits I’m in today.
Trying to look academic in the summer heat is a losing battle. Blazers wilt, linen clings, and my brain feels medium-rare by noon.
June 8, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Trying to look academic in the summer heat is a losing battle. Blazers wilt, linen clings, and my brain feels medium-rare by noon.
The Crusade Studies Forum is sponsoring three sessions this Tuesday at SMRS. The CSF is one of the big reasons I came to SLU for my PhD—grateful to be a part of the action. #smrs2025
June 8, 2025 at 5:34 PM
The Crusade Studies Forum is sponsoring three sessions this Tuesday at SMRS. The CSF is one of the big reasons I came to SLU for my PhD—grateful to be a part of the action. #smrs2025
The Symposium for Medieval and Renaissance Studies kicks off today at Saint Louis University. Opening reception at the (supposedly haunted) Sam Cupples House. I’ll be splitting my time between academic discourse and mild ghost hunting. Priorities. #smrs2025
June 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The Symposium for Medieval and Renaissance Studies kicks off today at Saint Louis University. Opening reception at the (supposedly haunted) Sam Cupples House. I’ll be splitting my time between academic discourse and mild ghost hunting. Priorities. #smrs2025
Back in Milwaukee for a while. The lake’s still there, steady as ever. The beer’s good, the weather’s better. For a moment, everything makes a little bit of sense.
May 29, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Back in Milwaukee for a while. The lake’s still there, steady as ever. The beer’s good, the weather’s better. For a moment, everything makes a little bit of sense.
Back at my parents’ house for a few days, sleeping in my old high school room like a time traveler with back pain. Thankful for the café down the hill—coffee’s awful, pastries are divine.
May 29, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Back at my parents’ house for a few days, sleeping in my old high school room like a time traveler with back pain. Thankful for the café down the hill—coffee’s awful, pastries are divine.
Excited for this conference—I put three sessions together. Funny how it always feels like coming home. I presented here before I even applied to SLU. Full circle, or at least a decent spiral.
www.smrs-slu.org
www.smrs-slu.org
Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies
www.smrs-slu.org
May 29, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Excited for this conference—I put three sessions together. Funny how it always feels like coming home. I presented here before I even applied to SLU. Full circle, or at least a decent spiral.
www.smrs-slu.org
www.smrs-slu.org