Mosaic Ark
Join Professor Rachel Fulton Brown and her crew for a guided tour of the history, culture, and mythology of the medieval and postmodern West. Inspired by J.R.R.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 7
- Latest publication
- Sep 5, 2026
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- Jul 11, 2026
Latest episodes
177 Quest for Fantasyland (opens the original)
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The Professor is prepping for a panel that she is going to participate in at BasedCon next week, and fellow poet Quinn Kimball is here to help! For the panel, she has been asked to think about why “so many fantasy worlds default to a vaguely medieval hereditary monarchy,” but before she can answer that question, she needs to know where and what Fantasyland actually is. Join us for a globe-girdling exploration of lands that might or might not be called “Fantasy”! —Streamed September 4, 2026
176 Quest for the Chosen One (opens the original)
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Based Con is coming up in a couple weeks, and the Professor wanted to brainstorm some ideas for one of the panels on which she is appearing, “The Case Against the Chosen One.” What’s all the fuss about “the chosen one” in fiction, and why do both authors and audiences find it so appealing? Is it some kind of hard and fast rule à la Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, that there must even be a Chosen One at the center of a story? The Professor sent KC off to find out. After pulling up a few example
175 The Pursuit of Liberty (opens the original)
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The Mosaic Ark was back this week to celebrate our 4th anniversary of streaming! On our last stream, we discussed the Declaration of Independence, and how its professed right of "the pursuit of happiness" was influenced by Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Man.” After that broadcast, KC asked the Professor how such a solid understanding of happiness had been turned on its head during the 20th century and changed to mean radical individualism and personal freedom above all else. “Oh, that’s John Stuart
174 Self-Evident Truths (opens the original)
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On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies continued their discussion of Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Man,” and in particular its relationship to that part of the Declaration of Independence that lists one of man’s inalienable rights — the pursuit of happiness. We thought that, in its day, that phrase, “the pursuit of happiness,” must have sounded like a fairly ludicrous idea to include in such an important political document. It was far too broad, too undefined, too frivolous — wasn’t it? In a word, n
173 Lord of the Memes (opens the original)
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Two hundred and fifty years ago this month on July 4th, the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in the city of Philadelphia, in a rhetorical shot heard ‘round the world aimed at King George III, head of the most powerful empire in the world. By August 2nd of that same year, fifty-six men, representatives of Great Britain’s thirteen original North American colonies, affixed their signatures to it and sealed their fates. This was no small act, but it was a surprisingly small Declaration—onl
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