Alliterative
I'm a university prof with a PhD in Medieval Studies. I use language, literature, and history to explore the web of connections in the world around us. Many of the videos on this channel start with a word as a jumping off point, with its history and etymology opening up a way to explore history and culture more widely. Others examine literary devices, cognitive science, myth, medieval literature, history of science, and a wide variety of other topics.
The "endless knot" is a common visual motif of an interconnected knot with no beginning or end, found in many cultures around the world. My use of the symbol is a reference to the 14th c. poem "Sir Gawain & the Green Knight", where it describes the pentangle which Gawain has emblazoned on his shield as a symbol of the interconnectedness of things. Here it also gains significance from its comparison to the cognitive science hexagram or heptagram which shows the interrelated nature of various fields in cognitive science.
The More the Merrier: Grammar of the Instrumental Case
Coffee, Insurance, and Mathematics: "Average" [Supercut]
Labour Unions: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Pigs: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Food: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Reptiles: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Time: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Where did "She" come from? (Endnote for Nation)
Valentines Day: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
The Indo-European Origins of Sanskrit (Endnote to Nation)
How the Origin of "Nation" Connects to Myth, Language, Gender, and More (feat. Cynical Historian)
Saving the Etymological Sea for #TeamSeas
Where did Rock and Roll come from?
School: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Gardens: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Fruit: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Birds: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Did Sea Shanties Give Us Rock 'n Roll?
Christmas: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Where do Monsters come from?
Where does the Guitar come from?
Bugs: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Vegetables: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Good News: Exploring the Roots of Gospel Music
Animals: Surprisingly Connected Etymologies
Soul Food & Early Black Women's Writing: The Endnotes
How Amateur are the Olympics?
The Scandalous History of the Manhattan Cocktail
Where do the names of the days come from? : The History of the Calendar
Planting an Etymological Tree for #TeamTrees